Palm Foleo official, coming to iPhone?

updated 02:15 pm EDT, Wed May 30, 2007

Palm Foleo Official

Palm has at last unveiled the Foleo, one of the world's first smartphone companions. As hinted by a last-minute slip, the Foleo serves as a more powerful way of managing e-mail and work: a 10-inch LCD and a full QWERTY keyboard provide extra space for editing Microsoft Office documents or checking messages. Owners can regularly synchronize files back and forth to ensure that they stay current when the Foleo is left behind. New in the official release is the confirmation of Internet access. The Foleo can browse the web or check e-mail using a custom version of the Opera web browser and a mail client; the connection can be made using either a Bluetooth link to a phone with cellular Internet or through its own Wi-Fi. A USB port and an SD card slot provide room for peripherals and extra storage, while a headphone jack allows listening to media without plugging into the phone itself.

The Foleo additionally marks Palm's first Linux device and fully embraces the openness of the platform, Palm says. Though officially targeted at both PalmOS and Windows Mobile versions of the Treo, the notebook-like assistant can readily support other phones through a "modest software effort" -- including the iPhone, according to the company. While no discussions have been announced with Apple, Palm has said it will work to support "as many smartphones as possible" and is willing to include the iPhone in the list.

The accessibility also allows for relatively rapid development of third-party apps and extensions, Palm adds. A large-scale version of DataViz' Documents To Go is an example and will ship with the system to provide full Excel, PowerPoint, and Word editing.

As confirmed this morning, the new device should be available sometime during the summer at a price of $499 after a $100 discount.

By Electronista Staff

Post tools:

TAGS :

njfuzzy

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Apr 2001

05/30, 02:38pm | report spam | close reply

soo...

So, it's a low-end Linux laptop, with software to let it share a Treo's internet connection, and no media/drives?

jcatma61

Joined: Nov 2006

05/30, 02:44pm | report spam | close reply

L is for LOSER.

Uh, that's why I do business with a smartphone and a PowerBook.

At first blush, I thought Foleo would be a folding Treo, maybe with multiple displays. Now, that would be innovative.

This is kind of like adding another hunk of tech that we'd be lugging around everywhere.

Don't think so.

chadpengar

Joined: Oct 2001

05/30, 02:58pm | report spam | close reply

call me dumb

but I don't get it. Why would I want to lug that thing around? How is it a companion to a smart phone? Granted I am just reading the MacNN article and nothing else but it seems to be a very small notebook running Linux of some sort with maybe some fancy interface stuff to shield you from the Linux.

pysan

Joined: Sep 2000

05/30, 03:10pm | report spam | close reply

missed the mark

When I first read the few top lines of this article, I thought, wow, they are on to something! But after seeing it all, it is basically a low-end laptop, and they have missed the mark they could have hit.

If they made it a dumb terminal w/ a 10" LCD and a full QWERTY keyboard, that connected via bluetooth to a smartphone and acted like plugging in an external keyboard monitor to your laptop, I think they would have had a winner.

Why would you want to lug around a laptop if you could just bring your phone everywhere, and when you needed it, you could pull this out and type longer emails or work on docs with a bigger screen and more full keyboard. But as it is, it just seems like a waste, as the device instead of being a dumb terminal, is trying to act like a semi-full featured, yet very weak, laptop.

Too bad...

------------------------- www.ITFinanceGuy.com

chas_m

Moderator

Joined: Aug 2001

05/30, 03:35pm | report spam | close reply

Not so much

$499 for an additional 2.5lb, up-to-five-hour sub-laptop that has no independent function?

Sure, the screen is bigger and two-handed typing is nice, but other than that I see nothing here that an iPhone can't do for $500 less.

If I need a laptop to sync with my smartphone, I'd get ... a full-blown laptop. The whole idea of the smartphone is to lose the laptop in most day-to-day situations. Checking email, composing short replies and looking at stocks/weather/phone numbers etc should not require a whole laptop, and certainly shouldn't require a $500 add-on to my smartphone!

