Hot on the heels of HP detailing its plans to make release webOS into the arms of the open source community, a new report has revealed that former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein has decided to leave HP. According to All Things D, Rubinstein's exit from HP is effective today. An HP spokesperson told the site that "Jon has fulfilled his commitment and we wish him well.” The commitment referenced by the HP spokesperson is one that involved Rubinstein staying on with HP for a certain period of time after the company's acquisition of Palm. As for what Rubinstein's next move is, he told The Verge that he plans to "take some well deserved time off after four and a half years developing webOS."
The news of Rubinstein's exit is definitely a bummer for the fans of webOS, as Rubinstein has often been thought of as the father of the platform and was on stage at CES back in 2009 to introduce the original Palm Pre. However, HP's announcement that it would be discontinuing work on webOS hardware and the following months that the platform spent in limbo likely didn't sit well with Rubinstein. Sources speaking to All Things D say that Rubinstein hadn't been seen at HP since former CEO Leo Apotheker gave word that the company would cease work on webOS devices. Given Rubinstein's history in the industry, which includes webOS and helping to develop the iPod, it'll be interesting to see where he lands after taking some time off. Stay tuned.
Via The Verge (1), (2), All Things D
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