Jon Rubinstein Joins Board of Qualcomm, as Mobile Chipmaker Ups Its Silicon Valley Cred

The longtime mobile exec is a high-profile appointment.
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Dialing Up 20 Years of Gadget Reviews

Walt reflects on two decades of covering personal-consumer products and offers his thoughts on what technological gains might be next.

History Repeats Itself at Hewlett-Packard webOS Unit

Leaked internal memos elucidate Hewlett-Packard’s plans for the future — such as it is — for the different pieces of its webOS business.

Palm Chief: By Birthright, Palm Should Have Owned the Smartphone Market

What Palm chief Jon Rubinstein’s appearance at Web 2.0 Summit today lacked in news, it made up for somewhat in perspective–on the mobile space, Palm’s smartphone birthright, its acquisition by Hewlett-Packard and its future under HP.

Windows Mobile: "Unloved, Unappreciated, and Unlikely to Encourage Any Devotion"

No wonder Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is so dismayed by the company’s Windows Mobile division: Most Windows Mobile users aren’t even aware their phones run it. In fact, according to the CFI Group, WinMo has such poor brand recognition that it was forced to group it in the “Other” category in its Smartphone Satisfaction Survey.

Windows Mobile: “Unloved, Unappreciated, and Unlikely to Encourage Any Devotion”

No wonder Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is so dismayed by the company’s Windows Mobile division: Most Windows Mobile users aren’t even aware their phones run it. In fact, according to the CFI Group, WinMo has such poor brand recognition that it was forced to group it in the “Other” category in its Smartphone Satisfaction Survey.

Pre Sales May Be Slowing. Yes? Nooooooooo!

Now this is just getting silly. Pali Research says sales of the Palm Pre are slowing. RBC’s Mike Abramsky says they aren’t and claims 325,000 to 375,000 have been sold to date, ahead of his expectations. Jesup and Lamont analyst Kevin Dede says the device is plagued by high exchange/return rates of potentially 40 percent. Abramsky says it’s more likely between two and three percent. Who’s right? Who cares?

Gadget Gods Peter Rojas and Ryan Block Finally Unveil their Newest Gadget Site: Gdgt. Get it?

Does the world need another gadget site? Yes, say two of the gadget world’s biggest stars, who are launching gdgt.com today. The site is the work of Peter Rojas, who helped build Gizmodo and Engadget, and Ryan Block, who took the torch from Rojas after he moved on. Gizmodo and Engadget are the best known and most powerful of the new generation of gadget sites, which makes Rojas and Block revered by the gadget gang and able to cobble together funding. But they’re still taking on a very crowded field.

Running the Treo’s OS on the Pre

Walt answers readers’ questions on the Palm Pre operating system, whether the Pre can be used as a modem, and more.

Palm's New Pilot: Jon Rubinstein [UPDATED]

Now we know why it was Palm executive chairman Jon Rubinstein and investor Roger McNamee on stage at the D conference last month talking up the Pre, and not CEO Ed Colligan: Colligan was on his way out. On Wednesday, Palm tapped Rubinstein as its new CEO.

Oh, Donna

Wait. Palm Had Retail Stores?