If it had been a $99 or $199 add-on I think a lot of people would have gone for it, but it just doesn't justify its cost and the extra bulk.

bobolicious

Junior Member

Joined: Aug 2002

05/30, 03:43pm | report spam | close reply

yawn...

...so now I have to decide which of 3 devices to cart around?... I think I would prefer a 12" powerbook G4...

zac4mac

Mac Elite

Joined: Oct 1999

05/30, 05:28pm | report spam | close reply

wow

it's a new Newton - too big and too expensive. I have 2 Newtons BTW, a 120 and a 2100, neither bought new, both still work. Maybe the Foleo will get a cult following too, but I doubt it.

Z

HombrePhaty

Joined: Oct 2003

05/30, 06:09pm | report spam | close reply

Psst. Newton was murdered

and I miss him (it). Ah, what might have been... the iPhone a decade earlier.

slider

05/30, 07:14pm | report spam | close reply

Good Idea, Bad Execution

OK, so I watched the speech. I get what this guy is saying; sometimes you need/want a larger screen and a full sized key board. But while I was looking at this thing all I could think of was what others have already mentioned, it's the size of a small laptop. It's like they didn't really put any thought into this so the next thing I wondered about was: How would Apple have done this? One that is obvious, the bulk, if you can't find a way to reduce the bulk, like some kind of folding or sliding or rolling out or something, even making it way thinner would have been a big improvement.

applepi

Joined: Nov 2004

05/30, 07:32pm | report spam | close reply

Perspective Shift

The concept for the Foleo seems odd to many because we have laptops that can do a lot more while only a little bit bigger. But I can see many situations where a smartphone and this new device would be preferable. Consider someone with an office desktop or laptop: they have everything they need right on the computer, but a lot they don't need for a presentation or to take work home. Everyone has their phone with them all the time anyway, so why not base everything on the data connections of the phone? The Foleo, while bigger than necessary, is elegantly trim compared to almost all laptops, but with a price tag much smaller than UMPCs.

I am a student who relies on a Palm T|X and folding keyboard for a lot of classwork. I have a MacBook, but it's almost overkill for taking notes in class. The Foleo is obviously an extravagance to add to the laptop, desktop, palm, phone, and iPod that many people juggle. But look ahead ten years, or even five. Professionals and students alike may be able to rely on a powerhouse desktop, a smartphone, and the Foleo. Total cost: much less than the complement of electronics we have accrued. Btw, it may be apt to compare it to the Newton, as it seems to be several years ahead of its time : )

simdude

Joined: Jun 2004

05/30, 08:01pm | report spam | close reply

Time to dump my Palm

If this is Palm's idea of innovation, this company won't survive much longer. When I heard the rumors of big innovation and folding display, I was thinking of something like the new rollable screens or electronic paper. While my Palm T|X is serving me well right now, I"m not sure what I'll do when it dies. Maybe the iPhone will be in rev 2 by then and it will be time to switch.

Guest

Joined: Nov 1999

06/08, 03:11am | report spam | close reply

Review on Foleo

Foleo, a Linux laptop replacement device by Palm. Read its interesting review by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant Sramana Mitra. Link: http://sramanamitra.com/blog/1072

06/08, 03:14am | report spam | close reply

Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant Sramana Mitra, reviews Foleo, a Linux laptop replacement device by Palm. Link: http://sramanamitra.com/blog/1072

06/18	Steve Jobs video from 1994 unearthed...
06/18	Apple unveils major update to iOS mass...
06/18	Apple issues Java updates for Snow...
06/18	Hidden iOS 7 beta settings point to...
06/18	Case for rumored low-cost iPhone shows...

04/06	Test24-04-2012
06/09	Apple hires webOS notification UI designer...
06/09	Panasonic intros Toughbook F9 rugged...
06/08	Hulu for iPad, Xbox could be ready...
06/08	TiVo loses two patent claims in key...

Palm Foleo official, coming to iPhone?

updated 02:15 pm EDT, Wed May 30, 2007