Palm Foleo Revealed

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

The Palm Foleo was announced (http://d5.allthingsd.com/20070530/palm-foleo/) at the All Things Digital Conference today.

http://images.macrumors.com/article/2007/05/30/foleo2_lg_300.jpg

The Palm Foleo is a "mobile companion" to the Treo smart phone and features a 10-inch screen and full size keyboard. The Foleo offers web browsing, Word, Excel and PowerPoint editing, PDF viewer, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support. Weighs 2.5lbs and will cost $499 after an introductory $100 rebate.

Live transcript (http://d5.allthingsd.com/20070530/palm-foleo/) underway.

[yg17]

So, this must be the iPhone ripoff everyone said was coming :rolleyes:

[Chimpy]

Wow. That's......boring.

[NewSc2]

So, this must be the iPhone ripoff everyone said was coming :rolleyes:

Copying Apple is the only way to innovate.

[Turkish]

And Apple's stock reaches toward $118 on the news...

Nothing impressive, as far as I can tell.

So Palm decides to keep relying on its now ancient Treo form factor.... by supplementing it with a laptop?

[oscuh]

Wow is right ... a subnotebook.

Dell, eat your heart out ... or something. *yawn*

[Sandfleaz]

Too Big and Too Small!

Too big to lug around, might as well move on up to a 12" laptop

[Claytoniss]

Where do you put your ear up to it to call mum?

[orangezorki]

Don't be so harsh.

I would have loved it 7 years ago.

[emotion]

Wow is right ... a subnotebook.


No it's not, it's an extension of a smartphone/PDA. Big difference.

I can't run Ableton Live on that.

[avalys]

Wow. How pathetic. It's a small laptop, except it does less than a laptop.

It really seems like Apple is the only company left that knows what the hell they're doing.

EDIT: What the hell?

"Future iteration of the device will allow e-mail over Wi-Fi."

Oh, brilliant.

[NewSc2]

Seriously though, who would want to carry around something like this? The price isn't that bad but it's quite crippled compared to a regular subnotebook.

[maccam]

Check out the bezel on that thing. :eek: YUCK!!!

[arn]

It's certainly not a mass market device. But could be useful. I might find a use for it actually. Wonder if we'll be able to use it with the iPhone eventually.

Reminds me of the Nokia internet tablet

http://www.nokiausa.com/770

but with a keyboard.

arn

[scrambledwonder]

Neat-O, I say, especially considering the price. As a writer, I can see a definite use for this. As a photographer (the other half of my business), though, I almost always have my laptop to deal with photos on the go, negating the need for a Folio.

It's a step in the right direction. I can see Palm getting into the UMPC market now, which makes me very happy.

[donlphi]

That was pretty weak...

13 Days until WWDC. Apple could release a 300 lb laptop at this point and I would be more impressed than this thing.

How many gadgets are we expected to carry?

When I travel I bring:

Laptop
cell phone
iPOD
and Bose Headphones

Why would anyone want to add another laptop to the mix. Why is this on Macrumors?
:rolleyes:

[MacbookSwitcher]

Seriously though, who would want to carry around something like this? The price isn't that bad but it's quite crippled compared to a regular subnotebook.

It's also $1000 cheaper than a subnotebook.

[ITR 81]

Didn't we hear a rumor about a small subnotebook by Apple with no DVD drive?

[oscuh]

No it's not, it's an extension of a smartphone/PDA.

People will use it as a laptop ... it can run independently from what I understand ...

And my comment as a whole was meant to be sarcastic, btw. ;)

[maccam]

If only it could have a smaller bezel and have Mac OS X on it. :eek: :D

[emotion]

People will use it as a laptop ... it can run independently from what I understand ...

And my comment as a whole was meant to be sarcastic, btw. ;)

:)

Sorry, harshed out there for a moment. First reaction for me is disappointment.


Hmmm. It's cheap but I can't see a market for this really.

[happylittlemac]

Man that is ugly, about as ugly as the John Mccain video on the website, since when did technology shows become invloved in the Iraq war? Very odd, but sadly the new Palm product looks like a toy laptop almost reminds me of the Apple eMate but that was a much better product way back when.

[maccam]

Apple could release a 300 lb laptop at this point and I would be more impressed than this thing.

At least Palm tried :p :D

[scrambledwonder]

It's also $1000 cheaper than a subnotebook.

If I were still in college, this would be the best note taking device ever. Cheap, light, small. A regular notebook can get quite heavy if you're lugging it between classes all day long.

[arn]

"Foleo will support Palm and Windows Mobile. Hawkins wants it to support RIM and iPhone as well, but hasn’t inked the deals necessary to do that yet."

[wrogo22]

this device makes NO sense.. why would someone want a compainion to their poket device that is huge like that if it isnt an actual computer.. dumb move....... DUMB

[Lycanthrope]

That is dreadfully uninspiring but it may be liked by the business world which, until there's Office interfacing, the iPhone won't penetrate at all.

[oscuh]

:)

Sorry, harshed out there for a moment. First reaction for me is disappointment.


Hmmm. It's cheap but I can't see a market for this really.

It's cool :D

People will buy based on the price, become dissapointed and then purchase a MacBook! I have it allll figured out. :p

[darwen]

Before the, iphone I was in the maket for something like this. oh well. I am sure they will find some plam loving buyer's in some sort of investment buisness to buy this. It has a market.

[scrambledwonder]

That was pretty weak...

13 Days until WWDC. Apple could release a 300 lb laptop at this point and I would be more impressed than this thing.

How many gadgets are we expected to carry?

When I travel I bring:

Laptop
cell phone
iPOD
and Bose Headphones

Why would anyone want to add another laptop to the mix. Why is this on Macrumors?
:rolleyes:

That's awesome! So Apple IS releasing a notebook powered by a hunk of neutron star then? Exciting times! ;)

[joemama]

I hope they are not betting the farm on this one...A phone should be a companion to a computer, not the other way around.

1.) Who would want to carry it around?
2.) Why not just get a sub-notebook?
3.) Can't even email from it (yet).

Even if Apple came up with this I think people would rightfully be complaining.

[Modrak]

So they are checking back where Psion NetBook (http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=psion+netbook&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8) left the market ?

[bloodycape]

Nice thing is, it is running linux so it could be hacked?

[arn]

Before the, iphone I was in the maket for something like this. oh well. I am sure they will find some plam loving buyer's in some sort of investment buisness to buy this. It has a market.

I agree. I was about to purchase a Nokia 770 before the iPhone announcement.

Some of this will come down to how well the iPhone will work for web browsing. I do like having a full wireless browser available anywhere I go. The iPhone promises this, but if Foleo provides a better experience it may be a good solution.

Again, this is not a mass-market device however.

arn

[happylittlemac]

If I were still in college, this would be the best note taking device ever. Cheap, light, small. A regular notebook can get quite heavy if you're lugging it between classes all day long.

Hehe your comment reminds me of my old Amstrad NC200 (http://www.mikeparr.info/amstrad.jpg) that I used to take notes in college. Now those where the days :)

[MacbookSwitcher]

I hope they are not betting the farm on this one...A phone should be a companion to a computer, not the other way around.

1.) Who would want to carry it around?
2.) Why not just get a sub-notebook?
3.) Can't even email from it (yet).

Even if Apple came up with this I think people would rightfully be complaining.

Actually you can email from it, and as I said earlier, it is substantially cheaper than a subnotebook. This thing is $499.

Most subnotebooks are in the $1500-$2200 range.

I can see this having some kind of appeal, but let's see if it's enough.

[JPyre]

This is right up there with those keyboards they already make and nobody carries 'cause theyre too big. They want me to buy a 500 screen for my 300 phone? Why cant someone just put the damn phone in the laptop already? I would love the Sony Vaio UX IF it could accept calls.... whats the problem here? Seriously. I would kill for a big phone with an 8in screen and slide out keyboard running a real, uncrippled OS, no joke. Sony already has the ATT card in it, I dont understand, I really don't.

