Palm Hires Another Former Apple Employee for its Management Team

[MacRumors]

PreCentral reports that Palm has recently hired former Apple employee Jeff Zwerner as its Senior Vice President of Brand Design.

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that Zwerner, according to his LinkedIn page, has twice been in the employ of Apple - once as the Creative Director for Packaging in 2001-2003 and earlier as a Senior Art Director from 1995-1996. Sure, it's probably likely that some large proportion of people who work in Brand Design in California did a stint at Apple at some point, but nevertheless this is one more Palm executive with Apple experience.

Zwerner later founded the San Francisco office of Factor Design, where he provided brand and design consulting services to a wide array of major companies, including Apple.

An intense rivalry between Palm and Apple has developed over the past several years as former Apple executives John Rubinstein and Fred Anderson, as well as a number of other former Apple employees, have played key roles in rebuilding Palm with the development of the Palm Pre and its webOS operating system.

On a conference call in January several weeks after the Pre's announcement, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook made what was viewed as veiled threats against Palm regarding multi-touch and other intellectual property claimed by Apple that has appeared in similar forms in the Pre. Palm and Apple have also continued to spar over the Pre's ability to sync media directly from iTunes by presenting itself as an iPod in its vendor and device identification codes.

Article Link: Palm Hires Another Former Apple Employee for its Management Team

 

[Goona]

These clowns want to be like Apple.

 

[Blue Fox]

^^ LOL. They can't come up with their own ideas, so they'll hire the people that gave Apple theirs.

 

[SFStateStudent]

Pre is definitely grasping at straws and doing everything they can to hire former Apple employees. They still have much ground to make up to catch the iPhone; scooping up the crumbs or leftovers doesn't say much for their innovation and creativity involving the pre, b/c the bottom line is "they are still trying to emulate the iPhone." Still nothing to compete with Apple's app store. They are still dependent on iTunes and 3rd party apps to do everything the iPhone can do....

 

[talkingfuture]

Palm should be renamed Apple II

 

[theheadguy]

These clowns want to be like Apple.

Ya, it's pretty silly to want to be like the most successful mobile phone maker thus far. Get off it already.

 

[Doctor Q]

Did they hire Jeff Zwerner because he worked at Apple? We don't know. Given how clearly Apple has said that they will take action if their intellectual property is stolen, it's conceivable that Zwerner's having worked at Apple was a negative factor for Palm. But it clearly didn't stop them from hiring him, so the suspicions will continue.

 

[celticpride678]

I am posting this for the third time: "Let the War begin".

Let's go Apple, sure!

The only thing I want to know is that, how much are they paying him to walk away from ?

 

[Amdahl]

^^ LOL. They can't come up with their own ideas, so they'll hire the people that gave Apple theirs.

Apple is a corporation, an evil soulless corporation. It does not exist except as a legal figment.

You are criticizing the people who actually make the products for that evil soulless corporation, for going to work for another evil soulless corporation?

You're mad they don't have more loyalty to a legal fiction? Because it makes your loyalty look foolish?

What is it about this soulless corporation that you love so much? It obviously isn't the employees who actually do the work.

The only thing I want to know is that, how much are they paying him to walk away from ?

Maybe they are paying less. Maybe it is more rewarding to be able to work on a new product without your creativity and ideas being boxed in by a design philosophy of form before function?

 

[jwsmiths]

Apple - BUY PALM. Jeeez..... if they want to be so much LIKE Apple, maybe they just want to part PART OF Apple

Besides, it wouldn't hurt to bring some of Palm's PDA know how into Apple... look at how well their **** has held up since the 90's... I know that Apple would love to see the iPod Touch be the next Palm Pilot where ever professional uses one for his day to day business.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Apple is a corporation, an evil soulless corporation. It does not exist except as a legal figment.

You are criticizing the people who actually make the products for that evil soulless corporation, for going to work for another evil soulless corporation?

You're mad they don't have more loyalty to a legal fiction? Because it makes your loyalty look foolish?

What is it about this soulless corporation that you love so much? It obviously isn't the employees who actually do the work.

Maybe they are paying less. Maybe it is more rewarding to be able to work on a new product without your creativity and ideas being boxed in by a design philosophy of form before function?

Stop making sense please, and just let us enjoy our bliss.

 

[LethalWolfe]

The fanboys need to take a step back and realize that Apple doesn't grow its employees in the basement of Apple HQ. People moving between companies is the normal order of things.


Lethal

 

[Shookster]

I'm impressed that Apple has a Creative Director for Packaging. I would imagine most companies think little about creative packaging, let alone actually hiring someone to manage it.

Ya, it's pretty silly to want to be like the most successful mobile phone maker thus far. Get off it already.

The most successful mobile phone maker? Surely you mean Nokia?

Nokia: 38% market share.
Apple: 1% market share.

 

[the real truth]

market share?

so market share equals success? funny, i thought profit was the point. Market share doesn't buy much my friend, but money........

 

[jzuena]

I am posting this for the third time: "Let the War begin".

Let's go Apple, sure!

The only thing I want to know is that, how much are they paying him to walk away from ?

Considering he last worked for Apple in 2003, I'm guessing zero.

I'm impressed that Apple has a Creative Director for Packaging. I would imagine most companies think little about creative packaging, let alone actually hiring someone to manage it.



The most successful mobile phone maker? Surely you mean Nokia?

Nokia: 38% market share.
Apple: 1% market share.

Unless you are talking only about smart phones.

 

[CalCanuck]

Jeff's a Great Guy

I know and have worked with Jeff on a few projects. He hasn't worked at Apple for a long while -- he's been running his own agency for the past 6 or 7 years so it's not like he has the inside scoop on anything and the iPhone most certainly came along well after he had moved on.

He's a great guy and talented designer and I wish him well in his new role.

 

[Stella]

Considering he last worked for Apple in 2003, I'm guessing zero.



Unless you are talking only about smart phones.

World wide, Nokia ( Symbian ) have >50% marketshare.

Nokia: Smartphone Market leaders, by a long shot.

 

[munkees]

These clowns want to be like Apple.

just image you don't work for apple, would you not want you product to be just as awesome.

 

[spillproof]

Who's next, the kid who teaches App Development at Stanford. Geesh.

 

[DMann]

Who's next, the kid who teaches App Development at Stanford. Geesh.

 

[Shookster]

so market share equals success? funny, i thought profit was the point. Market share doesn't buy much my friend, but money........

Yeah, having lots of people buy your company's product is bad. Nokia curses its large customer base every day.

 

[killerwhack]

Yes - That is how it happens. Apple does not have some covenant with God to be the most powerful consumer electronics design fountain. It is the people and their talent, perspiration, experience and education that make the difference. I would not count palm out yet.

^^ LOL. They can't come up with their own ideas, so they'll hire the people that gave Apple theirs.

 

[satcomer]

Palm should be renamed Apple II

With all the former Apple employees there and since it was started by ex Newton people it could be called Apple II.

 

[hexor]

The fanboys need to take a step back and realize that Apple doesn't grow its employees in the basement of Apple HQ. People moving between companies is the normal order of things.


Lethal

Sorry but I'm betting there are far more people who WANT to work for Apple then those wanting to work for Palm especially since they are close to bankrupt.

 

[Serelus]

Sorry but I'm betting there are far more people who WANT to work for Apple then those wanting to work for Palm especially since they are close to bankrupt.

You misunderstood, it's unlikely that this individual was hired simply because he worked at apple previously.

Palm isn't financially dependent of apple, their way of making phones is nothing like Apple's. Manufacturer's like HTC and LG, are much more qualified "Apple II" candidates.