Pro Foleo

You've probably seen the lustworthy pictures of HP's rumoured Eee-like UMPC. This system, if true, seems to fix a lot of what is wrong with the Eee, namely the cramped, rattletrap keyboard. The 2133 has a keyboard that is 95% of full size, with a display that measures 8.9". The processor will be a low-cost, low-power Via chip. According to Cnet's Crave blog, sources at HP say the 2133 will have much better battery life than any previous UMPC and will be priced very competitively. One HP staff said, "You won't even need to consider this purchase. You'll buy it like a handphone without a thought".

Hmmm… Very tempting. So Foleo-like. Let's hope HP decides that the system needs to be functionally mobile in addition to physically mobile. No Windows Vista! Or at least offer a version with a lightweight OS that can be up and running in a couple of seconds.

Oh, and you have to read this article by Erica Ogg over at Cnet, titled "Palm Foleo: Not such a dumb concept afterall." It is ironic that Palm was first to this new market, and yet is reaping none of the benefits. It's also puzzling how so many Foleo-critics now love the Eee and Eee-inspired laptops.

I still have hope that once Palm OS II is finished, we will indeed see a Foleo-like device from Palm. The way the market has changed, they'd be silly not to. (I'll probably have to find a new blog name, though. I can't imagine they'd use the Foleo name again.)

Awesome article by Mike Elgan about the design of truly mobile computers. Elgan says that nobody has got it right yet, and I think all of us would agree. (But would he have purchased a Foleo?)

"Another CES has come and gone, and you've demonstrated yet again that you haven't got a clue when it comes to designing, building or marketing an ultraportable computer…

This is why you fail: You keep producing devices designed for "serious work" and as laptop replacements. As a result, nearly all ultraportables are far too expensive, bloated and laden with needless functions. Nobody wants them."

Read the article now. Then send it to your friends. The mobile computing industry needs to change. Palm has stepped out of the arena for now, but something big is coming. (Some say that the Eee PC is already there, but I agree with Elgan that the device needs a fast-typing keyboard.)

Who the heck is Torturous Trevor the Technoholic, and how did he get himself a Foleo?

Okay, so that was two questions.

In other news, the ship continues to sink. Palm has confirmed earlier reports that it will be a long, long time before Palm OS II arrives.

Oh, and reader David S. points out that Culligan would like to someday, maybe, perhaps, possibly build a Foleo-type device, albeit possibly, maybe, perhaps in another form-factor. Link.

Gulp.

Ed Hardy at Brighthand says that Palm should drop all plans for a Linux-based Palm OS II, and should instead shift the company's focus to Windows Mobile devices.

Palm already makes several smartphones that don't have the problems I mentioned earlier: the Treo 700w/wx, the Treo 750, and the soon-to-be-released Treo 500. But they don't run the Palm OS; they run Windows Mobile. And that's the direction Palm has to go.

The company should give up on spending a year or so on Palm OS II, and go with something that works now. 

Setting aside the whole Micro$oft evil empire thingy, it's really difficult to argue with Hardy's logic. 2009 is a long ways down the road to bring out the new Palm OS.

As for the Foleo, Hardy writes

And this move wouldn't even have to mean the end of the Foleo II. HTC has demonstrated how well Windows Mobile adapts to laptop-like devices.

One nice thing about a Windows Mobile-based Foleo is that there would be no problem with software. And WinMob is certainly a better OS for mobile devices than Vista is.

Hmm…

…about the Foleo cancellation. Interesting analysis by David Beers:

I've spent some time with the Foleo operating system and it's a very nice piece of work, too. I'd go so far as to say that Palm's lightweight DirectFB windowing system sets a new standard of responsiveness and simplicity for mobile Linux. As far as I can see, it would have made a great smartphone OS. Given how far Palm had got with Foleo, there's really only one solid reason I can see for Palm pulling the plug on it.

That would be the wireless carriers.

Yes, there are a few black helicopters buzzing around in this one, but eventually somebody has to get it right.

There's nothing much new in this Guardian article titled "Can Palm find a way to survive?" Well, nothing new except for this line:

Palm this week told the Guardian "it will be 12 to 18 months" before a Linux Palm appears.

Previous remarks from Palm suggested that the new OS would appear on a device in 2008. Now it seems it could be well into 2009.

Colligan says the smartphones come first. Fans of the Foleo seem to have a long wait ahead.

It's hard to believe that another company won't get there first. A truly mobile laptop is coming.