[Intarweb]

As was said earlier, it's too big or too underpowered. The only highlight I can see from this is the instant boot. That's really cool. Had they had built in wifi into this one it would have been a better product, obviously. I'm guessing they couldn't incorporate it and make it cheaper than a low end notebook.

It's too in the middle to survive. Spend $100 more and get a true laptop or spend $100 less and get a smart phone. They dropped the ball here. It's not looking good for Palm.

[yg17]

Copying Apple is the only way to innovate.

Err, no it isn't. You apparentely missed the sarcasm anyways. Yesterday when it was announced that Palm was releasing something, all everyone said was "OMG IT'S GOING TO BE AN IPHONE RIPOFF!!!" And obviously, it isn't

[scrambledwonder]

Hehe your comment reminds me of my old Amstrad NC200 (http://www.mikeparr.info/amstrad.jpg) that I used to take notes in college. Now those where the days :)

Woah, I can honestly say that I've never seen one of those things before. So awesome and Battlestar Galactica! Do you still use it? I would break that thing out at coffee shops all the time.

[Thataboy]

Mark my words... this will be the most panned, hated, reviled and mocked gadget of 2007. And all of that derision will be completely warranted.

[Aniej]

If you are interested in seeing a funny clip of the Foleo not working, help out with my question on my post here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=3688510#post3688510) and I will post to youtube.

[williedigital]

If I were still in college, this would be the best note taking device ever. Cheap, light, small. A regular notebook can get quite heavy if you're lugging it between classes all day long.

It's only like 2-3 pounds lighter than a macbook. Is that REALLY so much weight to be carrying around in a knapsack?

[aLoC]

"web browsing, Word, Excel and PowerPoint editing, PDF viewer"

Definitely aimed at the business user. Not a fully general purpose computer, but then businessmen probably don't need or want that, all they want is the above.

[Littleodie914]

Hmm... Kinda seems like one of those "new" and "innovative" (notice the quotes) devices that tries to complement a billion other things and ends up bringing absolutely nothing new to the table... :rolleyes:

[scrambledwonder]

It's only like 2-3 pounds lighter than a macbook. Is that REALLY so much weight to be carrying around in a knapsack?

Well, I'm on the frail side. And I used to carry books and notes and lunch and all kinds of crap. A few pounds doesn't sound like much, but it's like a few cans of beans man! You're right though, a sub notebook weighing in at about 3 or 4 lbs would be just fine.

[tjwett]

Big.
Ugly.
Dated.
Limited.
Lame.

Palm has also announced their new corporate slogan today...

"Palm: Yesterday's Technology, Tomorrow!"

[ebouwman]

Don't be so harsh.

I would have loved it 7 years ago.

thats the problem! there no place for it today.

If I were still in college, this would be the best note taking device ever. Cheap, light, small. A regular notebook can get quite heavy if you're lugging it between classes all day long.

It almost looks like this is running some form of palm OS so it probably can't handle the kinds of apps most people want to use, it looks like it doesn't even have a Disk drive or usb ports!

It just looks like useless crap to me.

[mkrishnan]

"web browsing, Word, Excel and PowerPoint editing, PDF viewer"

Definitely aimed at the business user. Not a fully general purpose computer, but then businessmen probably don't need or want that, all they want is the above.

Mmm, yeah. It runs Linux. If OpenOffice.org and Firefox can be adapted to work on it, it might not be half bad. It appears to run a looong time on a battery. It's light. It is kind of ugly. :( Hopefully it at least has flash, whatever the enigmatic comment about no video means.

[failsafe1]

Yikes I am glad I don't have a smart phone so I don't have to consider one of these.:D

[shrimpdesign]

It includes Wi-fi ... but you connect it to a smartphone? This device is very confusing. An incredibly small market.

The Foleo is less than a laptop, but not by much:

Foleo: $500
Smartphone: $150-250
Total: $650-750

You can get a used 15" G4 Powerbook for 799: http://lowendmac.com/ibook/deals.html

[joeconvert]

Well from all the hype in the last 24-48 hours, I guess I was expecting more from Palm's announcement.

However, I am not going to dismiss this out of hand. As a current Treo 750 user this is a device that is squarely between a couple market segments. I am hearing a great deal of chatter in this thread comparing this to Macbooks and the iphone. I have a Macbook and for 85% of my travel (which is heavy) it can be overkill. I don't carry DVDs or play many games while on the road (some of this simply b/c the Macbook can't hang graphics wise). I like the Office capabilities of this device. I think the battery life really needs to be better, but oh well.

I am still waiting to see what comes of the iphone. WiFi or no, the lack of 3G is a deal breaker for ME. Your needs may vary, so please don't interpret this as a n attack on the concept of the device, but I don't understand the rapid dismissal of what Palm is trying to do with this.

While I think Windows Mobiles sucks, It is released and has been for some time. Devices are available with 3G radios and having a large screen/full keyboard companion that can link up to near broadband speed internet on the go via the treo and leverage the Treo's Activesync capabilities for Exchange.... well that just might meet the needs of 40-50% of the road warriors out there. Especially if this device gets a full featured browser.

[Intarweb]

It includes Wi-fi ... but you connect it to a smartphone? This device is very confusing. An incredibly small market.

The Foleo is less than a laptop, but not by much:

Foleo: $500
Smartphone: $150-250
Total: $650-750

You can get a used 15" G4 Powerbook for 799: http://lowendmac.com/ibook/deals.html

And you can get a new PC Lap for $399.....
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8294259&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat103700050018&id=1172880155431

[RichP]

This is *kinda* cool. I have a Nokia tablet 770, and this is similar in the fact that it would be cool 2 years ago, but by now its almost pointless. I can see future sub-notebooks with Robson in a year doing exactly what this does, with the benefit of running a variant of Windows or OSX that can do much more than this.

At least it isnt "multitouch"

[Cameront9]

Mark my words... this will be the most panned, hated, reviled and mocked gadget of 2007. And all of that derision will be completely warranted.

Seriously. What. The. Heck?

I can't believe Palm is so stupid to announce this. Stuff like this has NEVER panned out. As others have said, why get this when you can get a full-fledged computer at the same size? This will be a complete and utter flop of a product.

[hotdamn]

Big.
Palm has also announced their new corporate slogan today...

"Palm: Yesterday's Technology, Tomorrow!"

jeez, someone should've been a comedian. not.

[kellen]

I could see some uses for it. A "niche" of people don't need to carry around a computer for other use than typing, email and internet. This does it. If I didn't need the power of my macbook, I would consider it.

Anyone have any specs on the machine? flash drive? capacity? processor?

Too small of a niche to be widely popular, but I could see it getting a cult business following.

[rikers_mailbox]

sooo... the Foleo, eh?

I had something like this 3 years ago. It's called a 12" PowerBook.

[Skrilla™]

can it play WoW? :D

you guys are a bunch of fools. If this had an apple logo on the top and was the rumoroed ultra portable you would eat it up, orders would be placed and you would be super pumped about this item instead of bashing it.

[asphalt-proof]

I could see how this would be nice for college classes. Just for taking notes and some internet browsing when the lecture gets stale. The instant on is a big plus as well as the long battery life.
Its kind of innovative in that it allows you to do all that Office doc stuff from you phone except with a much larger screen and a useful keyboard. Maybe people will actually edit Office docs from their phone with this... thing.

This is actually something I could use at work very nicely. I travel a lot during the day but usually end up back at my office by the end of the day. I really only need access to my email and my document folder on my PC. This would have fit the bill perfectly. Alas, I ended up with a Dell Subnotebook.

This would have been a killer idea about 4 years ago or so. Now? Not so much. It certainly is not an iPhone killer but then I don't think it was meant to be.

[Peace]

I see no purpose for this thing.For a couple hundred more you can get the iPhone and do a lot more.The days of qwerty keyboards and keypads is coming to an end.If folks don't jump on that bandwagon they're gonna miss out.Negative vote.Worthless device.

