Palm’s Senior Director of Human Interface and User Experience, Matias Duarte, announced on Thursday that he is leaving the company and Google confirmed he is joining its Android team, according to AllThingsD. Mr. Duarte was instrumental in designing Palm’s webOS interface used in the Palm Pre smartphone.
Android is Google’s platform for smartphones and other portable electronic devices intended to compete with Apple’s iPhone OS.
Mr. Duarte has worked for Palm since 2009 and the days of the Palm V PDA. His departure will likely be a disappointment to HP since the PC and printer maker recently announced that it is acquiring Palm.
Mr. Duarte will serve as Google’s User Experience Director for Android. The company didn’t say when he will take on his new role.