Forget Your Phone! Palm Is Back With A Device To Break Your Tech Addiction
Fast Company|November 2018

When the co-founders of the revived Palm brand needed a hand with their ground-breaking new device, they drafted one of the NBAs most relatable stars. An exclusive look at the making of a rookie product.

Harry Mccracken
Forget Your Phone! Palm Is Back With A Device To Break Your Tech Addiction

Stephen Curry slides the gadget onto his arm. Encased in a spandex sleeve, it goes up past the New Testament quote tattooed on his right wrist—“Love never fails,” in Hebrew—and lands on his forearm below the short sleeve of his gray linen shirt. Curry breaks into an approving grin. “I can see I’m going to wear this when the time is right,” he says of the accessory. He’s gotten into road cycling lately, and he exuberantly mimes the act of glancing at the device while chugging from a water bottle.

Dennis Miloseski and Howard Nuk smile, too. The Silicon Valley design veterans, who look the part with neatly trimmed beards and head-to-toe black wardrobes, have invited Curry to their San Francisco office on this July afternoon to solicit his opinion. Curry isn’t merely a one-man focus group; the Golden State Warriors point guard and two-time NBA MVP is an investor in Palm, the company they co-founded. Besides capital, he’s providing them with advice and—as Palm’s public face—promotional value, which might be worth millions in itself.

Hold on—Palm? The once-mighty, now-defunct maker of the pioneering 1990s personal digital assistants and, later, smart phones? Not exactly. This is a brand-new startup, which has borrowed the original company’s name and at least some of its ethos. Its debut product, the device Curry has affixed to himself, is itself known as the Palm. It resembles a smartphone, makes calls, and runs Android apps, but it’s remarkably diminutive—more like a few stacked credit cards than the Hershey bar–size handsets of today.

This story is from the November 2018 edition of Fast Company.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 2018 edition of Fast Company.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM FAST COMPANYView All
Where the Clean Energy Jobs Are
Fast Company

Where the Clean Energy Jobs Are

A data-driven guide to the skills you need and the opportunities you'll find

time-read
5 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
CAN WWE PIN THE WORLD?
Fast Company

CAN WWE PIN THE WORLD?

AS IT MAKES ITS $5 BILLION NETFLIX DEBUT AND PREPARES FOR A GLOBAL AUDIENCE, WWE IS STILL WRESTLING WITH THE TOXIC LEGACY OF ITS COMPLICATED FOUNDER.

time-read
10 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
RADICAL VISION
Fast Company

RADICAL VISION

POLICE DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE EMBRACING AI-ENHANCED SURVEILLANCE IN THE NAME OF STOPPING CRIME. HERE'S HOW ONE SECURITY FIRM IS LEADING THE EFFORT AND PROFITING OFF OUR FEARS

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
Brands That Matter
Fast Company

Brands That Matter

Our annual look at standout brands encompasses 130 honorees in nine categories, including the inaugural CMOs of the Year. Here's how 12 of those brands and three top CMOs stake out the intersection of business and culture.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
The Future According to Google
Fast Company

The Future According to Google

Google DeepMind, the tech giant's internal AI research lab, isn't just racing to beat OpenAI to market. Under Nobel laureate CEO Demis Hassabis, it's the \"engine room\" of the entire company.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Fast Company

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

SEPHORA HAS GROWN SO POWERFUL THAT IT CONTROLS WHICH BRANDS LIVE OR DIE IN THE $30 BILLION HIGH-END COSMETICS INDUSTRY. IN THIS BEAUTY CONTEST, SEPHORA ALWAYS WEARS THE CROWN.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
CULTURE WARS
Fast Company

CULTURE WARS

Brands on the Run Why Harley-Davidson, Caterpillar, and other masculine\" brands are caving to anti-DEI crusader Robby Starbuck

time-read
6 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
WORK LIFE
Fast Company

WORK LIFE

Law Roach, image architect and educator, answers our career questionnaire.

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
The AI Gadget Debacle
Fast Company

The AI Gadget Debacle

Here's why you shouldn't expect any mind-blowing AI-powered gifts anytime soon.

time-read
6 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025
Why the future workplace will feel more like a hotel
Fast Company

Why the future workplace will feel more like a hotel

REVEALS WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT TO CORPORATE STRATEGY AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

time-read
2 mins  |
Winter 2024 - 2025