Acknowledgments.
Note to the Reader.
Prologue.
Chapter 1: In the Valley of Dreams.
Chapter 2: Palm Computing.
Chapter 3: Donna.
Chapter 4: Zoomer.
Chapter 5: The Writing on the Wall.
Chapter 6: The Zen of Palm.
Chapter 7: Crossing the Desert.
Chapter 8: U.S. Robotics.
Chapter 9: The Shortest Honeymoon.
Chapter 10: Selling the Pilot.
Chapter 11: The Eleventh Hour.
Chapter 12: Inside the Tornado.
Chapter 13: Microsoft 1.0.
Chapter 14: Swallowed Whole.
Chapter 15: Omens.
Chapter 16: Microsoft 2.0.
Chapter 17: The Fight for Independence.
Chapter 18: Once Again, with Money.
Chapter 19: Sea Change.
Chapter 20: Revolving Doors.
Chapter 21: Zero to Sixty.
Chapter 22: IPO.
Chapter 23: Millennium.
Chapter 24: Uncharted Waters.
Epilogue.
Notes.
Index.
ANDREA BUTTER worked as director of marketing at Palm Computing
beginning in 1993. She managed every product launch, including the
revolutionary Pilot Organizer in 1996, and became the company's
vice president of marketing in 1998. Currently a marketing strategy
consultant, she lives in Menlo Park, California.
DAVID POGUE is the personal technology columnist for the New York
Times. He is also the author of twenty computerbooks, including the
bestselling PalmPilot: The Ultimate Guide. He has spoken at events
such as Comdex, PC Expo, and Macworld Expo.
"The story of the two companies [Palm and Handspring] is well
told.... If you like Silicon Valley start-up tales or Palm
hand-helds (and I must admit I am addicted to both) you will enjoy
this lively account." (Financial Times, January 31, 2001)
"The authors give detailed portraits of both high-tech product
launches and investment banking negotiations without once getting
bogged down in the jargon of either world. No doubt readers can
thank coauthor Pogue, a New York Times columnist, for the smooth,
lucid prose." (Publishers Weekly, February 11, 2002)
"It is told well, by Andrea Butter, Palm's former vice-president
for marketing, and tech journalist David Pogue. Much of the tale is
well-known to followers of the industry, but Pogue and Butter add
welcome detail." (Business Week, March 11, 2002)
"Since Americans love gadgets, they should be interested in this
book, which chronicles how Jeff Hawkins had an inspiration that led
to the handheld industry, the greatest gadget creator of them all.
Former Palm Computing executive Butter and New York Times
technology consultant Pogue recount how Hawkins and a few others
started Palm Computing, surviving crisis after crisis until it was
eventually sold to another company and ultimately spun off in an
IPO-but not before Hawkins and several of his followers had left to
start another handheld company called Handspring. Along the way, we
learn that Silicon Valley start-ups are at the mercy of venture
capitalists, that the launching of new products is fraught with
peril, and that small-tech companies can occasionally compete
successfully with larger companies (e.g., Microsoft). But, more
tellingly, the authors calculate the human cost of sacrificing
one's life in order to realize a dream. There's plenty of drama
here, and, given the expertise of the authors, one would have
expected a gripping read rather than simply a connecting of the
dots. Not so, unfortunately; the book suffers from workmanlike
writing. Handheld organizers are here to stay, but their real story
remains to be told. For larger business collections only. --Richard
Drezen, Washington Post News Research, New York (Library Journal,
March 15)"
"...entertaining and readable. I'd recommend it to not only fellow
Palm enthusiasts, but to anyone who's interested in either Silicon
Valley specifically or business start-up's in general." (Supply
Management, 14 March 2002)
"...rather excellent book...a great book..." (M2 Communications, 26
April 2002) "The Palm is so ubiquitous, it's easy to forget what
life was like BP (before Palm). If you want the inside Vscoop on
the product that changed your life--and how it got here--this is
the place to start." Seth Godin, Author Survival is Not Enough
"Even though I've been a user of every version of the Palm and am
waiting breathlessly for the Handspring Treo Communicator, I never
knew how Jeff Hawkins came up with the original design of the Palm
Pilot. Now I do. Piloting Palm is informative, well written and a
good read!" Stewart Alsop, General Partner, New Enterprise
Associates, Fortune Magazine columnist
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