The birth of the Palm Pilot and development of a new industry.
4/15/2002
This is an intriguing look at the evolution of Palm Inc. and the birth of its groundbreaking product, the Palm Pilot. We like it even better as a product story. Even as competitors Casio, Sharp, and Apple were cramming more and more features into their tiny organizers, Palm guru Jeff Hawkins' brilliance was understanding that the consumer wanted less, not more—smaller size, fewer features, a cheaper price. Also intriguing are details on the unraveling of Palm, which caused Hawkins and Palm CEO Donna Dubinsky (HBS MBA '81) to form competitor Handspring. A fun, fast read.