Pro Foleo

Doug Aamoth at TechCrunch blows off a little steam in reaction to the recent Foleo delay:

"As probably the only person on this planet that’s been anxiously waiting for August 22nd, 2007 — the Palm Foleo’s supposed release date — the news has hit me like a ton of low-down, dirty, awful, smelly, rotten, jerky bricks."

Aamoth then compares the Foleo to the Nintendo Wii and Slacker's music player:

"I longed for an easy to use, innovative gaming system that put more of an emphasis on playing with other people (in real life) than graphics. Boom, the Wii. I love the idea of having new music streamed directly to a portable device and then telling that device that I love a certain song or to never play it ever again. Boom, Slacker’s portable player. All I want is a simple light, inexpensive instant-on laptop with killer battery life, a big screen and keyboard for surfing the web and writing, and multiple connection options. Boom, the Foleo."

I think Aamoth very accurately sums up the attraction of the Foleo. It's a device for people who want their portable computer to do only what they need to do, without the bulk, heat and moving parts of a fully-loaded laptop. I mean, who actually needs a DVD burner while sitting in a coffee shop?

Yeah, maybe it's a niche market. But I'm proud to be in there, and it seems our ranks our growing.

James Kendrick at JKOnTheRun has a letter from an anonymous reader who is looking for a low-frills portable word processor for writing on the go. Kendrick says that the first solution that came to mind was the Palm Foleo. I think it's kind of funny how Kendrick has this whole "I discovered a niche" thing going, as if writers just recently became interested in computers.

What puzzles me most about the Foleo criticism so far is how out of touch these writers are with users who might be attracted to this type of device. They seem to think that every user who needs a portable computer should be anchored to a fully-loaded laptop.

I've been reading quite a lot about the Foleo lately, especially the feedback on message boards and blogs. While most of the feedback is overly negative, there have been a number of comments from people who immediately see the value in a lightweight, instant-on device that does a few things well. Two things strike me about these comments: First, they seem to come from people who are not terribly vocal on the Internet. It’s possible they represent a larger market of people who would be interested in minimalist computing. Secondly, they seem to be very interested in the Foleo as a standalone device. They like the lightweight, instant-on nature of the Foleo and do not really care for the smartphone companion angle that Palm is pushing. It almost feels that if Palm were to market the Foleo differently—say as a “laptop alternative” or something—then there could a significant mass market appeal to the device.

I put together a small sampling of this market. These hypothetical customers are based on blog comments from people who have expressed an interest in a Foleo-type device. Names have been changed and the quotes are paraphrased.

Scott the Xerox repair guy - Scott needs a quick way to check PDF manuals while working on copy machines. "My company-issued laptop is heavy and takes 4 minutes to boot up," he says. "I'd love to have a lightweight, instant-on machine that reads PDF files well and also allows me to keep up with email. I don't use my laptop for anything else.”

Will the Foleo work for Scott? It's hard to say right now. Apparently there will be a PDF reader available, but some have speculated that reading graphics-heavy technical manuals will be a little sluggish with the Foleo's processor. We'll see.

Pamela the health-care professional - Pam is on the move all day visiting patients. She wants a lightweight computer that allows her to quickly access a database of patient records. She'd also like a good keyboard for taking notes and updating patient information. "I hate my laptop," Pam says. "I'm always looking for an outlet or waiting for the thing to boot up. It frustrates me that I have to carry around an all-in-one toolbox when I just need a screwdriver."

Pam would seem like an idea Foleo user, if a basic database application is available on the Foleo. Pam did mention that she would probably be satisfied with a set of spreadsheets, so that’s a possibility. But let’s hope the right software comes along soon.

Lynn the novelist - Like many writers, Lynn doesn’t need much out of her  computer. Word processing and the Internet would cover most of her needs. “I find myself waiting a lot, either a few minutes for my Starbucks latte or a half-hour for an airplane,” Lynn says. “I’d love a go-anywhere writing machine that is quickly ready whenever I have a few extra minutes.”

Is the Foleo an idea writing device? If the keyboard is comfy and the processor is speedy enough for long documents, I see no reason why a Foleo couldn’t be a novelist's dedicated writing device. However, many writers have specialized software that they’ve grown fond of.

Thomas the professor - Tom says his laptop needs are dead simple. “I use email, read academic papers in PDF form, and write my own articles,” he says. “Last time I checked, a lightweight laptop that could do those three things was just over $2000. It’s silly that no one makes a basic computer that speedily handles academic needs, and nothing else.” 

Like Lynn, Thomas seems that his main concerns in a device for reading and writing would be the keyboard and software. The reviews on the keyboard seem fine so far, if you don't mind a laptop keyboard. And the right software for reading and writing is available. We'll see soon how good that software is.