[Glassman]

the device is quite beautiful actually, sure it's different from Apple's style which we love so dearly, but it ain't bad at all..


regular keyboard that extends end to end like on 12" PowerBook
I personally welcome the trackpoint
no unnecessary or legacy stuff like optical drive and harddrive
most likely runs on some efficient ARM processor / SoC - promising battery life
I bet the OS and apps are made lightweight on resources, proly no heavy X Window but instead proprietary, so it's like OS X in a way - *nix under the hood like Darwin/Mach and a proprietary GUI on top of it like with Quartz/Aqua
the idea of fullscreen apps only - makes perfect sense for ever so small displays and makes for a clean looking coherent GUI
the prospect of third party apps progressively closing the gap between this lightweight device and subnotebook for common tasks performed by average users - of course lots of us will still require certain specialized apps which will never be supported on such a device, but remember we're in minority in general population!
IT'S INSTANTLY ON! - I hate waiting even to recover from hibernation, let alone booting up!


of course I miss WiFi, let's hope for better future though.. as of now the device is nearly unusable for the lack of third party apps, but this will change.. if the Linux crowd fall in love with this based on the fact it runs on Linux (like if it was important in any way), we'll see a lot of apps being written or ported over..

don't be so negative to everything outside our favorite fruit supplier..

[Hunabku]

can it play WoW? :D

you guys are a bunch of fools. If this had an apple logo on the top and was the rumoroed ultra portable you would eat it up, orders would be placed and you would be super pumped about this item instead of bashing it.

Hardly! This product will be referenced in the future only as the way not to do a hand held. It will be a perfect contrast to Apples hand held when it gets released.

Please get a clue...

[tjwett]

jeez, someone should've been a comedian. not.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! now THAT was hysterical. :rolleyes: :p ;)

[mahashel]

Funny.

Went to some Windows forums where they argue that the Mac is a niche product.
Now I'm on a Mac forum where they argue that the Palm is a niche product.
I wonder what I'll find on the Palm forums? :D

[TheSlush]

you guys are a bunch of fools. If this had an apple logo on the top and was the rumoroed ultra portable you would eat it up, orders would be placed and you would be super pumped about this item instead of bashing it.

Um, no. If Apple had designed and release THIS, I would be selling my Apple stock IMMEDIATELY. ;)

[mixel]

its cute, and looks like it could be killer for note-taking and writers.. What i'd really like though is a reasonably powerful tablet device for art on the move instead. Even more of a limited market though.

Reminds me of the Newton Emate 300 a bit. :)

[gkarris]

So, they copied and updated the Apple eMate:

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/apple_emate_300_blast_from_the_past_review

Looks cool if all you do is MS Office, view PDFs, e-mail, and Internet. A $299 pricetag would be more enticing.

Palm's website is making it look like you NEED a Palm Smartphone to use it, though.

Is that true???

[andiwm2003]

so to sum it up:

the people who are happy with just a smartphone/iphone complain it's too big and unnecessary

the people who want to carry their itunes and iphoto libraies all time complain it's too limited.


but you are not married to that damn thing!

if you go to a trade show, scientific meeting, vacation trip, across the street to give a presentation, go to class to take notes, take a business trip to NY and read some pdf publications then you bring it with you. it's only $500 and 2.5 pounds.

in all other cases you leave it at home or bring your macbook pro.

i can see it as a nice gadget that you need once in a while. if 1% of smartphone users buy one then they sell at least 20 million of those. that's far more than microsofts zune can ever achieve. and that costs $300.

[Macula]

I was just about to write that this is unbelievably shameful for Palm.

But then again...

... I think it may make sense to some very big corporate customers, companies that have already equipped their field workers with Palm smartphones. For SUCH customers the features of the Folio make some sense (PRICE, zero boot time, long battery life, simplicity, integration with phone, controlled software environment).

This device makes no sense in the consumer market. So, overall, Palm seems to be focusing on the CORPORATE side, where the iPhone is perceived by some to be not very threatening.

[SpaceJello]

This is the ugliest thing I have ever seen.

It looks rather cheap, a plastic folding thing that requires a smartphone to work or do anything serious. Why get a smartphone AND this? This thing isn't small enough to carry around, if anything, it only makes the syncing between smartphone and computer easier. HOWEVER, knowing Palm, there must be some bugs in there.

It's another unnecessarily piece of equipment. I travel quite a bit and I don't like having to carry anything more than I have to.

And the argument that students would want to take this for presentations and note taking. WHY? Unless you are mighty rich, students rarely need this sort of gadget. It's limiting and I believe most students would eventually find out that a pen and paper beats any gadgets especially for those diagrams or images or any doodle, note passing we love to do.

[natallica]

As a long-time Palm customer (since my old Palm III) I have watched this company make many confused and dumb moves, but this one takes the cake!!!

I can't figure out who this is targeted at...

Is it at the home user that wants a light and somewhat cheap way of getting online? A la a WebTV for the new millenium???

Or...is it for a business user that already carries a Treo/Blackberry and a laptop...where the hell does this thing fit in???

I don't get it...I think my Macbook will be the perfect iPhone companion!

:D :apple:

-- N

[dannyek]

Doesn't this defeat the purpose of your mobile lifestyle in ONE device?

[Modrak]

Changed my mind. I want one now!
Looks like it's running on linux...so it's open.
Give us the specs, if it has something like 128-256MB RAM and 1GB onboard mamory, I'll gladly get one!

Install fluxbox on it, some IM client. It would totally ROCK! I think this is hackers' dream...hackers like cheap embeded devices they can tinker with ;)

http://3web.dkm.cz/modrak/uploadr/stored/foleoterm.png
it has a terminal, woot :P

[Peace]

Doesn't this defeat the purpose of your mobile lifestyle in ONE device?

Yes.

[netdog]

Sadly for Palm, this thing is going to have an even shorter market life than the Zune. R.I.P. Palm.

[Lyle]

I can't figure out who this is targeted at...

Is it at the home user that wants a light and somewhat cheap way of getting online? A la a WebTV for the new millenium???

Or...is it for a business user that already carries a Treo/Blackberry and a laptop...where the hell does this thing fit in???I don't think it's an either-or proposition.

Like most everyone else who has posted so far, I'm underwhelmed by this announcement. Until I can see some more hard technical specs (such as storage capacity, processor speed, etc.) I'm not exactly sure what to think. However, to play devil's advocate, I can see how it would be an attractive option for some customers. I'm thinking about people like my parents, or even my wife, who basically use their computers to check e-mail, surf the web, use Office-type applications, and maybe manage their photos and music. A Wi-Fi enabled, inexpensive "sub" notebook like this would be a pretty good fit for them.

[Porchland]

"Foleo will support Palm and Windows Mobile. Hawkins wants it to support RIM and iPhone as well, but hasn’t inked the deals necessary to do that yet."

I heard a little rim shot in my head when I got to the end of that.

A real knee-slapper!

[sterno74]

Seriously though, who would want to carry around something like this? The price isn't that bad but it's quite crippled compared to a regular subnotebook.

The reason why people carry around bulkier PDA/Cellphones is that it makes a good compromise between form factor and utility. I carry around a phone. So carrying around a slightly bigger phone that gives me some limited computer function is valuable.

The problem with the Folio is that the form factor isn't sufficiently small to make it reasonable to carry around, but it's too small to make it a decent option as a computer. You'd need a bag of some sort to carry it and at that point you may as well carry a full blown laptop.

Basically I don't see any hybrid form factor doing well. Once something gets beyond pocket size you may as well go to a full size laptop. Where the useful innovation will be is in making that pocket size form factor more useful or the laptop form factor more powerful. My sense is that the iPhone may make some strides in the pocket size realm, but we'll see.

[Ha ze]

So... it's a tiny laptop? WOW

[PlaceofDis]

love the idea.
love the size.
love the price.
hate the look.
hate the OS.
hate the wireless limitations.

so it has potential. come on apple....

