Palm Foleo and Linux OS for summer is what Hawkins is announcing at D?

Woops! Looks like someone was trigger-happy at Palm and shot out the press release for tomorrow's announcement a little too soon! Apparently what Jeff Hawkins is going to announce in the morning at D is called the Palm Foleo (a name we've heard rumored before), and is being positioned as a "smartphone companion". We didn't know our smartphones weren't quite smart enough to need a guide to the interwebs, but the Foleo syncs to your mobile device, providing a full size keyboard and larger display for editing documents and triaging email (among other things). So yeah, basically it's a dumb device piggybacking all your Treo's most useful feature -- its connectivity. Apparently users can expect instant-on access, five hours battery life, Palm's new Linux OS, and a $500 pricetag to round off that Treo kit to about a grand this summer. Assuming all this is indeed the case, we can only come to one conclusion: damned if we need yet another friggin device. Seriously, please Palm, what we need is for you to improve the Treo -- or whatever phone device you expect us to carry and use -- not design the Treo its very own Lenny Small to hack around sluggish handset design. The yet-another-device philosophy doesn't carry, so to speak, and it's sure as hell not the future of mobile computing.

P.S. -No, that's a jokey Sony UX UMPC to the right, not the still-unseen Foleo.

[Thanks to Brian and everyone who sent this in]

Read - Screencap of the supposed release
Read - Treocentral thread

[YankInOz @ May 30th 2007 2:44AM]

And people wonder why the iPhone is going to kick azz!!!
Is this the best that Palm can do to answer the thrown down gauntlet?
Weak!!!

[Tonicboy @ May 30th 2007 2:46AM]

Seriously, that has to be the lamest product idea I have ever heard of. If it's useful to have a larger keyboard and larger screen, then put it in your damned phone!

[Kevin @ May 30th 2007 2:55AM]

Wait... seriously?? I was hoping for a new treo, but instead, we get something that is somewhere between a PDA and a UMPC. Who is doing market research over at Palm? Last I checked, PDAs were all but dead, and UMPCs aren't exactly flying off the shelves like hotcakes. Way to go!

Although I am intrigued by the linux...

[Jeremy @ May 30th 2007 2:58AM]

looks suspiciously like the Sony UX series handheld computer....very odd

[CL @ May 30th 2007 3:03AM]

@Jeremy
read the last line of the post:
"P.S. -No, that's a jokey Sony UX UMPC to the right, not the still-unseen Foleo."

[Jeremy @ May 30th 2007 3:05AM]

My bad, I'm always skimming things off the top...

[carlo @ May 30th 2007 3:11AM]

Anyone else sick of hype? Looks like Ryan Block is--You go boy!!!!

Seriously, give us something new, something we love, and something we won't have to replace. My Palm Pilot was useful for YEARS.

What a waste--although I can say my adrenal glands have had quite the workout.

I'm a little worried about what Apple, HTC and the numerous others with such grand announcements are going to actually produce. Lasting devices we can live with and not have to ship off to landfills, or more trinkets and odds and ends that go obsolete after a month.

It's like watching a bad performance get worse, better yet, Ms. USA trip over her dress over and over and over, or a perpetual fall down an up escalator (viz. Billy & Mandy).

[loki2486 @ May 30th 2007 3:13AM]

Wow... this is the third business for Palm... an accessory to your mobile phone? Seriously? Maybe someone at Palm has a sense of humor... please...please someone at Palm... sense of humor??

[BV @ May 30th 2007 3:31AM]

BAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh man, if that isn't a hoax this is amazing!!!

[loki2486 @ May 30th 2007 3:58AM]

Underwhelmed is an Understatement!!!

Who would throw down $400 to $500 for a "cellphone companion" and cellphone accessory?

Most people could barely operate their cellphones besides making a call... they are not going to buy this.

People who are techno-savey will most likely go with an All-in-one device like a UMPC or more likely the HTC units.

Palm just died right in front of my eyes... the treo style is getting old...and now this...

sad...sad

[Anonymous Realist @ May 30th 2007 3:30AM]

One hopes Palm is kidding, but sadly, a look at their history will show you that they are not. They really, honestly think this will work. Hilarious.

[Jacob @ May 30th 2007 3:34AM]

This would be hilarious if it weren't actually somewhat sad. Palm is digging their own grave right before our very eyes.

