Palm's Foleo Meets Skeptical Reception

With new breakthroughs in mobile technology, such as the iPhone, hitting the market soon, Palm wants its share of the action.

As smart phones become more and more popular, and more and more people warm up to the idea of sending emails from the same device they talk on, the market seems ripe for various new kinds of innovative mobile technology. The Palm Foleo seems to want to be just this.

Looking like a laptop, but having a screen of only 10 inches, the Foleo bills itself as a "mobile companion", according to Engadget.

Essentially, the idea is to provide the missing link between the smart phone and the laptop. The Foleo does have its own memory and processor, but its primary purpose is to connect to the user's smart phone. Just set your phone down on the desk next to your Foleo, and Bluetooth will do the rest. You will then be able to use a full size keyboard to type emails, and you'll be able to read them on the small 10 inch screen, which would theoretically be a whole lot easier to read than the 3 inch postage stamp sized window screen on your smart phone.

Unfortunately, the Foleo does not seem to have taken off the way the iPhone has. Although it has not yet been released, and will not be released until later this summer, potential consumers have not warmed up to the idea. And not without reason. The Foleo's first rather condemning feature is its price. For $500, after rebate, it does indeed provide the missing link between the smart phone and the laptop, at least in terms of price. Smart phone users don't seem thrilled about the prospect of blowing $500 on a new device they didn't know they needed. Another reason is portability. Although the smart phone is brilliant when it comes to portability, and has caught on because it enables its user to do things he previously would have needed a laptop to do, the Foleo does not. Although it is smaller than a laptop, its users still needs to carry it around, and still needs a desk to set the whole business upon. So much for sending emails on the fly.

We have yet to see whether other companies will join in this novel and highly speculative race. Although this particular idea has not yet proved itself to be effective, it is clear that mobile technology is a burgeoning field. One way or the other, we're likely to see many new developments in this area. For now, many onlookers think that Palm would be well advised to try to sell something cheaper in this department.

Sources:

Engadget, Palm Foleo Announced, http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/30/palm-foleo-announced/