Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm Computing, just can’t catch a break these days. First the Treo gets generally slammed by the public for failing to be as sexy and modern as its competitors in the handheld device arena, and then he releases “the most exciting project [he’s] ever worked on” the same day Microsoft goes media-nuclear with The Surface. Still, this may not just be poor PR and production — the kids might be on to something by failing to do virtual backflips over the new Palm Foleo.
First, let’s be clear: this IS NOT a laptop. Sure, it’s masquerading as a slim little lappy, but don’t get confused — the Foleo is merely a companion device to the Treo. Maybe merely is a little harsh; it does run a Linux-based OS with a 10-inch display (because who isn’t sick of staring at tiny screens) and full-sized keyboard that lets you sync up with your Treo to view/send emails and edit documents.
Representatives are quick to point out that the Foleo is light (2.5 lbs), boasts 5 hours of battery life, comes with a Wi-Fi connection, and is expected to also work with BlackBerry devices and the new iPhone. Unfortunately, when you strip away the oohs and aahs of a simple design and easy plug-and-play functionality, what’ve you got?
For $500, and without some really revolutionary advances, it’s tough to get too excited over this smartphone extension. Sorry, Jeff.
