Simon Prakash is a name not too many people are familiar with. According to VentureBeat, Prakash has been working at Apple for the past eight years, with his last title being “Senior Director of Product Integrity”. In other words, his main responsibility was to make sure that Apple’s iPods, iPhones, iMacs, and just about everything else the company sold, came out of the factory looking and feeling like a premium product. Where’s he now? Apparently he’s a Google employee working on a “secret project”. What exactly is that project? We have no idea. When will we get more information about this project? Again, no idea. Why is this story important then? Because Prakash was a very senior Apple employee, meanwhile it’s common knowledge that Google and Apple have a gentlemen’s agreement not to steal each other’s employees.
Now as for what the secret project, we’re just speculating here, but we think Google is going to enter the hardware business. Next week we’ll find out whether or not the European Union will approve Google’s acquisition of Motorola. Assuming they do, and we’re really confident in saying that they will, then Google will have a company that not only does smartphones and tablets, but a company who also makes cable boxes. Those are the three important screens of the future, and if you’re going to put a guy in charge to make sure that those three screens talk to each other seamlessly, then a former Apple guy is probably the best hire you can make.
Before you get too excited though, note that just because Google hired someone who worked at Apple doesn’t necessarily mean that everything he touches will turn to gold. Just look at Jon Rubinstein, the so called father of the iPod. He was put in charge of Palm, and we all know how that story turned out.