[Digital Skunk]

It's okay... maybe my linux loving friends would die for it.

I really don't care about bashing this product or any other since Apple put out some bombs too that older fanboys are still loving, like the G4 Cube and the eMate. They were both innovative and crappy and expensive... at least this thing is only $500.

What I am really excited about is that this device is the stepping stone for Palm's new Linux based OS that will bring the company to the year 2007, up from 2001. I have Sprint, so the iPhone is way out of the question, the Blackberries suck, so the next best thing price and functionality wise is the Palm Treo. Give it a new OS that is a little more compatible with Mac OS X and Palm will have a device that will out sell the iPhone in the other markets that don't use Cingular.

p.s. The Foleo is ugly and a bit outdated, but the iPhone is no where near it in functionality... there is no substitute for an actual keyboard other than the thing MS introduced earlier.

[gwilli]

I think I've seen something like this before....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41093000/jpg/_41093936_laptop_ap_416.jpg

Some companies are just so innovative...

[Evangelion]

i said it in the other thread, and i'll say it again: take psion 5mx from 1999 and modernize it with more ram, faster cpu, more flash-storage and color-screen with higher resoltion. there, a true laptop-replacement that fits in.your pocket. psion did it right eight years ago!

[twoodcc]

i don't see a use for it, at least not for me

[SiliconAddict]

They should just outright dump POS. (Those initials aren't just chance IMHO.) Its like using DOS 6.11 with a bunch of addon shells and crap on a Core 2 Duo. Old, obsolete, software that needs to die. cobalt was interesting however unlike Apple Palm came into it too late.
windows mobile is more interesting however I would rather see a pure bred Windows CE based device that has much more functionality built in vs. Windows Mobile. And before some smartalic comes along and say the two are the same; they aren't. WM has the core feature set of CE however its missing some of the major underpinning that make CE more robust.

As for this thing? Its using components that are found in a PDA so instead of it being a low end laptop its more a high end handheld PC. The problem is MS tried this 7 years back and it bombed because it sat in between PDA's and laptops. I'm not sure if this device is going to fare any better.

[julianps]

Remember Psion?

Remember the netBook (http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&gbv=2&safe=off&q=psion+netbook&btnG=Search+Images), or whatever their micro-clamshell was that appeared just before they fell through a hole in the ground...

Come to think of it I seem to recall Palm dug that particular hole.

Someone will be smiling down at this and thinking "..what goes around..".

[SiliconAddict]

I think I've seen something like this before....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41093000/jpg/_41093936_laptop_ap_416.jpg

Some companies are just so innovative...

:mad: :rolleyes: The two have NOTHING in common and you dang well know it. Why is it that people HAVE to try and find some other instance of a product no matter how different they are just to be a PITA?

[GFLPraxis]

It's interesting...apparently runs Linux and is instant-on...but I wouldn't pay $500.

[bdj21ya]

I'd have to agree with previous posters, might as well get a macbook. However, it is a pretty big price difference, so this is some real budget portability.

[Modrak]

i said it in the other thread, and i'll say it again: take psion 5mx from 1999 and modernize it with more ram, faster cpu, more flash-storage and color-screen with higher resoltion. there, a true laptop-replacement that fits in.your pocket. psion did it right eight years ago!

Exactly. Did you like Psion ? I still love it. I miss keyboards on all PDAs and smartphones today.

[notjustjay]

This type of thing was popular... 7 years ago.

Remember the Vadem Clio? (Also known as the Sharp Mobilon Tripad)?

Or NEC's MobilePro 800?

I actually had one of those for a while, but I got bored with it and sold it.

[Vinnie_vw]

Considering the price, I think there is very little to criticise. For a poor student this would be awesome. The weight, 2.5 pounds is perhaps not optimal, but I love the no-boot-up time feature, meaning you could just turn if off to conserve battery. Wifi + bluetooth = great. No OSX, ok, wrong forum here, but to get that you'd need to pay another 500+ minimum, so again not much to criticise.

[princealfie]

Nice, now I can replace my Handheld PC :)

[Evangelion]

Exactly. Did you like Psion ? I still love it. I miss keyboards on all PDAs and smartphones today.

i had a psion revo and i loved that thing :).

[SakeBalboa]

13 Days until WWDC. Apple could release a 300 lb laptop at this point and I would be more impressed than this thing.


so g5 powerbook at wwdc?

[k2k koos]

This is the one thing, I really can't see a market for. Why get a device like this if most people that have a Treo, already use a laptop???
Weird , very weird decision, and I feel to be the nail in the coffin of Palm....:apple:

[bloodycape]

Mmm, yeah. It runs Linux. If OpenOffice.org and Firefox can be adapted to work on it, it might not be half bad. It appears to run a looong time on a battery. It's light. It is kind of ugly. :( Hopefully it at least has flash, whatever the enigmatic comment about no video means.

If I read correctly its running opera so there should be room for flash. I know with the Linux based Nokia tablets there have been some hacks so this could see it too specially with all the XDA-geeks that have a liking to Palm for one reason or not.

[Intarweb]

Considering the price, I think there is very little to criticise. For a poor student this would be awesome. The weight, 2.5 pounds is perhaps not optimal, but I love the no-boot-up time feature, meaning you could just turn if off to conserve battery. Wifi + bluetooth = great. No OSX, ok, wrong forum here, but to get that you'd need to pay another 500+ minimum, so again not much to criticise.

You can get a full fledged PC laptop for $400. Getting this instead would be dumb, especially for cash strapped college students. They get a whole lot more for their $400 than they do for the $600 (less $100 rebate) this thing costs.

[Evangelion]

but then again.... this thing is pretty cheap, and it's tiny for a laptop. and it runs linux. you know, it just might work. it would be perfect for students and road-warriors.

i would still prefer a modernized 5mx instead, though...

[scrambledwonder]

What I am really excited about is that this device is the stepping stone for Palm's new Linux based OS that will bring the company to the year 2007, up from 2001. I have Sprint, so the iPhone is way out of the question, the Blackberries suck, so the next best thing price and functionality wise is the Palm Treo. Give it a new OS that is a little more compatible with Mac OS X and Palm will have a device that will out sell the iPhone in the other markets that don't use Cingular.


Wonder if the new Palm OS will be able to run on older Treos. Like you, I'm more excited about new software for the existing hardware. The Palm OS has been around for ages, virtually unchanged. Any news on its release?

[coffeecty]

Well, If this could support the iPhone, and Apple gets their **** together and releases it up here in Canada, then i'd definitely consider this for a note-taking aid... Then again, I'm betting that Apple will be releasing a notebook that's quite similar to the one Intel showed us... so, I may get that instead... :rolleyes:

[bloodycape]

Funny.

Went to some Windows forums where they argue that the Mac is a niche product.
Now I'm on a Mac forum where they argue that the Palm is a niche product.
I wonder what I'll find on the Palm forums? :D

For the some part Palm bashing, how to hack their device to work more stable and the bashing of Blackberry because it should have been a touch screen device. Or that at least what I see.

[HasanDaddy]

I wouldn't pan it so hard, just yet

the majority of PC users out there use a web browser, email, and MS Office --- that's it!

So for the folks who don't need Photoshop/FCP/iLife/etc, this device is actually extremely useful

I've met a lot of 'business' people who only travel with their smartphone, so I can see a lot of people purchasing this device

Me personally? Absolutely not.... I need a device that has constant access to creative apps like DVDSP and FCP, so the Foleo isn't for me.... but I could see my sister investing in one of these things and being very happy

[nxent]

Don't be so harsh.

I would have loved it 7 years ago.


lol

[bloodycape]

Picture of the ports it comes with. It looks like it comes with either a express slot or is that a larger SD Slot?
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/05/palm-foleo-hands-on-07.jpg

[sanford]

You can get a full fledged PC laptop for $400. Getting this instead would be dumb, especially for cash strapped college students. They get a whole lot more for their $400 than they do for the $600 (less $100 rebate) this thing costs.

