webOS-Based Foleo Rumor Picking Up Steam 20
Ever since I was present for the Foleo at its introduction, I've always found the concept intriguing. The idea of a Mobile Companion has been passed up by the Netbook craze, of course - but Palm's hardware on the Foleo was actually quite nice and their attention to the details that matter (i.e a real, full-sized, decent keyboard) was what really worked on the device. Above, a quick vid of the original Foleo.
Ever since the webOS was announced (actually, ever since the original Foleo was cancelled), there have been rumors that the Foleo II would come back, based on webOS. Since webOS is essentially resolution independent and so much of it is based on HTML, it truly could be a "cloud book." Up to now, that's what we knew.
Now Electronista claims to have a few more details. They cite "analyst" Tip Chowdhry, who says that the next Foleo will sport similar hardware as the original Foleo, use an ARM processor and a Qualcomm Gobi chipset for on-board 3G, and have 8-10 hours of battery life.
Chowdhry claims former Apple Employees had much to do with under-the-hood changes (no surprise there) and it will still sell for $399.
How this analyst came by this information is a mystery, but it doesn't sound crazy to us. On the other hand, it doesn't seem very realistic that Palm would be able to launch not one, not two, but three new webOS-based devices within a year of each other (make that 6ish if you count CDMA separately from GSM). So while we expect the Foleo to make a comeback someday, we expect that day is quite a ways off.
20 Comments
I hope they change the name if it comes back.....
Foleo = Faileo
To paraphrase likely the greatest leader of the 21st Century (if not all time):
Fooleo me once, shame on you.
Fooleo me twice.... won't get Fooleo'd again...
The Palm Fre.
I know it could have 3G internal, but it would be nice to use it tethered to the Pre for network access.
that would just drain the battery on the pre though...
How about the Palm Mini
What I really want is a 64GB USB flash drive w/ its own battery & able to transfer files to/from the Pre via Wifi or Bluetooth.
Makes perfect sense, palm's future depends more on webOS, than the pre it self, and there devices they put it on the more it will succeeded. Palms wants to hit the entire spectrum of devices from small to large, from phone to media pad, from polished to simple. The pre is the flagship device, jack of all trades, smack in the middle, but there will be more niche devices. Consider how a foleo like device will help bring apps like a native google doc and spreadsheet to webos, and one there its a short step to all other webos devices.
It's all about the specifications. Netbooks raised bar so Palm has to re-foleo at the right price, with the right guts. Any Palm device will have to have the ram etc to process youtube, NYT online, and other media-intensive sites. By 2010 the device shld include a video cam.
They could call it 'Palm Post'.. ;)
Calling a webOS netbook the palm mini not a good idea since others have chosen to use that name for their netbooks it would look like they are copying or something. I don't know what they could call it but I think if they are creative and go with something simple and catchy like with the pre they will turn heads towards them in the market. Unfortunately if they do get a webOS based netbook it will be a little late for me. I am in the market for one now and will be getting an eeePC 1000HE. Who knows depending on how far down the road they do the webOS based netbook perhaps I'll be in the market for getting it. I think it will really boil down to how much of an upgrade it will be from the 1000HE and how much having the webOS on a netbook means to me. I'm still stuck having to use windows for a few apps I use so I'd love to see the ability to run windows apps without the need to still own a copy of windows and have it installed to run them. If palm can emulate windows on the webOS on a netbook then I'd buy one in a heartbeat and say adios to MS.
I still think the Foleo2 (or what ever you want to call it) should be a Redfly type solution (a terminal) for the Palm Pre. The benefit of the Redfly type solution is that you always have your data with you and there is no syncing or relying on cloud data service to have your data. Plus you use less power because all the memory and processing takes place on the Pre. Plus your total cost of ownership is less because all your software would reside on your Pre and your Pre would be your wireless modem so you would not need to pay your provider twice. Trust me, its the way to go.
