On Monday it became clear that the rumor mill got it right last week. We can now confirm that former Apple executive and the architect of the iPod is departing from HP.
“What we accomplished in four and a half years has been amazing,” Rubinstein said in a statement, “And I don’t think people understand that …. It was an enormous amount of work for a large group of people for many, many years… Of course. I put blood, sweat, and tears into this thing. And look, I think it had tremendous potential, if people put some real effort into it, I think you will see a resurgence of devices at some point.”
Rubinstein ended up at HP through the company’s acquisition of Palm in 2010.
“Jon has fulfilled his commitment and we wish him well, an HP spokeswoman confirmed to All Things D.
“Rubinstein’s departure is no big surprise,” says the article’s author Arik Hesseldahl. “Sources said he hadn’t been seen at HP’s offices following the decision by former CEO Leo Apotheker to get out of the business of making WebOS-based hardware. His future pans have been the subject of speculation for some time.”
For now, Rubinstein isn’t commenting on the new rumor that he may one day return to Apple. The former Apple executive will only say that his current chief priority is to take a “well deserved” vacation.
