Palm Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) is just under a week into the launch of its groundbreaking Pre smartphone, and so far the wireless handset is a great seller for exclusive partner Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S). Former Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) executive Jon Rubinstein, who was brought in to reinvigorate Palm and who is largely credited with the Pre, will now take over the Palm CEO spot from longtime CEO Ed Colligan.
Rubinstein, who has been accused by some of copying many aspects of the Apple iPhone into the Palm Pre, did assemble a great cast at Palm to rescue the company from complete oblivion with the Pre. If the handset would have been late or would have flopped (all indications are that it will be a best seller for Sprint), even Elevation Partners' financial props would have been hard pressed to keep Palm alive. The company fell way behind and almost bit the dust several times. Rubinstein's partnership with Elevation and his former stint at Apple gave all the pieces Palm needed to survive, so it's fitting that he finally and officially run Palm.
But Colligan is not leaving the picture altogether, and all signs are that this was a mutual breakup. Colligan reportedly will take some time off before becoming a partner at Elevation Partners, which is a large investor directly in Palm. Now that Rubinstein has cranked out the Pre and sales are off and running, the question is this: what comes tomorrow? Palm certainly cannot survive with a single hit product, even if it is enormously successful. That will be Rubinstein's next challenge, and he's probably already waist-deep in the next Palm blockbuster. Well, hopefully.
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