When Palm launched the Foleo, the company actually launched three different initiatives: a new Linux OS, a mobile companion category, and an advanced mobile companion product. Why Palm chose to lead with a single product is a mystery to us, but we suspect that the buzz around a physical hardware device was more enticing than trying to create buzz for an unproven category, or an under-developed OS. Still, there are a lot of possibilities hidden beneath the surface of Palm's announcement.
The Linux OS
It is no secret that Palm's Linux OS has been in development for some time. As the company's deck was shuffled and reshuffled during its spin off of the Palm OS software group and the eventual acquisition by Access, the Linux OS was always held up as the successor to the aging Palm (now Garnet) OS. In our conversation with Palm Senior Vice President of Marketing, Brodie Keast, Keast reiterated that Palm is still committed to bringing a Linux-based OS to the handheld platform, but the OS on Foleo is not exactly what we should expect on an upcoming Treo.
As Apple squeezes its fist on third-party development, and while our Windows Mobile smartphone crashes, we're interested in seeing Linux developed for a handheld, though the idea is hardly novel. Recent announcements from Motorola indicate the RAZR-maker is packing Linux onto many of its new phones. We think that Linux may be a nice way to keep Palm around a while longer. With such a broad base of developers, and the relative ease of porting software from a desktop environment to the handheld, Palm is shoring up support for its devices by ensuring developer interest. What Palm needs more than anything right now is a fan base, a group like the "CrackBerry" addicts or the Apple fanboys, to anticipate and hype their new products. By turning to Linux and stressing the openness of the platform, Palm has opened itself to an array of possibilities, and in his Webcast Jeff Hawkins even admitted that they won't know what the killer app for the new device will be until the developer community creates it.
The mobile companion category
A couple of weeks before the Foleo was announced, Palm released a new, full-size Bluetooth keyboard for smartphones. An accessory, in other words. With the Foleo, Palm is trying to create a sort of über-accessory, a mobile companion. Talking with Keast, we mentioned that we regularly carry two phones (one smart, one small), a laptop, iPod, etc., and asked which of these the Foleo will replace. The answer is: none of them. When your specific tasks require a laptop, you'll carry your laptop. But when you only want to check your e-mail, fix a Word document, and browse the Web a bit, you'll carry the Foleo. It is an extra tool, admittedly, but often it might be the right tool for the job. We like this idea, and we're starting to feel more comfortable with the mobile companion as a category. Palm is right, sometimes we might need more than a Bluetooth keyboard, but less than a full laptop.
Will enough people pay $500 a pop for what is essentially a complicated accessory? We're not sure, but we do know that we would never drop $2K on a UMPC. Smartphones are becoming more and more powerful, and many of their advanced functions simply cannot be contained on their tiny screens, using their diminutive keyboard. Besides productivity, mapping programs, media software and even Web browsing would be better served by a larger device, and Palm has created a sort of thin client category to leverage the power already contained in the handheld, while keeping costs and complications down on the new device. We'd like to see a range of new mobile companions, like touch screen tablets or even new paradigms for mobile computing. Messaging and communicating will always be the domain of the handheld, but maybe Palm is onto something giving the more advanced, PC-like functions of our Treo some room to stretch out and breath.
The Foleo
We admit that we were disappointed by the Foleo when it launched. We own Palm OS devices and rate them highly. We find them easy to use, but powerful, and in need of a serious refreshing. Thus, we were hoping for a successor to the Treo, not an addendum. With its underwhelming feature set, the Foleo's main selling point is the fact that it turns on and off instantly. That's it? Well, no, the real selling point is the Linux OS, and all the development that could potentially come in the future, but for now, when you press the power button, the Foleo turns on right away, and that's why Palm thinks you should buy it. This is one of those features that we realize we're going to have to experience before we buy into it, but the more we think about it, the more we like the idea that Palm is selling an experience with this device. In the real world, using a device is about the experience, and not about a robust feature set, so if Palm can truly create a new, refreshing way to interact with a smartphone, they may have a success.
That doesn't mean we don't have complaints. The Foleo is a strange beast. Compact flash within, but SD memory without? Huh? No touch screen on a Palm device? Why not? And where is the trackpad, for those of us who loath trackpoints? Wi-Fi is nice, but are we talking 802.11n? And exactly how quick and painless is the sync between the Foleo and the Palm? In our minds, one of the larger omissions from the Foleo was a media player, though Keast reminded us that a Linux developer could surely create one for the device. Still, to compete with internet tablets like Nokia's N800 or Archos' 604 Wi-Fi, the Foleo will need excellent media support, and Palm should encourage and perhaps target developers to create it. The biggest disappointment of the device is the fact that its processor is not capable of handling YouTube videos, though the Opera browser has no problems with Flash-based sites. Though the Nokia N800 had some trouble with YouTube in our tests, watching videos was still possible, so the Foleo's inability makes the device seem dated, even before its launch.
For the future, we have a laundry list of features we'd like to see. A Web cam and GPS sensors built in would be nice hardware additions. VoIP is a necessity. Maybe a GIMP-lite software package for very basic photo-editing on the road, as well as blogging software for easy posting. An IM client would mean that we wouldn't need to take out our Treo while using the Foleo. The possibilities are endless, which may be precisely the point. With Linux underpinnings, there is hardly a possibility that is unachievable, if a developer decides the project is worthwhile.
Looking forward
We still don't quite understand why Jeff Hawkins claimed this was the most exciting device he'd ever worked on, but with his credentials, we're willing to give it a try. After all, the man did invent Graffiti, the original Palm and the Treo. Still, as much as we'd love to get our hands on a Foleo today to put it through its paces, we think the product could be even more interesting a year from now, when plenty of software options exist to expand and enhance the functionality of the device. This will take a serious push on Palm's part to encourage developers to create software, and perhaps some creative salesmanship to ensure that enough people own a Foleo to make development worthwhile. In the mean time, we look forward to turning the device on, and off, and on again.
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