[Goyena @ May 30th 2007 3:42AM]

I'm betting it's clamshell, and large. I was just idly googling "foleo" and the definition of "folio" is high-up on the list: A large sheet of paper folded once in the middle, making two leaves or four pages of a book or manuscript.

[Marky @ May 30th 2007 4:05AM]

There are still a large number of people who prefer seperate devices and Palm would have done their market research to know this.

I never use a mobile phone's camera because the quality isn't good enough for me and therefore carry a seperate phone. Likewise I use a iPod for music and not a phone.

I would suspect there are many many people who will like a seperate device. Using the little screen on a phone for web, documents and ebooks is not good enough for most, thus Nokia's sucessful web tablets as an example. Additionally a Linux based device gives many more opportunities from independent developers.

It may flop, it may not. Let's see what the man announces later before condeming Palm from the start.

[Elais @ May 30th 2007 4:50AM]

I don't friggin believe it. I always had this idea that palm was gonna come back hard in 2007 with a device and line of smartphones that would give a clear message, "We're still the shit, and we're never getting flushed." Even now, I look at my 700p and wonder...why did I think palm was great? A lapse in judgment maybe...

[gadjitfreek @ May 30th 2007 4:52AM]

This is why I am glad I bought an OQO 02.

[David @ May 30th 2007 5:03AM]

What are you all complaining about?

The article says "basically it's a dumb device piggybacking all your Treo's most useful feature -- its connectivity" - Well to me that sounds an awful lot like a PDA, for which you don't need a "smart phone" - any suitably connected phone will do.

I don't want a smart phone. I don't want to be worrying about £400's worth of kit every time I leave the house. If I have a cheap replaceable phone with me when I go out, I can choose when and where I take my PDA. So as long as this "Foleo" is in a PDA form factor and not as big as a Winbloze UMPC, then I'll welcome it, even better that it runs Linux, because I'm working on changing from XP to Ubuntu anyway.

[David @ May 30th 2007 5:06AM]

Also, I use a Tungsten T3, it's four years old and still going strong. I connect it to the net either through my laptop when I'm at home, of my Bluetooth phone when I'm away from home.

[weatherman @ May 30th 2007 5:13AM]

This is why press leaks are so dangerous - people make stupid snap judgments based on very little in the way of facts or specs. If it has wireless-G, a decent amount of RAM (8GB or more), a decent screen (800 x 480) and a keyboard design that is either sliding or foldover, it sounds like it would be a pretty interesting device. But of course most folks here (including Ryan) have already decided it's the stupidest thing ever. And what is a "dumb device" anyway? Something without cellular connectivity? You might want to rethink your terminology because that makes no sense.

I'm with David - I can't work on a Treo and I can barely fit it in my pocket. I'd rather have a slim phone and a sooped-up PDA for when I need to do mobile work, and the ability to connect the two via Bluetooth for data when I need it.

[qwert @ May 30th 2007 5:32AM]

while i dont think it is the best idea to not give this thing cellphone funktionality, it could still be an intersting device.
5 hours of batery? if it really works, that will be nice.
instant on? great.
and judging from the small information available it could be sufficient for really working with it. also great.

so maybe it is a full umpc, but with linux and a good price?

if so, then im interested.

i really hope palm returns with some good products, but im quite sceptical wether or not they still can do it

qwer

[Jah @ May 30th 2007 6:06AM]

I think we are maturing in our use of technology. A fully converged Smartphone like the HTC Advantage is only useful in a business context. I would prefer to have a two box solution where my main Smartphone kept a copy of all the eseential information (like the original palm pilot) and another device with all my music, pictures, videos and business documents that I could carry in a bag/brief case and could leave at home at weekends or when out in the evening.

[brian @ May 30th 2007 6:17AM]

I think people are missing the big picture.

First, I think Ryan is missing the mark when he says that this device will be a "dumb" companion. There's every reason to believe this device will be *more* powerful than its companion smartphone.

When all is said and done, I believe that this combo, a small smartphone, and a larger clamshell(?)/tablet device with a full size keyboard with a larger screen is the future of mobile computing and will become your primary computing device(s). Combined with Palm's web services, this is Palm's foot in the door start to chipping away at the PC paradigm. Computing is going mobile and ubiquitous, you are not longer tied down to a desktop operating system or a single machine sitting somewhere on a desk.

