[MW Forums]

Palm has introduced a new "mobile companion" product for smartphones called the Foleo. It's shaped like a sub-notebook computer with a 10-inch display and full-sized keyboard. more

[daneb]

Why would you want something this big, and yet limit yourself to it's features rather than just use a MacBook or something similar? Just seems kind of pointless to carry around a near-laptop-sized wireless email machine.

[d00d]

Ugh, unless they're planning on releasing a brand new email client for the Treo itself, this thing is going to be useless to me. Versamail is horrible. It's so bad that I immediately opted to use Chatteremail.

[Sheppy]

I just don't get it. It's basically an almost-laptop-sized device that's only usable in tandem with a phone. You can use your phone as a modem for a real laptop too, so why would you want to limit yourself to the Foleo? I'm sure it's a neat gadget, but the market's got to be pretty small.

[k2director]

Well, if I was worried about Palm trying to steal Apple's thunder today, it looks like I can rest easy...
I thought the idea of a Treo was that it would act as a mobile extension of your computer--ie, contacts and calendar management, email, surfing, etc. But now, the Folio is supposed to be a less mobile extension of that mobile extension of your computer? Huh?? What's the sense in that?
The way Hawkins described this product in the past, it sounded like it was going to have the potential to have the same market impact as the Treo. Instead, this thing will sell like an obscure peripheral. $500 for something you could do with your laptop? Come on, what happened to true innovation at Palm? Sadly, I think the Foleo shows that Palm's future really is in doubt...

[macFanDave]

Is is Foleo or Folio? You keep changing the spelling. Did Palm release two products?
Anyways, it looks like crap and I am not interested in the slightest. I don't care how it's spelled, I'm pronouncing it NO-lee-NO.

[MacTel]

Wow, a subnotebook. Gee.

[Luis_Alejandro]

Two thoughts:
1) If this is the "future of mobility computing"... let's go back to the caves!!
2) People is saying that the iPhone is "expensive"... Will they buy a "companion product" that is more expensive and not even so smart?

[paulhurt]

Yup... maybe six years ago some Palm users (the kind that bought those fold-up keyboards) might have thought this was a good idea, but things have moved on. Just when everyone's trying to reduce the number of devices we all carry about (not a bad thing) Palm try to convince us to carry an extra one.
Similar to an ultra-portable laptop, but without any of the capabilities. So you probably STILL need to carry a laptop about as well. Why not just carry the laptop, your smartphone, and use this new-fangled "syncing" idea? ;-)
Do you really want to spend $500 on one of these? Or just get an iPhone for the same money?
Someone at Palm took leave of their senses when they came up with this... they should have put the development effort into the Treo instead. Final nail in the coffin I suspect.

[Adwiz]

Not even anything special about the form factor. It's a big yawn. Give me a new Treo-like product that folds open to a larger screen and I'd be interested.
I guess the market for this is folks who don't have and/or don't want a real laptop. All ten of them.

[lucentio]

I think I get this... I can see how more and more "computing" will be done not on a desktop or even laptop but on a truly mobile device like an iPhone or (some future, much better) Treo. The idea of companion devices makes sense - they're like the steering wheel for my Xbox, designed to make what I already have easier or handle a wider range of tasks. It's basically a remote keyboard and remote monitor put together.
That said, Palm really has lost it. The ID on this is terrible. It looks like the Casio address-book thingy I had back in the 90s with a bigger screen. No mention of materials on their site, but it looks like cheap plastic. For something with no hard drive or CD/DVD it's really clunky and thick. I also bet it sucks the battery on your phone pretty fast too with all that Bluetooth activity.
Let's hope it's actually some sexy adamantium-diamond composite shell and my cheap LCD is making it look fat.

[heisetax]

Quote:

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Wow, a subnotebook. Gee.

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But he said that it can't be used as a stand alone computer. Instead of a subcompact

[Grapho]

It should be spelled foiled /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[sigma8]

Quote:

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Not even anything special about the form factor. It's a big yawn.

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What are you talking about? Didn't you watch the flash movie? It's "thoughtfully designed"!
Lucentio, you say you "get it". I don't know. I don't think I get it. If the Treo were about 20x more powerful than it is, maybe I'd "get it". It would be a computer replacement, of equal capability. But this thing...who is going to want to be restricted to Palm versions of their crappy app software?
Also what is with that form factor? Looks too big to be convenient, and too small to be a really nice user experience. Given the fact that it clearly won't REPLACE your laptop...you'll still need to carry your laptop too.
This product should be client software for a bluetooth-enabled laptop. Nothing more.
I'm let down by this announcement, I was expecting something more amazing.