When former Apple iPod [ AAPL 255.887  +3.717 (+1.47%) ] wunderkind Jon Rubinstein joined Palm [ PALM 292.5  +7.5 (+2.63%) ] as executive chairman - and then assumed the role as CEO, it raised eyebrows.

Some thought the move would help Palm adopt some of the same, successful traits he used to help turn Apple into a mobile powerhouse; that he would take some of his know-how to help Palm craft its own identity.

Nope.

Then there was the thinking that Palm would assert its own unique identity with its highly anticipated smart phone, and purported iPhone killer, the Pre; that maybe Palm had come up with a better mousetrap on both hardware and software and wouldn't need to co-opt Apple's technology in order to sell its own.

Nope.

One of the key selling points of the Palm Pre was its seamless integration with Apple's iTunes; Palm, it seemed, didn't need to develop its own store, or own software, for digital media downloading. Instead, Palm would just take what wasn't its own, and then would claim the practice as "innovation." Who knows, but maybe Mr. Rubinstein still thought he worked at Apple, or that his history there afforded him some rights to a technology that no longer had a connection to.

More Top Stories

Fewer US Jobs Lost in August; Private Hiring Beats Forecasts

More than 400 US Banks Will Fail: Roubini

Surprise Tax Cut Could Be on the Cards: Niall Ferguson

Fears Growing Over Global Food Supply

BP Oil Spill Costs Hit $8 Billion as Rig Probe Ends

More Top Stories