The Personal Electronics Market Moves Fast

It was almost five years ago that the former CEO of Palm said is horribly inaccurate remark about Apple potentially entering the smartphone market:

Responding to questions from New York Times correspondent John Markoff at a Churchill Club breakfast gathering Thursday morning, Colligan laughed off the idea that any company — including the wildly popular Apple Computer — could easily win customers in the finicky smart-phone sector.

“We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone,” he said. “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.'”

On January 9, 2007 Apple unveiled the iPhone. Between then and now, just under four years, the iPhone jumped to dominate the smartphone market while Palm was purchased by Hewlett-Packard who ultimately killed Palm’s legacy. That’s quite the roller coaster ride considering the short span of time that’s transpired.