$359 on sale weekends for Vista-running PC laptops. I already have one of these Palm inventions: it weight a little more, costs quite a bite more, but it does a *whole lot* more: a MacBook.

Don't get me wrong. I switched from a paper calendar to a Palm LifeDrive, and really like it -- I'd love it if it was even 2/3 as easy to take notes on it as paper -- because I do like iCal, I do keep my calendar there, and I was tired of each month sitting down and copying out my iCal entries to my paper diary. And then remembering to copy out any changes. So it just made sense. The LifeDrive works with my MacBook to save me time and add convenience. It's a MacBook "companion", that does more in the diary functions than my iPod. But now the Treo, which is primarily a phone needs a companion which is then a companion to a full notebook computer. Come on.

This, and Microsoft releases a $5,000 - $10,000 touch-screen table display for computers and we're all supposed to go mad over the innovation of it. It's like the props budget for a top-tier science fiction movie. Throw in every gee-whiz technology they can simulate on screen -- to give you that future feel. Both Palm's Foleo and Microsoft's well, whatever it is, are just gadget proliferation. Which is antithetical to using technology to simplify what you do. I still keep notes on post-its stuck to the wall in front of my desk, and in paper notebooks. I know *a lot* of people who work like this, only transcribing to computer that which ultimately becomes essential, or part of the final project.

There's just no "technology to improve your work process" anymore from most designers. I'll spare the Apple TV that criticism. It sits on the table behind our HDTV in our living room, attached to our A/V system. I never see it, I never do anything with it -- except infrequently when I want to copy a new movie to it, because I've set that for manual configuration. I see the remote. My Apple TV, as far as I know, as I far as what I deal with, is the size of a very thin pack of chewing gum. And it plays music, movies and TV shows. A laptop for a phone so you can leave your laptop on your desk, and a big touch-screen video display novelty table item? These are improvements how?

[zap2]

Meh...I want something different. Their just seem like device that do what the Foleo does....but I guess we'll see what At&T does with the iPhone plan before I buy the Treo or iPhone(if I buy the treo, this would be something to pick up later)

[NavyIntel007]

This product is actually a pretty good idea. Those detractors in here need to realize that you aren't the target market... Corporate is. Palm has probably done extensive research with their big enterprise clients to see not only how their workforce (particularly their mobile work force) is using their smartphones but how they are using their laptops. I'm sure they found that employees were using laptops to work on documents, spreadsheets, pdfs, surf the internet and of course read email.

One thing everyone needs to realize is that although you can get a PC at best buy for $400 or so, it doesn't have MS Office (Outlook for Exchange server) or Antivirus. Palm has Exchange syncing capability and linux is essentially virus free. That bargain basement PC barely has the power to run Vista so in reality, that laptop might cost you 3 times what you paid for it in the end.

Being in IT, I can see this as a perfect device for the mobile professional and a way to cut costs out of the budget. Corporations don't buy bargain computers at Best Buy. They often buy Lenovos or Dells that are built for business and cost $1500 or more each. After that, there's Office 2K7, Antivirus and the cost of paying people to work a help desk when the thing won't boot up and the person has a presentation in 5 hours because they let their kid load some free game the night before.

This device is PERFECT for business. No Viruses, easy setup and configuration, light/durable for travel, does what it needs to do, cheaper than current solutions. Current UMPCs may run Vista today, but are much to slow to run it well. This product bridges that gap.

Only thing it really needs is a RDC/Citrix client to access a terminal server to access advanced applications.

If it is marketed well, this will be a successful product.

[wongulous]

The biggest issue with this is that there is no pointing device, mouse, or touchscreen display. Talk about behind the times. No one wants to navigate a full GUI on a 10" display with what is essentially a jog dial or scroll wheel to navigate between fields and everything else.

[daneoni]

I can see the niche Palm is trying to reach and i dont see why people wont buy it. Instant on, linux, web and office. I'd take this over any UMPC any day. Design could definately have been better though, the thing looks like one of those PowerBooks from the 80s only thinner

My gripe is the actual syncing with the Treos. Bluetooth on treos is about as unstable as my friends relationship

[jhande]

i said it in the other thread, and i'll say it again: take psion 5mx from 1999 and modernize it with more ram, faster cpu, more flash-storage and color-screen with higher resoltion. there, a true laptop-replacement that fits in.your pocket. psion did it right eight years ago!

As one who has written more than 15K words on the Psion, I concur. Apart from the, at times, temperamental modem, it was rock solid, used standard batteries, and had a loooong battery life. The keyboard was small, but I did actually touch-type on it (the second one, that is. The first had a dinky spacebar).

The Psion has still been the best device I've ever owned -- and I've probably had them all, excluding the newton, but including the Tandy 100.

Ah, it had the Foleo beat - hands down.

[Darkroom]

wow... a revolutionary, cutting edge, innovative new product... that... is um... a... laptop...

zZzZZzzZZzZzz

[daneoni]

The biggest issue with this is that there is no pointing device, mouse, or touchscreen display. Talk about behind the times. No one wants to navigate a full GUI on a 10" display with what is essentially a jog dial or scroll wheel to navigate between fields and everything else.

You dont know yet. Palm could implement pairing BT mice in the future and it has a USB port which i guess can be used to attach a mouse

[zap2]

I think I jugde it too fast.....this might be what I need to replace my aging iBook G4. I want something small, Wi-Fi, and support for Text and slideshows(not sure how I'll deal with Keynote-> PowerPoint but I'd live) and for 499...it seems like a great replace ment for laptop, which's point was for internet and text.


I guess we'll see where this goes for me..unless Apple comes and one ups this move, with a sub-notebook

[bloodycape]

The biggest issue with this is that there is no pointing device, mouse, or touchscreen display. Talk about behind the times. No one wants to navigate a full GUI on a 10" display with what is essentially a jog dial or scroll wheel to navigate between fields and everything else.

it got an eraserhead like some of the IBM computers and it has a usb port so you add a mouse or add a USB hub, to add other stuff once they figure out how the linux os works.

I really want one, it be a nice addition in the kitchen since we dont have that LG fridge and this cost less than a UMPC and comes with a keyboard unlike the Nokia tablet, Archos 604/704 wifi and the Cowon Q5(thought latter two have an HD and are full media players it all good). However, I have other expense so I guess I will get one once its $300 or less on ebay.
Problem with an Apple sub-notebook would be the same problem with the Sony sub-notebooks its price. If anything those sub-notes may go for $1500(or that what a classmate paid 3 years ago for his 10.1in Sony Viao with DVD drive and camera.

[Lyle]

In what I'm sure is completely unrelated news, Jeff Hawkins unloaded a chunk of Palm stock yesterday.
NEW YORK (AP) -- A founder of smartphone maker Palm Inc. sold 15,000 shares of common stock under a prearranged trading plan, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

In a Form 4 filed with the SEC Tuesday, Jeffrey C. Hawkins reported he sold the shares Tuesday for $16.35 apiece.
Link (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070530/palm_insider_transactions.html?.v=1)

[angelwatt]

Well it looks more interesting to me than that MS Surface toy. I know a lot of people here are dissing it, but for the price it looks like it could be a nice gadget to have. Though, since it doesn't run Mac I have no real interest in it.

[shrimpdesign]

Funny.

Went to some Windows forums where they argue that the Mac is a niche product.
Now I'm on a Mac forum where they argue that the Palm is a niche product.
I wonder what I'll find on the Palm forums? :D

The Nokia 770/N800 is a niche product.

[kalisphoenix]

Meh, as most are saying.

Rather crappy. I wish I could find something like the old Hewlett-Packard 620/660 palmtops. Their keyboards were just a tad too small for touchtyping, but everything else was exquisite. I didn't even mind WinCE.

I'd totally friggin' buy one. I don't think they sync with OS X, though :(

[173080]

I think this is a pretty great device for work, web-based applications, and note taking.