It’s only a matter of time before an innovative company such as Apple comes out with a low-cost, super-light, instant-on machine that will wow tech-heads, leaving Palm in the position it is in right now—playing catch-up in a technology category it pioneered.

(From "In Defense of the Palm Foleo" by Glenn Derene)

UPDATE: Michael G suggests that The Guardian may be misquoting Colligan.

So now we get a new Treo, some new (partial) owners, and a bunch of new job postings over at Palm. Engineering and marketing, them be the categories. (Nothing Foleo-specific, other than yesterday's listing.)

Still no Foleos on Ebay yet. Yes, I know you've been checking, too. 

Anyhow, it sounds like a company with changes ahead. Wonder when we'll see the new OS. Hasn't it been promised since like 1954?

In Cane's take-two, Mike points out a wonderful Jeff Hawkins quote found in Piloting Palm by Andrea Butter and David Pogue:

"You can't be swayed by public opinion about a product that people haven't had a chance to use."

If only that were still true.

"It's a rare irony to chronicle the demise of an upcoming device by using the device itself." So writes Glenn Derene at Popular Mechanics in an excellent defense of the now-deceased Palm Foleo-1:

By foregoing a hard drive in favor of flash memory and using a stripped-down Linux OS, the Foleo can literally boot up as soon as you push the on button, making off-the-cuff e-mails and gotta-know-now Internet searches easy. Sure, there are handheld devices… but none of them split the difference between the comfort of a laptop keyboard and portability the way the Foleo does. …

Critics in the press (this means you, Engadget) have lambasted the device, saying that there is no point to a device that is shaped like a laptop but lacks the computing power. But I disagree—most laptops are bloated with fat-client software and high-powered chips that makes them run hot and slow, while chewing through batteries. This is the very reason why handhelds have taken off in the past few years. What people need on the go is e-mail, Internet access and light document software. That’s exactly what the Foleo has.

Once again, someone who has actually used the Foleo clearly understands it.

Glenn, I hope you aren't considering sending your Foleo back to Palm.

Mike Cane writes about a Palm job posting for a Foleo Application Engineer:

So, Palm is still working on it. And does the pop3 and imap requirements mean this email app for the Foleo will work via WiFi rather than requiring syncing email via a Treo or other phone?

Looking at the Palm jobs site, I could not find the listing that Mike is referring to. (Perhaps he saw it at Yahoo or something?) However, Palm does have one listing posted on Sept. 11 for a Foleo Sync Software Engineer:

The position is for a software engineer who would be responsible for developing and maintaining software that runs on Palms Treo and Foleo products, and be responsible for synchronization between the two products.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Develop a strong understanding of how the Foleo and Treo products interact with each other towards the goal of supporting the existing software and expanding it to support new functionality in future versions of the product.
• Troubleshoot problems reported by testers, internal beta users and external reports by examining logs. Design improvements on existing architecture with a focus on making gains in performance and reliability.
• Work with other developers and testers to ensure that our test strategy is comprehensive and the design/code allow for effective testing of the code with test applications/tools.

It's possible the two listings refer to the same job. At any rate, it does seem that Palm is at least considering more work on the Foleo project.

Or maybe Palm's HR department didn't get Colligan's memo…

Palm Infocenter just posted an interview with Tealpoint's Vince Lee in which he discusses the Foleo cancellation. (You'll remember that Tealpoint is the company that understands the potential of the Foleo more than Palm.)

…the Foleo team had been working very hard to get the product to market, and many features had to be set aside due to the tight schedule. It's no secret that the Foleo had shortcomings in some key areas, but it was hoped these could be addressed in software updates after the initial release. The decision to cancel the Foleo is a smart one, however, if it means that the Foleo can return sometime in the future as a much stronger product. …

Our sincere hope is that the next gen platform is some flavor of Palm OS running on top of a Linux kernel, and that the Foleo would return as the current Foleo-1 hardware running this new operating system. Not only would this allow developers to write apps for the next gen platform, Palm OS Garnet, and Foleo-II simultaneously, but it would capitalize on the existing library of PalmOS apps to fill in many of the software gaps that were missing on the Foleo-I.

The more I think about it, the more comfortable I am with the cancellation of the Foleo-1, but not for all the reasons the gadget fans give. I want a finished product, one that has a bright future of third-party applications. Let's hope the Foleo can indeed rise from the ashes as a stronger product.