Yankowski Renews Palm's Committment to Simplicity

At his keynote address this weekend at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Palm's CEO Carl Yankowski said the best solution to a problem is not by highlighting technology, but by hiding it. "We will always insist on applying technology that is transparent to users in an attempt to solve real problems for real people in a mobile, portable, wearable world," Mr. Yankowski said. But he admitted this will be challenging as they try to implement e-commerce, on-line banking, and more.

He remains convinced that a great design can last. To help make this point, Mr. Yankowski made his entrance in his 25-year-old fully restored VW Super Beetle. But he promised that we wouldn't have to wait 25 years to see how successful the Palm would be.

"This is the Zen of Palm," Yankowski said. "Design is the key to success in any industry."

He mentioned that Palm has a 15-member design team to make sure the company continues to follow the philosophy of K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid), though he didn't use that phrase.

He didn't miss an opportunity to slam the competition, either. He criticized the Pocket PC for its complexity and poor battery life, and pledged that, while Palm will enhance its OS, it will never become too elaborate. "The PC era was all about manufacturers' control over the user. If you make a handheld like a PC, you destroy it completely."

He went on to demonstrate his company's new eWallet plans, in which Palm powered handhelds will be used to make retail transactions and carry a driver's license, health-care card and other personal identification documents.