WebOS sizzled, then fizzled

Palm made a big splash at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, announcing its new mobile operating system, WebOS, and a touch-screen smartphone called the Pre. Here, Palm Executive Chairman Jon Rubinstein holds up the Pre for all to see. Unfortunately, the Pre, and follow-up phone Pixie, failed to make much of a dent in the market, forcing Palm to sell itself. Acquirer Hewlett-Packard didn't fare much better, and dumped WebOS on to the open-source community.