Palm webOS on a Desktop? Foleo Redux? 21
Although the buzz around here lately is mostly concerning the much-anticipated release of the Palm Pre, it's also fun to ask the "what if" questions - like what if Palm's new webOS pops up on other mediums besides the Pre smartphone? If you've followed Palm over the past few years, you may remember the ill-fated Foleo, a mobile companion for the Palm OS. That poor ship sunk before it ever left the harbor, but David Beers writes on his Software Everywhere blog that "by building a system using de facto cross-platform standards like JavaScript, WebKit, Java and Jetty, Palm has made a great platform for creating companion applications that can run on any desktop—Windows, Mac, or Linux—leveraging the same code that runs on the handset."
At the time Palm introduced it, the Foleo was ill-fated, but perhaps the idea and implementation was ahead of the OS that would make it attractive to a broad base of consumers. Maybe now that Palm can place the horse in front of the cart, we can expect to see a Foleo redux and hopefully webOS applications showing up on the desktop as well. What do you think, would you pick up a webOS-based Foleo II over another netbook?
21 Comments
I must be in the minority here, because while I absolutely love the cards metaphor for a smartphone, it makes no sense to me on an actual computer, even if it had a capacitive touchscreen (which my current laptop, a Dell XT, has). It's really two entirely different metaphors based on resolution and screen size. On a smartphone, its a necessity for everything to be fullscreen. On a computer, even the netbooks, there's generally enough resolution and size for multiple windows all open at the same time, a taskbar or dock for switching between them, etc. WebOS's card metaphor would be a step backwards on a netbook device as far as I'm concerned.
This would actually be less interesting to me than the original Foleo. Though, a Synergy PIM program for Windows/Linux/Mac would be a great idea.
I would prefer to see a Redfly type solution. The Pre has that nice zippy processor so it should be the perfect device to work with a "dumb" terminal.
I have not taken my laptop on one trip since I got my redfly and it does everything I need it to do. I am really wanting to get a Pre but I am concerned about giving up my RedFly and Windows Mobile.
I'd also love to see a Redfly-style device. Plus, it it could have one of those spinnable touchscreens, it could be convertible to a tablet-like device. I know MANY people who would love to have a device like that!
Hey Jason, add me to the people who would love to have a device like that! It would be awesome!
And look how long the Eee PC lasted before they started putting Windows on it. :P
Actually though, I've read that an abnormally high percentage of Linux-based netbooks get returned, so people just don't want alternative interfaces on them apparently.
"Actually though, I've read that an abnormally high percentage of Linux-based netbooks get returned, so people just don't want alternative interfaces on them apparently."
There's a group at MIT that's studied people's use of Post-It notes and found that most people favor them over something like Outlook because the software tends to have too many steps. That's why Palm has said many times that their chief competition is pen and paper. If Palm can make a Foleo II as easy-to-use as the Pre (based on people's reactions at CES), it can do well--if effectively marketed and supported.
That said, familiarity is also a factor--which is why Palm needs to do the effective marketing and support. Show people that the learning curve really isn't that steep, help them out a bit as they go, and show them what it can do. Just putting it out there and saying "This runs Linux"--with limited support--will limit adoption to power users.
I think webOS will have huge potential on a Foleo II, and I'd love to get one.
I have wanted a netbook like device I guess you could say. My last palm device was the T5 and I have a wireless keyboard for it. I thought a the time it was a good idea. But it was clumsy and frequent use of the keyboard on the go was useless since you had to set it up to use every time. So netbooks style/form factor of looking like mini laptops is what I wanted as an upgrade to my T5 and wireless keyboard. I don't think I have found a netbook that has and does what I want it to do. That is also reasonably priced. The foleo really looked like it was going to be what I wanted however since it never got released due to the decision to make it better for their future devices I never got to see for sure. So a "netbook" with webOS on it may very well fit the bill for what I am looking for. Almost a year ago I got a blackberry 8330 which was closer to what I wanted but the screen size and lack of certain minor software type things still isn't exactly what I wanted in a PDA type device. The netbook style/form factor is really what I want for a PDA. I don't quite need a laptop capable device that fits in my pocket but I do want a device that not a smartphone but is more than the previous palm PDAs. Sort of a half way between them and a laptop and fits in my pocket. So it can't be greater than about 6 inches at its largest dimension.