It's significantly less expensive than a sub-notebook and has some very good basic features. I believe that the simplicity is a good thing, there are less things that can go wrong with it. I might give this a try; I might just make my own web-based software in RoR and access it through the Foleo. I could have all my information, and all my (custom) apps on a robust $499 device that powers on instantly.

Instead of providing employees with full-featured laptops, one could provide them with a WiFi enabled Foleo with web-based applications. Its limitations are an advantage, as it keeps employees from messing up the system.

[Vidd]

It seems like a subnotebook for very specific tasks.

[/dev/toaster]

As strange as it sounds, I was actually half expecting Palm to announce something cool. Palm has been going down hill rather badly since the 700 came out. (both w and p)

I figured they had realized they were dying and the crap they were releasing was totally uninteresting. After all the smack talk they did against Apple, I thought they went back to hammer something amazing out.

Don't get me wrong, I am not looking forward to any new palm devices. This is just further proof that deciding to get an iPhone when its released, will be a better bet.

[bloodycape]

As strange as it sounds, I was actually half expecting Palm to announce something cool. Palm has been going down hill rather badly since the 700 came out. (both w and p)

I figured they had realized they were dying and the crap they were releasing was totally uninteresting. After all the smack talk they did against Apple, I thought they went back to hammer something amazing out.

Don't get me wrong, I am not looking forward to any new palm devices. This is just further proof that deciding to get an iPhone when its released, will be a better bet.

I think you maybe missing some of the big picture here and that is the new Linux based OS is moving to and this trying to show case, in a bad or good way depending on how you see things, this new OS.

[MacFly123]

I'm sorry but this makes me realize that I am so much smarter than someone running a multi-billion dollar corporation and I'm being humble LOL!!! Almost anyone that has a smart phone has a laptop already.... DONE and DONE... Goodbye Palm ;)

[jackvalko]

This thing is ghey. I can just hear the conversation now ...

Helpdesk Guy: "Hello Mr. New VP. Here is your Palm and Foleo"
New VP: "Gezunteit"
Helpdesk Guy: "No, it's called a Foleo. You see, it runs Linux and has an Opera browser and you can open Office documents."
New VP: "Where's my Windows laptop?"

And that will be the end of it.

[maknik]

I'm suddenly awash with nostalgia for my Duo 2300.

$1000 in 1996, light and small, worked like a champ until I foolishly wrecked it trying to convert it for use with an overhead projector...

[sikkinixx]

i think it's kinda cool. Does everything I need for University (notes, net, email) at a less than half a macbook price and half the weight as well.

Not the best thing in the world but I could see it getting the job done.

[gerrycurl]

macrumors people are getting more and more annoying, are you guys just a bunch of freaking snobs roaming an art gallery?! why is everything relative to apple?! sure, this is the MACrumors site, but please, don't be so ridiculously snooty, just because you own something apple and follow apple, doesn't mean you know good art or design, sheesh. a bunch of ****ing wannabes.

instead of mocking on the design, why not talk about the tech specs? yes, i think it's a piece of ****, too, but i'm not airing my diletante opinions about it. who the heck says that it has anything to do with iphone?? shut the **** up! please! are you mostly 12 and under?

does anyone have anything interesting to say instead of yawn, bunch of ****ing spam, your posts! how about the intent of this device? no it's not that revolutionary, but what the **** is in the device? is it hard drive based or usb flash? how about the fact that the charger for the laptop is really a phone charger? what's the os? they're obviously targeting the business folks, this will do well anywhere where palm's already inked deals. but this could be a play to get them to step into dell and hp's territory. it's not a bad play for palm, even though they're a ****** company still, three years for this............................

i'm going to create a ****ing spam eliminator for all the post sites. i bet there will be about 5 interesting posts per article after which.

poor macrumors readership, it's gone from the interesting folks to a bunch of ****ing tards.

[e-coli]

HAHAHAHA...OMG...what a land-filler!

A mega-sized Treo that requires ANOTHER Treo to access wireless data networks.

ROFLMAO!!!

Palm is clueless.

[rdrr]

The Sharp Zaurus.

I had a Zaurus around 4 years ago, and loved it untiled it died. It ran linux, had instant on and was a hell of a lot more portable than this. The Zaurus line has been killed by Sharp, because it didn't have a huge following. :(

http://www2.lifl.fr/~secq/images/misc/zaurus.png

[jng]

take a chill pill gerrycurl

This is a comments thread and everyone is entitled to comment, regardless of whether their opinion has already been stated and echoed a hundred times.

freedom of speech!

PS the device indeed SUCKS. I love how palm calls it elegant and simple. It looks like the great grandpa of laptops (emaciated not thin)

[ncbill]

I've already got one in my kitchen.

It has both a keyboard *and* touchscreen for input.

It's called - Audrey.

it got an eraserhead like some of the IBM computers and it has a usb port so you add a mouse or add a USB hub, to add other stuff once they figure out how the linux os works.

I really want one, it be a nice addition in the kitchen since we dont have that LG fridge and this cost less than a UMPC and comes with a keyboard unlike the Nokia tablet, Archos 604/704 wifi and the Cowon Q5(thought latter two have an HD and are full media players it all good). However, I have other expense so I guess I will get one once its $300 or less on ebay.
Problem with an Apple sub-notebook would be the same problem with the Sony sub-notebooks its price. If anything those sub-notes may go for $1500(or that what a classmate paid 3 years ago for his 10.1in Sony Viao with DVD drive and camera.

[bloodycape]

I honestly think this device is more about showing off their new OS for their next gen phones. That what I think people need to understand.

[SiliconAddict]

For everyone who is complaining that you can get a full blow laptop for the same price....repost:

This $500 partially functional laptop isn't used with crap components that will break on you within 1-2 years. I always find it amusing that people are toting these $500-$700 laptops and desktops as some great value. These are the same people who shop at Wally World and are amazed when their $80 TV stops working after a year of use.
Learn this: Cheap prices beget craptastic hardware.

How do I know all this. Dell service tech that does warranty work for Dell here...People always ask me why their cheap [bleep] system is always failing. Being the good customer rep I smile and say "these things happen". The real reason is simple. You purchased a low end, bottom of the barrel system. Of course its going to fail. If it doesn't you are lucky. Why do they fail? simply because the manufacturer, lets say dell, has these mobo manufacturers, lets say Foxconn, bid for the cheapest components possible. Result: Motherboard that have capaciters that randomly fail. Solder joints that can't hold up long term and also fail.
Many Americans seem to miss this point: You, usually, get what you pay for. Unless a company is trying to make components cheap as heck and jack up the prices to make a VERY healthy profit.

[ebunton]

The underlying problem:

What is an effective User Interface for small form factor mobile devices for the functional demands of today?

Palm has addressed that by looking at existing interfaces (large screen + full sized keyboard, otherwise known as the laptop) and appending that to their Treo.

However, due to the current market environment, that is simply the wrong approach. The current market environment being that this interface already exists (everyone with a Treo most probably has a laptop); also the Foleo interface completely destroys the small form factor of the mobile device (thus changing the initial problem statement into a non-problem).

In other word, Palm has they haven't solved the problem at all, but provided a solution to a non-problem.

A complete ground-up UI design is needed to solve this interface obstacle.

Apple is on the right track, in as far as designing a new interface (multitouch) for the small form factor.

Just look at the UI solution for navigating a list of thousands of items in a small mobile device (the iPod click wheel).

When the solution is finally found, it'll be truly revolutionary.

[bloodycape]

In other word, Palm has they haven't solved the problem at all, but provided a solution to a non-problem.

A complete ground-up UI design is needed to solve this interface obstacle.

When the solution is finally found, it'll be truly revolutionary.

I think they did solve some of their problems. And that problem was their Palm OS was an aging software, this Linux based OS they are running is going to be their future OS of their phone. This will allow users to finally multi-task. Sad as that may sound it was working for them up until they made no real progress came out with the 700P.

[neildmitchell]

Hmmm. It's cheap but I can't see a market for this really.

