Piloting Palm

This is the riveting story of two remarkable companies: Palm Computing, a tiny team who beat staggering odds to turn its PalmPilot into a billion-dollar hit; and Handspring, the Palm competitor founded by those same visionaries. It's also the tale of Jeff Hawkins, a young, idealistic hardware engineer whose long-term plan is to decipher the mysteries of the human brain, and Donna Dubinsky, his handpicked CEO and business partner. Together, they create the most successful start-up in computing history, only to have to abandon it and start again from ground zero. And it's the story of that rarest of beasts: a company that was targeted for extinction by Microsoft-and survived.

The co-authors--Andrea Butter, whose years as Palm marketing executive give her an extraordinary insider's vantage point, and New York Times technology columnist David Pogue--take an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at how the Palm Computing team overcame a shoestring budget, shortsighted corporate partners, and the jealous eye of Microsoft to succeed where billion-dollar corporations like Apple, Motorola, and Casio had failed -- then lost the battle of the boardroom and went on to create Palm's strongest competitor. This is a book for students of business; filled with insights that can be applied to any industry. Much can be learned from Palm's product-design, financial-management, and marketing strategies, which allowed the tiny startup to compete against Microsoft and other corporations. It's also a book for PalmPilot fans; the stories behind favorite features, secret features, and abandoned features tell a gripping story unto themselves. And it's a book for anyone who understands that in the end, business is people. The Palm/Handspring adventure is filled with memorable characters. Even as they made the early Palm Computing a place of laughter and excitement in the face of dismal prospects and dwindling hopes, so do they make the pages of Piloting Palm gripping, entertaining, and unforgettable. What readers say "I just had to say how much I love this book." "I've spent the whole day reading "Piloting Palm" and boy did I enjoy it! You have really managed to write an interesting, educating and fun book." (A reader from Sweden) "...what a tornado of a book!" "Well written and a compelling story." (A reader from Australia) "A really excellent read." "I just want to say thank you for an excellent book. I am a professional long term investor and spend a lot of time reading. This includes hundreds of business books. There are two ingredients that make a business book hold my interest: relevant and interesting subject matter and good authorship. Unfortunately most books I read achieve just the first ingredient whereas yours had both in spades." (A reader from the UK)