Palm Gets a Clue, Cancels Foleo

I need an $500 underpowered Linux Laptop like I need a… a Palm Foleo?

While the idea of a fast-booting Palm Foleo laptop as a “mobile phone companion” might have sounded like a good idea to the guys who dreamed it up, this struck me as one of the most off-target devices I’ve ever heard of. I mean, this thing wasn’t even exciting on paper. You had to wonder what they were thinking. Meanwhile my Palm Treo is feeling older and clunkier than just about any mobile device on the market. I feel like I’ve got a 10 year old Star-Tac on my belt.

At 2.5 pounds, and 5 hours battery life, the only thing the Foleo had going for it was a full sized keyboard and the low price. But it wasn’t actually portable enough that you’d want to take it anywhere you wouldn’t rather have a PC. So it was the classic “in between” device. Not quite powerful enough to be a full-blown laptop, not quite small enough to be truly portable. Much like Windows UMPC, this is something that only gadget freaks would be interested in. And even then, I’m not so sure. What Palm needs to do is focus on its core business and not get distracted.

Maybe I’m spoiled from using Sony Vaios for the last few years. My laptop weighs under 3 pounds and is only half an inch larger than the Palm Foleo specs. I would love to have something more portable, but the Foleo was not it.

So its just as well Palm President Ed Colligan cancelled this project. Better to take the loss now than end up defending a boneheaded product that no one cares about.

In the meantime, I suggest anyone who really needs ultraportability look at the Nokia N800 Internet tablet. It’s not without its limitations since it has no keyboard, but it’s small, fast and great for browsing the web via Wi-Fi. But most importantly, it serves a different purpose than a bare bones laptop.