Kara Swisher from All Things Digital did an interview with Jon Rubinstein, CEO of Palm, at CES 2010. There is absolutely nothing of interest or boldness that comes from this guy. Not that I ever cared about what Palm was doing, but it was nice to get excited about the Pre for a little while. However, after using it I was able to quickly move back to happily using my iPhone. If there are any phones to get excited about besides the iPhone it is without a doubt Android-based phones, such as the Nexus One. Read a summary of the interview here.

First he says this:

“We don’t pay that much attention to Apple….I know it sounds really strange,” says Rubinstein.

“Really?” Kara replies. “You don’t worry about the iPhone?”

“No, I really don’t,” Rubinstein answers.

“I don’t believe you,” says Kara, telegraphing a sentiment I imagine is widely held among the audience. Rubinstein is sometimes referred to as “the father of the iPod.” Hard to imagine he doesn’t have at least a passing interest in the evolution of the device he helped create.

Rubinstein: “I don’t have an iPhone. I’ve never even used one.”

Are you joking? The iPhone is its own untouchable beast in the market (for the moment), but to make multiple ignorant statements such as above is ludicrous. You HAVE to pay attention to it, and at least use one to know who it is that is setting the bar in the industry. Then he says:

The conversation shifts to webOS and the developer community. Rubinstein says Palm sees strong interest in its development platform. “I think we have a very large potential developer pool for the product.”

May I ask to see where that “large potential developer pool” is? Developers only make their way to developing for the Pre when absolutely necessary. It is an after thought. Get real, Jon.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Jon was instrumental in creating the iPod. He led the production of the first generation release, and then immediately was put in charge of Apple’s iPod division amongst the wild success it created. He left Apple in 2006.