Foleo: A Tale of Two Thoughts

[Nurhisham Hussein]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,14630' target='_blank'>http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/a...on=expand,14630</a><br /><br /></div>"<b>Paul Paxton:</b> Enter in the Palm Foleo, a laptop sort of looking device with a 10 inch screen and full size keyboard. It’s innovativeness? Hmmm, hold on, I’m still thinking, oh I know – nothing!<br /><b>Rob Enderle:</b> Palm just rethought the Smartphone, and in many ways, this new vision likely comes closer to the way most of us work now than the current generation of Smartphones do."<br /><br />The Foleo seems to have polarized opinion, far more than the UMPC did when it first came out - just check out the responses to <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?action=expand,55441">Jason's post</a>. These two competing views nicely sums up the divide, though to be fair, the majority opinion echoes Paul's view. You can read Rob's take <a href="http://news.digitaltrends.com/talkback191.html">here</a> and Paul's rant <a href="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,14630">here</a>.

[Paragon]

Well, after reading Rob Enderle's article I have come to one very solid conclusion...the man is on drugs!

This statement solidifies that fact without a doubt:
In the end, with this simple product, we may be seeing the beginning of one of the biggest changes in the history of the PC, cell phone, and PDA —

He honestly believes that the Foleo is going to change computing as we know it?! His concept of modular computing is a good one. But in order for it to work each component must have a proper balance of functionality, usability, connectivity, price, and size.

The Foleo offers nothing unique in any of these areas. It has three basic functions. First it is an internet appliance. Secondly it is a Smartphone companion, and thirdly, it does a very limited amount of real computing because of a limited amount of available software, which isn't likely to grow much.

Now compare those abilities to a laptop. The laptop is a great internet appliance. It is also a very good Smartphone companion. Plus a laptop has thousands and thousands of applications available to expand its capabilities. Plus it has much more processing power, memory and other hardware feature such as CD/DVD drives, and so on.

After comparing them in those areas it comes down to a size and portability issue. The Foleo falls into a very bad category because it is far too big to fit into a pocket, which means it has to be transported in the same way as a laptop. In our household we now have two 12" laptops. When it comes to a matter of transporting them I see zero difference from the Foleo. The Foleo is only slightly smaller, but it offers so much less.

After doing all those comparisons two other issues seem to be left. One is cost. The Foleo is priced much the same as most common lower end laptops. This factor kills the Foleo. Even if you want to compare the cost of a Foleo to a small 12" laptop, or UMPC, which tend to be pricier, it still comes up short. Low cost is a very poor way to rate anything. Value is a much better judge. Low cost often means cheap. In the case of the Foleo this is very much the case. It delivers very poor value for its cost, opposed to a similarly priced laptop, or even a slightly higher priced small laptop, UMPC, or sub-notebook. The price to feature ratio for them is much better, resulting in better value.

The last advantage they bill the Foleo as having is instant on. The Foleo/Smartphone companionship is built on the Smartphone receiving your email, and reading it on the Smartphone. The Foleo is thought to be used to do the more heavy lifting in email, where you sit down and read lengthier emails and do longer replies, as well as doing the bulk of internet surfing. These are things that you take more time to do, and do it only a few times throughout a day, so instant on becomes a minor feature at best.

I'll take my small laptop as my Smartphone companion any day. The laptop easily offers superior VALUE over the Foleo.

One other thing.....if the Foleo didn't have the name Palm attached to it would it even be noticed? Would the media even bother to pick up on it? Would we even find it worthy of discussion?
Dave

[johnm]

My thoughts on the topic:

http://www.nullstream.com/archives/000479.html

[Gerard]

Seems to me that Palm has recognised their defeat in the PDA department, settled into reliance on the WM-driven Treo, and is now hoping to re-grow market share by inventing a niche. Unfortunately, the Vadem Cleo (sp?) sort of invented this device about 8 years ago, and came up with a cooler design. Unless Palm throws in something truly inventive or powerful in addition to the current feature set (DVD drive maybe?) I don't see this doing much in the market.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

His concept of modular computing is a good one. But in order for it to work each component must have a proper balance of functionality, usability, connectivity, price, and size.