First reaction to the Foleo
I totally dont get it... :confused:

The only market I can kinda see the Foleo in, is the small mom and pop startup business...even then...:confused:

Foleo $500
+
Smart Phone $200-400
+ Voice & Data Service $60-80 mo. /$720-960 yr.

Im thinking Palm hasnt really done anything in a while, so they let marketing and R&D run freely wild on this one...?

Whatever Palm:p :rolleyes:

[scrambledwonder]

The underlying problem:

What is an effective User Interface for small form factor mobile devices for the functional demands of today?

Palm has addressed that by looking at existing interfaces (large screen + full sized keyboard, otherwise known as the laptop) and appending that to their Treo.

However, due to the current market environment, that is simply the wrong approach. The current market environment being that this interface already exists (everyone with a Treo most probably has a laptop); also the Foleo interface completely destroys the small form factor of the mobile device (thus changing the initial problem statement into a non-problem).

In other word, Palm has they haven't solved the problem at all, but provided a solution to a non-problem.

A complete ground-up UI design is needed to solve this interface obstacle.

Apple is on the right track, in as far as designing a new interface (multitouch) for the small form factor.

Just look at the UI solution for navigating a list of thousands of items in a small mobile device (the iPod click wheel).

When the solution is finally found, it'll be truly revolutionary.

I think they already found the revolutionary solution to the input problem. It's called the iPhone.

Woot.

[scrambledwonder]

And I really don't think this is all Palm has up its sleeve. . . It's just a distraction to make you think "oh, my, they've gone bonkers," then WHAM! Something awesome!

[synp]

This thing is ghey. I can just hear the conversation now ...

Helpdesk Guy: "Hello Mr. New VP. Here is your Palm and Foleo"
New VP: "Gezunteit"
Helpdesk Guy: "No, it's called a Foleo. You see, it runs Linux and has an Opera browser and you can open Office documents."
New VP: "Where's my Windows laptop?"

And that will be the end of it.

Why would he want a Windows laptop? Is he a techno-geek? Just look at all the clamoring around these forums for a subnotebook.

If this really does all that travelling business people / sales reps need, it will sell very well.

People don't want to carry around laptops. If they did, Blackberries wouldn't sell well. Sometimes they have to read stuff on a bigger screen, and tha's why they have to lug around a laptop in addition to the smartphone / blackberry. Note that this is a 'have to' situation, not a 'want to'.

This weighs 2/3 of a subnotebook, and costs 1/3-1/4. It's less prone to loading rogue software, and more dependable due to no hard drive. I think IT departments are going to buy this by the forklift-full.

Note that the Windows laptop is pretty bad at receiving phone calls, so you Mr. New VP still needs to carry a phone around.

[biturbomunkie]

disappointing.

a 12" PB can be had for the same price.

i must be missin something...

[zimtheinvader]

This would be such a cool product if it had a touch-screen or stylus! I've been wanting a device for PDF annotation for years! I already have a Treo, but the screen is too small, and where did the "notes" application go? I used to draw comics, write Chem eq's... Palm should have put a touch-screen or something on this, as it is... you could get a G3 iBook for >$300 which would run circles around this thing for everything but batterylife/wt. A UMPC is only $200 more, and it runs full XP-Tablet or Vista!! Heck the Emate is INNOVATIVE compared to this.

If u want a portable linux terminal check out the PepperPAD 3 (newegg, amazon, ect.) It runs linux and has a touch screen, HDD, Wifi, TV out, FIREFOX!!! all for the same price, yet an even smaller size. Or check ebay for a discarded UMPC.

What is this other than an overpriced BT keyboard? Seriously??...Palm is moving *away* from pen input? That's what the PDA was built on!!

[HasanDaddy]

okay - I take my comment back

$500 is a lot of money

If the Foleo was around $200, then I would definitely buy one (just for the heck of it), as would many others in finding use out of it

but $500 can pave the way towards a solid laptop purchase --- this one is a dud for Palm

However --- the ability to get on the 'net instantly, with one's treo, is what truely makes this an attractive device ---- once more devices offer 3G, in addition to better modem-tethering between their BlackBerry's and Treo's, then the Foleo becomes VERY obsolete... I guess it's already approaching that doorstep as we speak....

[Evangelion]

Many Americans seem to miss this point: You, usually, get what you pay for. Unless a company is trying to make components cheap as heck and jack up the prices to make a VERY healthy profit.

There's a saying in Finland that translates in to "Poor people can't afford cheap things". It basically means that it's usually cheaper to pay more upfront, than it is to buy cheapest product possible, and the being forced to re-buy it when it breaks down, whereas the more expensive product would still be working fine. I try to follow that guideline whenever I make bigger purchases. When I see a computer or television or something else that is VERY cheap, my first thought is "So, what's wrong with it? Where did they cut corners?".

As to comparing Foleo to low-end laptop or maybe MacBook... Well, there are few things to consider:

- Low-end laptops are usually big and heavy. Foleo is tiny
- With a laptop you could get... what, 2-3 hours of battery-life? Foleo gives you five hours
- Low-end laptops are cheap and dinky. Foleo seems like a durable machine

Of course you could get an ultraportable laptop that does everything Foleo does and more. But those cost over $2000. You could get four Foleos for the price of one ultraportable.

But, as I said before: Psion 5MX would still be the way to go....

[RodThePlod]

this one is a dud for Palm

In this form, I agree.

I've used a Newton MP 2000 for the last 9 years (eek!!!) - and even though most people who have seen me use it over the years comment on it's size, I've stuck with it because, for me, it works. Yup - it's bigger than the average PDA, but for me this means writing and using pen-gestures on a nice big screen which I love.

However, even though I love my MP2000 even I baulk at carrying it around when I also have to take my phone and iPod. And this Foleo thing is even bigger than my MP 2000!!

I think Palm have missed a trick here. I can see what they're trying to achieve, but their approach seems wrong. It looks like they've literally taken one of their designs from 10 years ago and decided to put it into production.

To match the hype, why didn't Palm introduce a device with *possibly* a folding keyboard and *definitely* a roll-away OLED screen? making it compact and slick/different looking when not in use but big enough and useable when needed?

The Foleo's screen doesn't appear to be touch sensitive so a flexible/roll away screen would have been killer IMHO and would have given the product some of the cutting edge coolness factor Apple is currently enjoying with iPhone.

I really hope that the Foleo is a success for Palm - but in it's current form?! Nah....

Rod.

[zub3qin]

This is right up there with those keyboards they already make and nobody carries 'cause theyre too big. They want me to buy a 500 screen for my 300 phone? Why cant someone just put the damn phone in the laptop already? I would love the Sony Vaio UX IF it could accept calls.... whats the problem here? Seriously. I would kill for a big phone with an 8in screen and slide out keyboard running a real, uncrippled OS, no joke. Sony already has the ATT card in it, I dont understand, I really don't.


So when you are at the grocery store, you will bring your Vaio with you to accept calls? And when you are at the amusement park, you want the phone-Vaio with you?

Foleo at first glance seems "boring"... but Palm has a good idea here.
iPhone is too big for a phone and the screen is too small for real use.

So allow people to carry whatever bluetooth phone they want (ie razor) which they can fit anywhere for phone purposes. When they travel, they bring Foleo.

As far as the "not a real laptop" issue... let's be real. 95% of what people use their laptop for is 1) internet 2) email 3) MS Word 4) calender/contacts 5) excel 6) powerpoint 7) pdf 8) pictures
This will approach 99% as all apps start becoming web-based.

So for 1/4 the price of a subnotebook, this might be a very useable device.

It may be substance over style with no multitouch, no touchscreen, no "neat-o" feature.... but business users may love this thing. (By the way, I am not sure why people make such a big deal over multitouch. Resizing photos looks cool, but once the coolness wears off......)

[edesignuk]

It'll sell, just not very well. It has an extraordinarily small market IMO. I simply can't see many people not getting what they want from either a smartphone/blackberry or a small "proper" laptop.

Bizarre.

