Palm hires ex-Apple man

Palm, a manufacturer of smarphones which could lose considerable market share to Apple when the iPhone ships in June, has hired former Apple engineer Paul Mercer to create a new line of products. While details of the new products remain secret, the recent recruiting effort suggests a direct response to Apple's iPhone. Mercer, who was swooped up by Palm just three weeks ago, is best-known for designing the Finder interface in the Mac OS 7 operating system. Mercer also founded Pixo, the company whose software backbone was responsible for the initial interface behind the iPod, according to Electronista and the New York Times. The 3GSM cellular phone expo in Barcelona last month is rumored to have centered around Apple's forthcoming handset, despite the Cupertino-based company's lack of attendance at the event.

by MacNN Staff