Happy Birthday from Palm and other random neural firings
September 4th, 2007
By the way, did I mention that today is my birthday? Yup, that's right. I have proof if anyone wants it. Just not gonna splash my ID all over the Internet.
Starbucks gave me a little piece of cake with my morning coffee. My wife organized a nice dinner at a Mongolian barbecue place. (Awesome food.) So things were going good. Then I find out that Palm cancels the single most exciting computer device that I've seen in the last several years. Instant-on, lightweight, great battery life…. does 100% of what I use a mobile computer for. (Mostly writing.) But it is not meant to be.
I will not buy a laptop. Laptops are not true mobile devices. They are portable desktops… slow, heavy, hot, bloated, way too expensive. When I need Windows, I use it on machines that can handle it, machines I can take apart and customize, machines that stay up and running for months at a time. (Gotta have instant-on at home, too.)
I think Palm should still sell me a Foleo. They can even keep the rebate. Just a way to make up for the crummiest birthday present ever.
I understand there would be no support. I'm used to it, though. I use several devices that are obsolete or never had a big impact on the market.
I feel bad for guys like Ben Combee. He is disappointed, but he has a good attitude about it. Ben, we appreciate all the work you put in to the Foleo. That video of you at LinuxWorld shows that you really do understand what needs to happen with mobile computers.
Another guy who understands is John Markoff at the New York Times. Read this article.
The future of all mobile computing is lightweight, diskless, instant-on devices with snappy mobile-only operating systems. We already have them in our pockets. The Foleo was an attempt to put that speed and convenience in a form-factor that has a real keyboard and display.
I look forward to whatever happens with the Foleo II. But other companies will certainly come to fill this market. True mobile computing is coming. Palm may have missed their chance.
September 5th, 2007 at 2:09 am
I second those sentiments. When I received the e-mail today that the Foleo project was cancelled, I thought it was some sort of sick joke.
If you find a line on how to get a full-price, no support Foleo, let me know!
September 5th, 2007 at 3:06 am
Happy birthday, Vance.
September 5th, 2007 at 3:12 am
Happy Birthday! (Palm, send this man a Foleo!)
I really like this site. Any chance you’ll keep it going up until the Foleo 2 happens?
September 5th, 2007 at 5:46 am
LOL, I can’t believe theres this many peopel who like the Fooleo. Sucks to be you now.
September 5th, 2007 at 6:15 am
Aw Shredder, cut them all some slack. It wasn’t that the Foleo didn’t have a user base, it was that most people saw it as most likely a very small user base.
Most folks (myself included) didn’t see the need for them. Doesn’t mean they didn’t have a usefulness to some people.
The people who were able to demo them seemed to like them.
But for most of us, we wanted Palm to concentrate on making better Treos and coming out with the next device that hadn’t been thought of before. We wanted Palm to “wow” us, not leave most people defending them. We all wanted to see Palm rise from the ashes and reclaim their market leadership since they are synonomous with the whole PDA market.
Shucks, people still ask “Is that a Palm you have” when looking at any other device except an iPhone/iPod (and now also Blackberry).
@Vance, sorry, this probably wasn’t a very good birthday present for you. At least Ed said the Foleo idea isn’t completely dead.
September 5th, 2007 at 6:27 am
“The future of all mobile computing is lightweight, disk less, instant-on devices with snappy mobile-only operating systems. We already have them in our pockets.”
Vance, you answered your own question. That’s why many people dismissed the Foleo idea. When we need a keyboard and larger display, we reach for a convertible tablet/laptop or go sit at a desk.
A mobile OS should be just that, mobile. Slip in your pocket or purse and go. Instant on, all day battery life, blue tooth, WiFi, a myriad of fun/productivity applications. Palm, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Symbian all give us those features already.
What point was there to the same thing in a bigger device if the whole idea is to be more mobile?
September 5th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Thanks for the comments, Aaron. But I want the full keyboard and display AND a snappy, truly mobile OS. The combination of the two is very important to me.
And I don’t think it should be an either-or choice. 10 years from now, laptops with full keyboards will still exist. And they most certainly will not have moving parts or crappy battery life. They will run cool and quiet, and they will turn on instantly. They will not run a bloated do-everything OS like Windows.
We know this is the future of mobile computing. And since the Foleo did everything I use a laptop for, it would be like having that future today.
September 5th, 2007 at 10:14 am
I’m sure a number of laptops of the future will still run full-featured operating systems. A number of people use their laptop as their only computer, so they DO want it to “do everything.”
September 15th, 2007 at 1:59 am
Why is there still foleo jobs at palm jobs section??