Foleo vs. Eee PC
September 1st, 2007
When searching for alternatives to the Foleo, one cannot avoid at least a quick look at the Asus Eee PC, another low-cost, Linux-based laptop alternative. One of the strongest initial criticisms of the Foleo was that it didn't have enough functionality for the price. So when the more powerful Eee PC was announced at $199–less than half the price of the Foleo–the blogosphere firmly declared Palm's device DOA.
In the weeks since Asus’s announcement, the waters have muddied a bit, and it now seems that not many Eee PCs will be sold for the much-lauded price of $199. According to a report in Taiwan’s Digitimes, the Eee PC will cost between $200 and $370, depending on the amount of pre-installed memory. But Digitimes also reported that the vast majority of the initial shipments will be the $350 version, meaning that most customers will see only $150 difference between the Eee PC and the Foleo after rebate.
But price is only part of the story. Reviewers have gotten their hands-on both devices, and the Eee PC, while having more advertised features than the Foleo, falls short in the design department. The keyboard is sub-par at best–a tiny, rattle-fest of a pad that caused one reviewer to “shudder” at the thought of typing a full article on it. And build quality is apparently in-line with its budget price. As Brighthand put it:
"The build is as you would expect for a budget $250 PC: a little shaky. It felt and looked like plastic and if this thing were stepped on I'm sure the result would not be pretty. Having said that, it didn't feel like it was made of something as thin as milk jug plastic."
I don’t know about you folks, but being reassured that the case is “not as thin as milk jug plastic” doesn’t give me much confidence in the Eee PCs ability to serve as a mobile device.
By comparison, the Foleo seems to be a very solidly built product. Again, from Brighthand:
"The Foleo is most definitely built better than the Asus, and the Foleo keyboard is miles better than the shake, rattle and roll keyboard on the Asus Eee."
There are other differences between the devices. The Foleo is instant-on, has much longer battery life and runs quiet and cool. The Eee PC whirs to life in about ten seconds, is noticeably warm to the touch and has a noisy little fan. The Foleo has a larger display and a very slick scroll-wheel for navigating long documents.
It is true that the Eee PC will offer more power and features out of the box. But I wonder how many of those extra things will work well on such a budget machine. I certainly wouldn’t want to edit high-res photographs on either device. I have desktop workstations for power tasks, and it takes a pretty expensive laptop to come close to their capabilities.
I have a short but specific list of requirements in a mobile computer: Instant-on, long battery life, great keyboard, speedy access to the Web and office documents. And the device needs to be lightweight and durable.
Of the two devices, Palm's Foleo comes closest to satisfying my requirements. Quality counts for something.
September 1st, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Personally I will stick to the foleo thanks to the normal-sized keyboard and the quietness. But the big advantage, I think, with the Eee pc is the potential large community of people that will do free or cheap software and add-ons, thanks to the more ordinary linux-distribution that comes with the eee pc. Though I won’t need much extras, there is always nice to be able to transform the workspace after your own needs. And people like different things.
September 1st, 2007 at 1:01 pm
agreed, my feeling is that the foleo will do what it does very well. it was designed and built for a more specific set of tasks and therefore should be able to handle them very well. the EEE seems to be a real full blown pc that is just seriously underpowered, it may be able to run alot more programs but not very efficiently. It reminds me too much of the OLPC, and it probably just wont be very functional for everyday use.
September 1st, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Yeah, it’s unfortunate about the Eee’s build quality. Not the kind of thing you want to toss in your backpack.
Granted, I’ll probably get a case or something for the Foleo, too.
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:06 am
As much as I may complain about the Foleo’s price, I’ve never read anything that suggested its build quality was sub-par. Not so the Eee.
I’d rather pay twice as much for the Foleo (although I ain’t gunna). I wish they’d just release the thing, already, so I can drool over it and torture myself second-guessing my decision not to get one.
:p
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:04 am
West, my personal goal is to win you over to the dark… er Foleo side.
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:15 pm
hehe
“Search your feelings. Use the Foleo, Luke.”
September 3rd, 2007 at 1:26 am
I’m sorta thinking like West here. The Foleo is a good idea with a potentially huge market, but the price is too high. I think this thing could do very well at 399.
That said, I don’t think the price is too high for the reaons most people give. “You can get a full laptop for the price…” There’s not a chance in the world I’d lug around a crappy $500 laptop, but I’d gladly toss a Foleo in my bag.
Just at $399.
September 5th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
“Quality” is cannot be used in the same *paragraph* as “Palm”. Now that it’s dead, maybe you’ll see that the Foleo was a monster of a misconception. The EeePC hasn’t been released yet either and neither the specs nor the price are final. I guess you’ll just have to wait patiently to see if your preconceived dislike is justified. But keep in mind that your preconceived “like” of the Foleo was not.
September 5th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
There’s nothing “preconceived” about listening to the reports of reputable reviewers who all agree on the build quality and keyboard quality of the two devices.
Are you actually suggesting that the Eee PC was better built or had a better keyboard? Those two things are hugely important in a mobile device, especially to me. The Foleo absolutely was the better-built product, even with its other faults.