GADGET GURUS COMPANY Handspring: Founder, CEO; founder,Chief Product Officer AGES 44, 42 ADDRESSwww.handspring.com
Ready for a palm-size miracle? After making their way into millions of pockets
with their PalmPilot, Donna Dubinsky and Jeff Hawkins have created a new company
and developed a handheld computer that makes their 1996 invention almost
old-fashioned. No mere organizer, the Visor can morph into just about any
handheld device you can imagine, from a pager to an MP3 player to a
global-positioning satellite receiver, simply by replacing a small module on its
back. While the PalmPilot targeted business users, the $150 Visor is for anyone
from 13-year-old gamers to 70-year-old grandmas, making its market potential much
larger than the 2 million PalmPilot devotees. Yet Dubinsky and Hawkins have put
themselves in an awkward position with their former parent company, 3Com, by both
licensing the operating system and directly competing with its Palm Computing
subsidiary. If the duo can pull it off, the Visor could become the ultimate
mobile gadget.
BEST LINE "I don't think innovation will come from the big guys. The smart ones
are those who recognize it." (Dubinsky) FORWARD TILT The Visor is available with a wireless modem option, but the
Springboard modules that will make or break it are still on the way. Look for
them starting in November.