IIANM, there was an attempt a few years back at this - it flopped of course. The biggest hurdle for this in my view is if you're going to make modular components, you'd better make sure it fits with everybody else's components, or you're going to have a mess of proprietary cables, connectors and slots. Maybe wireless USB will help push this idea, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Paragon]

The biggest hurdle for this in my view is if you're going to make modular components, you'd better make sure it fits with everybody else's components, or you're going to have a mess of proprietary cables, connectors and slots.

I couldn't agree more.

The Foleo was designed for the wrong reasons. It was not designed with the functions in mind that they are now preaching. It was designed because Access who paid a lot of money for PalmSource built an operating system and they needed a hardware platform to put it into. As a result not a lot of R&amp;D when into compatability so it doesn't fit with much.

In other words they built a chicken, then decided they needed an egg to put it in. ;)

Dave

[TOCA]

I think you're looking at this new device, the wrong way arround :?

You focus on what you do have, and not on what you could have.

The problem with a PPC is, that it needs something to connect to, in order to use its internet capabillity, enter the converged devices. They were too bulky to be practical as phones, enter smaller screens, which made it cumbersome to do anny thing practical, without a hardware keyboard and a magnifying glass.

With the Pol...erh..Folio, you can rescrink your phone to true pocket size, and use a viewable eksternal screen, with a full size keyboard, when you need to eddit/write Mails, Documents, Spreadsheeds, etc. away from the office, and netbrowsing will again be portable, on a XSGA 1024*600 screen.

If you need a optical drive, all the PC apps, and what have you, then by all means, bring your 4 times the weight, and size, laptop, but if all you need is a mobile office, then the Folio plus a smartphone is all you need to carry.

It has a opensource OS, meaning that you can make all the changes to it, you fancy, and eaven addon apps, will be easy to make, the Opera browser is the fastes mobile browser available, and the memorycard slots for both CF and SD means, you can have all the storrage you want, on the device. The build in WiFi ensures, that you don't need a data plan with your carrier, for browsing the net, you just need a hotspot.

The only downsize I can find on the gizmo, is price, and the fact, that I don't need it for my job :?

[Me_too]

This $200 laptop from Asus is going to put a lot of pricing pressure on the Foleo....

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/2007/06/05/intel_classmate_becomes_asus_199_eee_subnotebook_pc.html

[Paragon]

The problem with a PPC is, that it needs something to connect to, in order to use its internet capabillity, enter the converged devices. They were too bulky to be practical as phones, enter smaller screens, which made it cumbersome to do anny thing practical, without a hardware keyboard and a magnifying glass.

With the Pol...erh..Folio, you can rescrink your phone to true pocket size, and use a viewable eksternal screen, with a full size keyboard, when you need to eddit/write Mails, Documents, Spreadsheeds, etc. away from the office, and netbrowsing will again be portable, on a XSGA 1024*600 screen.

Wow! I think you have seriously misjudged the abilities of Windows Mobile devices and the everyday uses that millions of user continually put them through.

Dave

[TOCA]

Wow! I think you have seriously misjudged the abilities of Windows Mobile devices and the everyday uses that millions of user continually put them through.

Dave

Maybe, but I do see the Folio as an alternative way of doing some ofe the things, that are a litle combersome on manny PPC's, specially the sub 3" screen, and no slide out keyboard models.

I have also seen, and envied, a VGA screen in function, now imagine what a SVGA+ screen can do for you, when working on spreadsheets and websites 8O

My trusty old SPV M1000 is being abused to its limmits dayly, with a foldable keyboard and a BT mouse, eaven got a VGA out backpack for it, so I can boost the screen to a viewable external 15" screen in the office, turning my PPC into a (almost) fullblown Laptop, and for PPT pressentations, it connects to a projector, giving me a 80"+ screen to work on 8)

I could easily see myself, replacing the keyboard, mouse, and backpack, with a Folio, and the SPV with a tiny WM smartphone 8)