With this combo you can replace a laptop on the road. There's a lot to be said for instant on, long battery life, and ultra-portability. With the right web services (including secure access to MyPalm.com through any web browser, something I think will replace Palm Desktop) all of your data and computing needs will be wherever you are.

Brian

[nojok3 @ May 30th 2007 7:11AM]

what a waste of money

[mtt @ May 30th 2007 8:18AM]

Longtime Palm & Hawkins fan here... and I will have absolutly ZERO interest in buying a standalone PDA/UMPC to carry along with my Treo. Do they think we wear cargo fatigues or a bat-belt? What kind of world do they live in where people walk around with $1000 worth of electronics on their body?

All I want is better Treos! (and the list of things they could do to improve them keeps getting longer, as the compitition keeps improving!)

[Kory @ May 30th 2007 8:31AM]

I love my Palm TX. You know what the only thing that is missing to make me ecstatic? A keyboard. That's all you need. Come on, people!

Linux
Instant On
Wi-Fi (hopefully)
Full Keyboard
5 Hours of Batterly Life

Cool.

[Karel Jansens @ May 30th 2007 8:35AM]

Wait a minute!!

Does this mean Palm has just invented the Nokia N800??!!

OMG! they're so clever at Palm! All it takes is for another major company to invent a new device paradigm and Palm IMMEDIATELY knows how to copy it as a press release! Incredible. Why Palm isn't yet the Biggest Company In the World, I don't know...

[Kory @ May 30th 2007 8:36AM]

Oh, by the way, Ryan, what the heck is "triaging"? Are you creating a gerund out of the word "triage"? I read that sentence 3 or 4 times before giving up trying to fit in the correct real word.

You know, the English language has a lot of words in it. There's not really a need for the Engadget team to start making up their own words. I mean, how about staging, or previewing, or skimming, or even reviewing.

[Peter Rojas @ May 30th 2007 9:50AM]

http://www.answers.com/triaging&r=67

It's a word, maybe you'd like to consult a dictionary next time?

[Art Kavanagh @ May 30th 2007 9:02AM]

I don't get all the hostility/derision. This sounds like the kind of thing that could finally persuade me to get a smartphone. If I understand it correctly the idea is to make it possible to use a smartphone as a real computer. If you don't want to use your smartphone as a real computer, what's the point of having one?

I can see that this isn't going to offer much to those who think a Treo is already (actually or potentially) a perfectly satisfactory device. Palm presumably thinks that such people don't constitute a big enough market. If so, they're right.

To those who've asked why not just incorporate the big keyboard and screen into a phone, the answer's obvious: you'd still need a smaller phone for the times when it wasn't convenient or necessary to carry the big keyboard with you. If you're going to have two devices anyway, making just ONE of them a phone makes syncing simpler.

Even though the last line of the post explains that the picture has nothing to do with the Foleo, I still think it's giving a misleading expression. My heart sank when I saw it; I had to remind myself that the putative press release says "full-size keyboard".

[dylan @ May 30th 2007 9:12AM]

didn't Psion have this idea like 10 years ago with the Revo?!

[k0a10 @ May 30th 2007 9:18AM]

I am traveling in the next few months and can see how it could make sense, since I'd like a very small computer and a telecoms device. And I don't think we are at the point where the full gamut of computer, phone, multimedia and other functions can be combined into one pocket-able device. But I don't see why they can't make a design that is more modular, snap-together style, where power, memory and other buses can be shared. Imagine even an industry standard where you can mix and match modular cameras, communications, power, storage, etc. Snap off the battery module on your Treo and mate it with your Foleo (or HTC... kinky). Base it on USB, with power. Managing a pocket full of devices (battery, etc) can be less fun than carrying around a behemoth, but if you could construct your own suitable mobile for a particular day that'd be fine.

[Harry @ May 30th 2007 9:26AM]

if he truly announces one of these 'companion' devices you're gonna hear a groan of disappointment from the audience. I seriously doubt the american market wants a device like this.

American market seems to like smaller devices that you can fit in a pocket. Other world markets seem to be okay with larger devices that don't fit in a pocket - HTC Advantage,and iMate JASJAR come to mind.

