Ex-Palm chief leaves HP after WebOS move

NEW YORK, USA: Jon Rubinstein, who was instrumental in crafting Apple Inc's iPod music player, has left Hewlett Packard Co after two years on the job there.

Rubinstein was CEO of smartphone maker Palm when that company was acquired by HP in 2010. He last held a product-innovation role within HP's Personal Systems Group headed by Todd Bradley.

"Jon has fulfilled his commitment to HP," a HP spokesman said.

Rubinstein is still a board member at e-commerce company Amazon.com.

Last year HP, the largest U.S. technology company by revenue, announced it was halting its TouchPad line of tablets and any other devices based on WebOS, the mobile software it acquired when it bought Palm.

In December, HP said it would open its WebOS mobile operating system to developers and companies, potentially taking on Google Inc's free Android platform.