Last week we kicked off The Engadget Interview with outgoing MPAA president Jack Valenti. This week journalist J.D. Lasica tries out the Sidekick II and speaks with Hank Nothhaft, CEO of Danger, Inc., about the device’s upcoming release, the market for wireless handhelds, the cachet of having Derek Jeter and Paris Hilton as Sidekick fans, and whether, if forced to at gunpoint, he’d buy a Blackberry or a Treo.
Give me the 30-second lowdown on Danger. You started back in 2000?
That’s right. We’re a 3 ½-year-old private company in Palo Alto, Calif., backed by such big venture capital firms as Redpoint, Mobius and Softbank. Most of our 140 employees are in Palo Alto, California, though a handful are in Europe, Japan, and around the U.S.
Let’s talk about the market before we get to your new device. What’s the evidence that people want a converged device that combines email, web browsing, a cellphone and organizer all in one? [Read more…] about The Engadget Interview: Hank Nothhaft, CEO of Danger, Inc.