[Kory @ May 30th 2007 10:05AM]

Oops! My bad. I stand corrected, Ryan, and withdraw my comment. Well, I would withdraw it if I could. Barring that, I will rank it lower.

Keep on, keepin' on! I've always been a big fan of this site!

Kory...

[Bill Koslosky, MD @ May 30th 2007 10:11AM]

Could it possibly look something like this:
http://tinyurl.com/3dad4n

[vta @ May 30th 2007 11:38AM]

I am actually excited at idea proposed in this rumour

BUT

I will be PISSED if I have to pay for a Sprint DUN plan to use the thing!

[Harald @ May 30th 2007 1:05PM]

"Providing a full size keyboard and larger display for editing documents and triaging email." Wohoo, it's a sub-notebook, what an innovation ;-)
Why did I buy friggin Palm stock when they were rumored to be taken over? Unfortunately it will tank when the Treo-Foleo and the iPhone a displayed and tested next to each other.

[Bill Koslosky, MD @ May 30th 2007 1:18PM]

ComputerWorld is saying that it has a 10.2 inch screen and Wi-Fi.

[earle @ May 30th 2007 1:44PM]

It's real, and on the Palm site now.

$499 after $100 rebate. Coming this summer.

I'd rather have an N800....

http://www.palm.com/us/products/mobilecompanion/foleo/index.html?creativeID=US_BB_foleo_announcement

[mtt @ May 30th 2007 1:49PM]

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I guess the revolutionary Hawkins hasn't heard of Ultralight FULL-FEATURED laptops, UMPCs, or seen the way people use Blackberries.

Ouch. I might have to get a Blackberry Curve.

[Rob @ May 30th 2007 1:52PM]

Looks like its up on their site right now.

http://www.palm.com/us/products/mobilecompanion/foleo/index.html?creativeID=US_BB_foleo_announcement

[Page @ May 30th 2007 3:40PM]

What is all the hype about the iPhone? The iPhone's only innovation is mobile-visual-voicemail. That is it. And even that is what Portico from General Magic did years ago. The iPhone is cool, and welcomed, but it is not the be-all / end-all device. The wheel owns that title.

The first fully-touchscreen phone was actually called the Merlin by IBM back in the mid 90's. I own one. It had fax, email, PCMCIA slot, backlit full touchscreen, mobile data connectivity and of course, a cellular phone.

Sometimes I think that Jobs could release the iTurd and people will drool and give it a standing ovation. This new thing from Hawkins is totally right on. I envisioned the same thing years ago, although my design had the Treo actually sliding/docking inside to provide the brain and signal.

Give innovation a chance. Ask yourself this...When is the last time YOU innovated? What have you offered up, brought forth, or shared with the tech community? This man is DOING it.

[Karel Jansens @ May 30th 2007 4:16PM]

I'd like to c orrect myself: Palm didn't just invent the Nokia N899, they invented the Psion Netbook. Minus the Netbook's touch screen, that is. And minus the Netbook's excellent native applications. And minus the Netbook's... Aw, chucks. You get the idea...

[Tom Buddington @ Jul 13th 2007 3:21PM]

I couldn't agree more! I've posted the very same idea elsewhere. It is going to take some progress for the Foleo to match the technical success of the netBook with was an excellent implementation of the idea Psion perfected almost a decade ago. I had been a LONG time Palm user (from their beginning really) and have a netBook.

On the plus side, for those of us who's netBooks are starting to face the end of their life either from hardware ware-out or compatibility issues with (say) Vista, having Palm finally start on the road gives hope. We will need an instant-on laptop that does better that MS stuff eventually and here is where it will come from.

Whooraa!!

[Page @ May 30th 2007 4:27PM]

CORRECTION: The name was Simon, not Merlin. Here is a link to it.

http://cdecas.free.fr/computers/pocket/simon.php

1993 Technology. The iPhone is 14 years too late.

[ade @ May 31st 2007 10:46AM]

I seem to be in the minority, but I like the concept behind this product, and the price is in the right ballpark too (less than $500). I guess I would prefer WinXP on it over Linux, but not if that would drive up the price. Currently I carry an HTC Universal in my pocket and its keyboard and screen are good enough most of the time. But a not-too-expensive, not-too-heavy accessory for my backpack with a much better screen and keyboard that has an automatic, fast, and reliable built-in connection to my Universal and a decent battery life -- yes, I am definitely interested!