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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Palm Foleo Mobile Companion

I’ve heard all sorts of comments on Palm’s new Foleo Mobile Companion ranging from “how cool is that” to “who needs another device.” Now that the Foleo is coming out from under wraps no matter how you feel about it on an initial impression it, you have to at least acknowledge that it is an interesting development.

The Foleo Mobile Companion may look like a notebook, but it is bascially a display that connects via your smartphone and allows you to work with a 10 inch screen and a full size keyboard. It runs on a linux based os and does have some connectivity via WiFi. It supposedly has instant on technology and a five hour battery life. It will be priced at $499 (after a $100 rebate.) I’m guessing the target market is Treo users who want a little desktop action with their devices and from early reports this seems like it will do the trick. Still early in the game here, but one question that springs to mind is this: If I browse my favorites on my handheld using mobile versions of respective websites that make them easier to view on the small screen, what do I get if I browse them on the larger screen?

Here’s a link to the press release on the device.

Mobile

5/30/2007 12:50 PM MST

Palm Foleo Mobile Companion Comments [12] | Digg This | del.icio.us | Citations

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 12:53:15 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

This is quite honestly the most ridiculous device I have seen since Microsoft's "Smart Display" product. I actually thought it was a joke at first.

Josh Einstein

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 1:01:48 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

I agree.

Michael Venini

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 1:06:57 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

Michael and Josh, I sure wish you guys would be more outspoken with your opinions on things. ;)

Warner Crocker

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 1:46:44 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

I agree with Josh and Michael. This is way late and plain dumb.

They could have shocked the world with a Palm TX phone (that would have been cool) available now(or soon). Basic design already done, change/add the necessary hardware with a ton of apps already available. But no, what did they do? Came up with a small Linux laptop like extender for a Treo.

"Change the way people use technology"? I don't think so.

Aaron Walker

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:04:12 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

can I drive an LCD projector with this thing?

cphickie

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:52:28 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

Aside from it being a laptop (as opposed to a tablet), I don't see what's so dumb about it. Yeah, basically, it's a seriously scaled down laptop at a seriously jacked up price (for what it does), or it's a really big PDA in laptop form... okay, that does sound kind of dumb, but still it's just a flip of the "smartphone as companion to laptop" relationship. Instead of having a laptop with a smartphone companion, now you can have a smartphone with a laptop companion... fine, you win, that is pretty dumb.

Now, if this thing was packing a better battery and could act as a charging station for the Treo, then they might have something. Or if it was a straightforward expansion unit that turned a Treo into a laptop, I could see that being useful. But a scaled down laptop that syncs with a smartphone? Interesting but not exciting.

Sumocat

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 4:49:14 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

There is great merit in having a Linux operating system, and instant on, and light weight, but no merit in a computer that has only some editing ability to work with MS Office products. And if it is not a tablet, why is it even being shown on this site??? No word on screen resolution? Maybe it is VGA which is still a step up from Palm devices. I wonder who this product would appeal to? Someone who has always used a Palm? How capable is this as a business machine? If it is simple as a Palm, who knows who it would appeal to. What I'd like to see is a Mac Tablet running their system and capable of using MS Office!

Bruce Schipul

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 9:19:18 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

"And if it is not a tablet, why is it even being shown on this site???"

GottaBeMobile is a site about mobile technology, not just tablets.

"Aside from it being a laptop (as opposed to a tablet), I don't see what's so dumb about it."

That's just it... it's not even a laptop. As far as I can tell, it's simply a monitor/keyboard for your phone. I didn't look too hard but from the marketing stuff on their site it seems to me like this is not a standalone device at all and simply acts as a "smart display" for your phone.

Josh Einstein

Thursday, May 31, 2007 7:07:40 AM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

C'mon Josh, at least skim through the press release before you condemn the thing. Per the PR, it is intended as a companion, but it is functional without a smartphone, albeit without any connectivity. Runs a version of Linux with PDA-type apps. It's not a straightforward "smart display", which would be pretty dumb if that's all it did. Again, if it were a docking station that expanded a smartphone into a laptop, maybe offering more battery power, storage, or a processor boost, I can see the use in that. But I see it as a laptop-shaped PDA that links and syncs to a smartphone. Sounds useful, but for the price tag, I don't see a great advantage over a true laptop.

Sumocat

Thursday, May 31, 2007 7:08:00 AM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

"That's just it... it's not even a laptop. As far as I can tell, it's simply a monitor/keyboard for your phone. I didn't look too hard but from the marketing stuff on their site it seems to me like this is not a standalone device at all and simply acts as a "smart display" for your phone."

No, it does have WIFI, and storage options, like SD, and CF slots. You can use this thing without a smartphone. It's like a bigger N800. I think if it runs OpenOffice, then it would be a great alternative for writers. It's small enough and cheap enough.

I still don't like it, but that's just my opinion.

Michael Venini

Thursday, May 31, 2007 10:58:59 AM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

Okay, but then the marketing people should really be in trouble because I don't like reading press releases and neither do consumers. Their web site describes it as a big screen and keyboard for a phone. But even still, who are they targeting with this? Their target customers all have laptops already. What's the advantage of using this? Running Linux is not a feature, it's a limitation. So I'm still not getting what the point of this is. You can get a laptop for $500 now that runs Windows.

Josh Einstein

Friday, June 01, 2007 12:09:28 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)

It'll be a great device if the price can be dropped further, given it's limited computing power.

I long for a laptop that is 1) cheap, 2) ultra light weight, 3) great display and keyboard, 4) long battery life. None of the current laptop/tablet/UMPCs could meet all of them. To me these 4 things = true portability. Inking would be a big plus, but not something I can't live without. Computing power and storage space are the least I'd worry about when considering a portable device.

alanine

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