Palm Unveils Foleo, Linux-Based "Mobile Companion"

An anonymous reader writes "Contrary to recent rumors, it's not Palm's first Linux smartphone, and no, it's not a competitor to Nokia's Linux-based N800 Internet Tablet. Rather, Palm today unveiled the Foleo, which it's calling a 'new class' of mobile device. The device is designed to expand the email, Internet, and productivity application capabilities of mobile phones such as the Palm Treo, by adding a full-size keyboard and a larger screen. Company founder Jeff Hawkins predicts that the Foleo will be more successful than Palm's original Palm Pilot, which he designed, and more successful than its current Treo smartphones. He touts its simplicity: 'Press a button, it's on. Press it again, it's off. There are no other modes.'"

Anyone else thinking what I'm thiinking?

[morgan_greywolf]

Small, low-power Linux laptop....

And the point is? What?

[nweaver]

It looks like a subnotebook, it walks like a subnotebook, it bounces around in the briefcase like a subnotebook...

So why not get a real notebook?

Palm, Inc. jumps shark. Founder sells 15000 shares

[Torqued]

FTW?

Looks like Jeff Hawkins is so confident in the Fooleo that he decided to dump 15000 shares of PALM [forbes.com].

Instead of spending R&D $ to fix the issues with their aging OS, they "invent" another piece of hardware that neither me nor any of my coworkers want to have to carry around. We already have notebooks.

Palm has officially jumped the shark, IMHO. Looks like I'm getting a Blackberry soon. :(

Battery life! Battery life! Battery life???

[G4from128k]

I hope this device actually gets a decent battery life. I've been frustrated that all the new PDAs have worse battery life than the early generation machines. The venerable (and discontinued) Psion 5-series got 25-35 hours of use on a pair for AAs and the original Palm Pilot series got maybe 15-20 hours on a AAAs. Every device since those machines has been distinctly inferior (usually getting only a few hours of real use per charge). If the new machine can't last a full day at a conference or a trans-oceanic flight, then I'll just keep using those older (and better) machines.

Re:Palm, Inc. jumps shark. Founder sells 15000 sha

[Realistic_Dragon]

I already have a notebook, but I still want one of these. It's actually the first Palm product I have ever coveted.

My main machine is a 15" Core 2 Duo Macbook pro... and it's just not portable enough. 2 hour battery life, yipee. I keep (and carry when I travel, along with the MBP) a G4 powerbook and spare battery for when I just want to bash out some text or leech wifi. My N95 is ok, but it just doesn't have enough screen space or a keyboard I can type on, unlike this thing.

If I could replace my Powerbook with one of these, so I only have to carry a MBP, Foleo and N95 when I fly, I can cut 2.5lbs out of my rucksack. That device will do everything I want when I go to a coffee shop to work. Good for my back, if not for my wallet.

Actually can be very useful- for specific apps

[evought]

I used a Toshiba Libretto and later a Sony Picturebook for quite a while. Both very similar, pocket-sized but full function laptops. With a smart phone and a portable printer, I could get a portable office and development environment in under five pounds and in carry-on luggage. With a battery upgrade, I got 8-12 hours use. I also had network diagnostic tools and adapters. It was not for heavy work, but for getting things done when I was stuck unexpectedly one place or another and I did not want to lug a lot of equipment. I could pull it out of a pocket, work on something for a few minutes, then just close the lid and slip it away. I generally had a full-sized workstation at my own office and at client sites. If not, a couple adapters at least let me steal a keyboard and monitor. Very versatile.

This form factor is not at all new or special. Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu, probably others as well. Several problems with this one: not open-- can't necessarily install own apps; price too high-- apparently more like $7-800. Battery life not impressive for the form factor.

Maybe it is a new class of device

[fozzmeister]

But heck, A PC maker could make one tomorrow nearly, chuck a transmetta/via chip in a uber small laptop chassis, remove all the perhipherals, add maybe 2GB flash instead of a HDD and something like XFCE and your mostly there. All you'd have to do is figure out the mobile phone syncing stuff which ain't going to be too hard.

Personally I like it, though I'm a programmer and need a proper laptop, although I can see that this _may_ fit a niche/market.

what i want

[wytcld]

I've been carrying around Zaurus clamshells for several years, and while I wouldn't want to do word processing on them, I use them with text editor (joe) and outliner (hnb) daily. The Zaurus is also fine for using ssh to remote administer *nix systems and to remotely read mail over mutt from my desktop. It's also fine as a Web browser. There's quite a lot I've gotten written that I never would have without it, since it's just not practical to always carry a laptop, and ideas both don't show up on schedule, and more often come to me when I'm out in the world in the midst of other business. My typing's slowed down by the small keyboard, but it's still faster than my handwriting, and it's much more useful to end up with the results in a computer file than in a stack of small paper notebooks.

Now, it would be nice to have something sized between the Zaurus and a subnotebook - a little more screen and a little more keyboard would work better for editing. But the top size I'd want would equal a trade paperback, with not much more weight than that. I still want something that I can carry easily in my hand - perhaps along with a book or two - if it can't go in a pocket. And for sure I want it running Linux, like the Zaurus does, like all my systems do. ARM would do fine - I've no speed complaints about the Zaurus at all for my uses.

The natural question is how many people there are like me. Back in the early 80s, those Kaypros and Osbornes were largely bought by people wanting superior writing tools - and the degree of portability they had was important to this market. For writing, text editors are still better tools than word processors - which are really aimed squarely at churning out business letters. (Real layout is another thing, and best done on a workstation.) I don't thing there's even one example of a well-optimized writer's machine now - of the sort of thing a news reporter or trail-wandering poet would find truly ideal. But it's precisely in the space between pocket-fitting Zauruses and subnotebooks that such a machine someday has to arrive, and if it's done right succeed wildly.

Re:Anyone else thinking what I'm thiinking?

[couchslug]

"i'm fairly certain we will yet see more and more useless devices like this end up new-in-box, on ebay, for a fraction of the initial msrp, before this year is out."

Sweet! More stuff for Slashdotters to play with! Someone elses business model is not my problem.
Cool hackables for cheap works for me and many other geeks.

Some examples from the past:

http://www.linux-hacker.net/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/Ult raBoard.pl [linux-hacker.net]

Palm oh why do you fail me?

[sc0ob5]

I have often been tempted to buy palm products but they are always inferior to everything else in the same price range. I mean their brand new 750 only has a 1.3mp camera with 2x digital zoom, lacking in memory, runs windows mobile 5.0, 240x240 screen, and only a 300mhz processor which is not enough for windows. Please palm come out with some decent numbers and ditch windows mobile for a decent OS like symbian or stick to palmOS or even give Linux a try.