There's a reason why the Redfly is barely selling and they keep slashing the price, and that's because without the phone, it's useless, and people want more functionality than a phone can give on the larger form factor and screen size. If you notice, they've started selling Redfly PC software, and I'd bet that's selling many more copies than the Redfly hardware.
The Pre already has a small battery, and to connect to a device like this wirelessly via Bluetooth would just drain battery even more quickly. I guess you could maybe tether it via Bluetooth, but with the Pre being so focused on wireless data download, that defeats the purpose.
Just like the Android netbook which is going to flop hard, I think a WebOS one would as well. From a netbook form factor people in general want to be able to run their normal programs with no compromises. No matter how well the OS works on a phone, an ARM processor just can't do that. Sure, Docs to Go works well on the tiny screen of my Treo, but if I'm on my laptop, I want the full MS Office or OpenOffice experience with no compromises. WebOS just can't do this.
In addition, I don't think the form factor would be all that great running WebOS anyway. My main computer is a Dell XT tablet, which has capacitive touch, but generally that isn't nearly as useful in the laptop configuration as it is in the slate configuration. Its hard to be all that accurate when you're poking at something that is vertical and on a hinge. And since WebOS has no on-screen keyboard, there's no way a slate would be possible.
As for the OS, it's tailor-made for a small screen in which applications need to take up the whole screen to be useable. On a 9" tablet or higher, you really don't have this problem as much, so Windows or OS X can do multitasking there just as well, if not better since you can have multiple programs open on the same screen at the same time, without having to switch between cards. (And I love the cards metaphor on the smartphone, by the way, so I'm not just complaining about that in general).
The thing I could see as being very useful though... what if Palm released a "Synergy" PIM solution for the PC? It would be perfect for those who are complaining about no desktop sync, and from what we've seen so far, the software is far better in this respect than even MS Outlook (which does Exchange well, but that's it) or anything else on the desktop.
Who cares, where's my pre dammit. :P
I like the idea of a "Palm Mini" or "Pre-Maxi" and think that would be the perfect name.
It would be great if it is a free standing device based on WebOS. Hopefully, Sprint could support this as an add on to our normal accounts.
I believe Palm could pull this off easily and early if it is manufactured and designed by a third party. Palm's contribution would be the OS and bringing Sprint to the table.
Are all these leaks just a distraction to divert attention from problems with the Pre?
Not that there's a point or anything to this device. There's such a glut of Netbooks out there as it is now and Windows 7 looks promising. I'd still rather use a smallish laptop like the Dell XPS 1330 though that has more power.
Other problem: WebOS hasn't even begun to evolve.
The only device i might have an interest in (that i'm still not sure of) would be an 8 x 10 thin multitouch pad for browsing and the like. Could serve as an ereader as well. Would need a virtual kb.
When I heard about the possibility of a potential Palm netbook that would run on webOS a couple days ago, I was pretty excited about the possibilities. The new operating system is what will help make the Palm Pre/Palm Eos in my opinion. After my initial excitement wore down, though, I thought about the current glut of netbooks already in market. What could Palm do to separate its netbook from the rest of the market? It seems that Palm was truly ahead of the curve when it first announced the original Foleo, but now, it may have missed the boat completely.
With another 48 hours of thought, I
Nice thoughts on what the Foleo2 should include.
I believe a touch screen would also set it a step above the current crop of netbooks. It would have the added benefit of allowing WebOS to work in the same vein as it is going to on the smaller devices.
Err, maybe it could even be called the Feelio? Naw.
The Gobi radio chipset is also used in the Sony Vaio P series.
According to commenters at the Pocketables.net forums, the only physical difference between the GSM and CDMA versions of the Sony are that the GSM version has a SIM card holder. The chipset itself is capable of both CDMA and GSM, with the rest done in software. (The early US CDMA versions can be hacked to run on GSM by soldering in a card holder and replacing the drivers.)
So, they wouldn't need to develop two devices, only one.
-Rusty
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Great! :)
I won't even consider a netbook without a trackpoint like I saw on Foleo. Can't wait!