[sanford]

As one who has written more than 15K words on the Psion, I concur.

Okay, I get you. You got me when you mentioned 15,000 words, total, on a Psion. 15,000 words is no more than two weeks worth of work for me. Then I use iTunes and iPhoto, because I can, but if those things weren't available on my MacBook, I'd use CDs and film.

I've mistaken myself as a potential customer for this device because it has a keyboard. But it's not meant for me because the nature of my work is intensive revisitation of long to very long documents of straight text. I'm not at all the the market for this product. Rather this is for people who do a little here, a little there, but a tricked-out mobile phone is too unwieldy to efficiently do those thing. This is for the corporate worker often out of the office, often required to edit contracts, return e-mail, update spreadsheets, or the like, while out of the office. These tiny PCs are $1,200; this Palm Foleo is $500 -- the tiny PCs do more but the users don't *need* more. My MacBook is better for what I do, but what I do is nothing like what, say, a regional sales manager does. My original work can be slow and ponderous some days, a lot of chin-in-hand behavior; every day, his work is a quick recalculation here, a fast contract modification here, snappy answer to this e-mail, change this meeting appointment, e-mail everyone to let them know the meeting has changed, on the Web look up for his wife the phone number of the hotel where he'll stay tomorrow night in Cleveland, etc.

Taking that into consideration, I rescind my previous naysaying about the Foleo. It will appeal to a certain heavily mobile company worker. This is the same thing I said about the iPhone, although I believe it will sell more into the consumer market, too, at least at first -- even at those prices -- because of the panache Apple has in the gadget-centric younger demographic. Being an iPod and Apple TV owner, and a Mac user since the 1980s, I have it into my head that every gadget or new technology that comes out must have a very broad reach into the consumer market. That's of course a false perception. Each market has its own needs and uses. If you gave me a typewriter, I'd put on my desk and use it, at least for some things, a lot more than typing envelopes; but must of you would laugh and hand a typewriter right back.

[Evangelion]

Okay, I get you. You got me when you mentioned 15,000 words, total, on a Psion. 15,000 words is no more than two weeks worth of work for me. Then I use iTunes and iPhoto, because I can, but if those things weren't available on my MacBook, I'd use CDs and film.

Well, the thing is that the Psion fits in your pocket, MacBook does not. MacBook is also a lot more expensive and it has a lot less battery-life.

The point is to have a device that can be carried with you _all_the_time_. Laptop is not that. Psion Revo or Psion 5MX is. And they had full keyboards. The original poster wrote 15000 word on his. I wrote half of my thesis on my Revo. Keyboard on the 5MX was similar to one found in laptops (not those dinky PDA-keyboards), and you could touch-type on it.

Seriously: Updated 5MX with more flash and RAM; faster CPU, WiFi and color-screen would be perfectly competetive today.

[Chaszmyr]

Surely this is a joke. This is one of the worst big product announcements I've ever seen. No offense to Arn, but I can't imagine much of any sort of situation where you would need a product to perform a task and this would be the best thing available to you. The closest I could come would be people in college who want to take notes in class, like I've seen some people do with various portable devices other than laptops. But in that kind of a situation, you have a big bag with you anyway to put your books in most of the time, so its not so much harder to have something like a MacBook. I mean sure, it's less expensive than most portable computers (far less expensive than Sony's ultra portables, and a fair amount less than most UMPCs), but I think it's also just less powerful, and has nothing to really recommend it. You can't fit it in your pocket, which is the main selling point of the iPhone, so why would anyone buy this over something like a UMPC? Okay, sure it has a full size keyboard for faster typing, but they make fold out keyboards that could probably serve that purpose about as well. And WHY does it pair with a smart phone? Why didn't they just put 3G or EDGE parts in it and have it connect to the network itself? Did they assume everyone has a smart phone with them anyway? If I were going to carry something this size with me, I'd want the smallest phone I could find to put in my pocket, which obviously would not be a smart phone.

[andiwm2003]

Surely this is a joke. This is one of the worst big product announcements I've ever seen. No offense to Arn, but I can't imagine much of any sort of situation where you would need a product to perform a task and this would be the best thing available to you. The closest I could come would be people in college who want to take notes in class, like I've seen some people do with various portable devices other than laptops. But in that kind of a situation, you have a big bag with you anyway to put your books in most of the time, so its not so much harder to have something like a MacBook. I mean sure, it's less expensive than most portable computers (far less expensive than Sony's ultra portables, and a fair amount less than most UMPCs), but I think it's also just less powerful, and has nothing to really recommend it. You can't fit it in your pocket, which is the main selling point of the iPhone, so why would anyone buy this over something like a UMPC? Okay, sure it has a full size keyboard for faster typing, but they make fold out keyboards that could probably serve that purpose about as well. And WHY does it pair with a smart phone? Why didn't they just put 3G or EDGE parts in it and have it connect to the network itself? Did they assume everyone has a smart phone with them anyway? If I were going to carry something this size with me, I'd want the smallest phone I could find to put in my pocket, which obviously would not be a smart phone.

i think that thing is for people who always have their treo with them. then they do a trip across town to a client. they just grab the foleo and finish a few documents, answer emails, read a contract, check the powerpoint slides. no need to bring a clunky macbook that makes a big boing when they start it up. the foleo is always around but you don't use it all the time. when you do daytrips to meetings from boston to NYC you carry your treo and your foleo which is much less hassle than a notebook with all the airport security. its a work notebook for light office stuff, not a notebook to edit pictures and listening to itunes. i can see the niche. the real probelm is that a 12inch ultralight macbook pro or similar pc's could kill it. but then these notebooks will cost $2500

[Cameront9]

who the heck says that it has anything to do with iphone?? shut the **** up! please! are you mostly 12 and under?


Uhh...Maybe the CEO of PALM, inc, who said that they wanted to eventually have the iPhone work with this device?

[hulugu]

So when you are at the grocery store, you will bring your Vaio with you to accept calls? And when you are at the amusement park, you want the phone-Vaio with you?

Foleo at first glance seems "boring"... but Palm has a good idea here.
iPhone is too big for a phone and the screen is too small for real use.

So allow people to carry whatever bluetooth phone they want (ie razor) which they can fit anywhere for phone purposes. When they travel, they bring Foleo.

As far as the "not a real laptop" issue... let's be real. 95% of what people use their laptop for is 1) internet 2) email 3) MS Word 4) calender/contacts 5) excel 6) powerpoint 7) pdf 8) pictures
This will approach 99% as all apps start becoming web-based.

So for 1/4 the price of a subnotebook, this might be a very useable device.

It may be substance over style with no multitouch, no touchscreen, no "neat-o" feature.... but business users may love this thing. (By the way, I am not sure why people make such a big deal over multitouch. Resizing photos looks cool, but once the coolness wears off......)

I'm just not sure there's a niche to exploit here. Essentially it's a UMPC, but with a clam-shell design and those haven't been flying off the shelves. The idea does make a certain sense for the traveling executive, who could use full-featured desktops at either end and use this device to lighten their travel load. And, the device could work well at home in the same way that Nokia's 770 internet tablet should. But those are two narrow niches, Palm is taking an interesting risk here.

As for multi-touch, I've only watched SJ play with the thing on-stage, but I love the use of gestures to make things work. Being able to scroll through your iTunes library or type out a message should be much easier when you're using your fingers. We'll have to see.

Oh, and what's the deal with the - over the e in Foleo? Folio is pronounced foel-e-oh. What's Foleo? foel-E!-oh.

Random puncuation.

[BiikeMike]

Well, The folio does look useful to a LOT of the people I work with, and it's probably WAY more stable than a PC.

But Palm has been doing some really weird things lately, like selling!

This morning truth is stranger than fiction. Palm announced a strategic stock sale to private equity firm Elevation, a five way partnership between musical genius Bono, Apple iPod pioneer Jon Rubinstein, and three other executives.

Linky (http://mytreo.net/archives/2007/06/bono-buys-palm.html#more)