So... it's basically a $500-600 10" viewer and editor redundant to my Treo? I agree that laptops can be a PITA to maintain, but this is one heck of a lot of money for a redundant view of the Treo screen and a larger redundant keyboard.

I'd rather buy a $400.00 throwaway laptop from Dell. At least they'd release firmware updates and other support in a reasonable timeframe when things don't work... (cough...700p bluetooth..lag...cough....).

Palm might be able to build these "dream machines," but what really matters is will they work and be supported after Palm has your money.

Thusfar, it appears from Palm's only major activity the past few years - the Treo - Palm doesn't have the attention span or capabilities of doing much more than taking your $$$$ and then shining you about support until you are too deep in to back out.

If you didn't test for and haven't been able to fix the most basic ability to keep headsets paired with a bluetooth phone, how can you expect your potential customers to trust you to support something like this for which you have *NO* track record?

not for me at this price unless they make it so I can run ALL my apps on it!

At the price range of around 600.00 for basically a monitor and a keyboard I would have to pass.

I love my Treo 700 ,however I always worry about addons, I just do not have good luck with them.

This is not the worth the money. I would compare it to a portable DVD player with a keboard. I think a fair price would be 149.99 to 199.99.

I think Palm does not need to sell huge quantities of Foleos in the first year. It is wiser for them to set the price point around $400-500 (which is where they set it) and see how the market reacts.

There are so many possible improvements to be made to the Foleo, but how do they figure out unless they start with a basic version? The right features aren't necessarily the most laptop-like ones.

My impression is that they are adopting a strategy which is cautious and farsighted. I think their goal is to win in 2-3 years, not to make a big impact this year.

Mmmm. nmmmm.

Dissapointed to be honest. I thought that we were gonna be BLOWN AWAY by the introduction of the PalmOS/Linux system with Wifi-capabilities.

I'd rather get a cheap laptop than the Folio. I already saw something like this on the Wall Street Journal and the Reviews didn't cut it: "Too Big to be portable, Too small to be as capable as a notebook."

I'll stick to my MacBook 13 and my Treo 650.

Yawn.

Wow, this is terrible. This solves no problems and bring nothing to the table.
What is the point of lugging this thing around? To check emails that I can already check from Treo 650 or my Dell notebook?

This will never make it into production.

Well...there is an increasing interest in UMPC (or UPPC) ...so I think it may be a smart move to try out this direction.
I've tried out a few of these various devices and have come to the conclusion that instant on devices (what with availability of gb cheap memories) is an excellent way to eliminate boot-up time, heat problems and boost battery operation! This Foleo is a step in this direction ...it is a small light laptop ...as they were originaly intended, before they became incredibly bloated with Wxx software and it's more and more demanding hardware requirements.
I used a few of the early HP handheld devices, such as HP 100, 300, etc. series and they were very satisfying. See a recent speed comparison between an early Apple and the latest PC laptop by Jeff Hawkins in archives. The price does have to be kept low to be accepted and can be done ...in light of the third world push towards availability of a $100 (or less) laptop.
And it's syncing with Treo devices and others is a great idea that may catch on.
Oh...I've used Linspire ( Freespire . Graphic versions of Linux) and it works great, looks similar to Wxp and boots and runs fast!
You can even move the hard drive to a completely different machine...and 15 min's later you are up and running ...without any effort on my part! Try this with Wxp ...you may have experienced the impossible!
I think the time may have come for Linux and what better way then in a small, light, instant on and hopefully inexpensive sub-notebook or smaller - UMPC's, such as OQO, Raon Vega, etc.
I hope Jeff makes it!

Well...there is an increasing interest in UMPC (or UPPC) ...so I think it may be a smart move to try out this direction.
I've tried out a few of these various devices and have come to the conclusion that instant on devices (what with availability of gb cheap memories) is an excellent way to eliminate boot-up time, heat problems and boost battery operation! This Foleo is a step in this direction ...it is a small light laptop ...as they were originaly intended, before they became incredibly bloated with Wxx software and it's more and more demanding hardware requirements.
I used a few of the early HP handheld devices, such as HP 100, 300, etc. series and they were very satisfying. See a recent speed comparison between an early Apple and the latest PC laptop by Jeff Hawkins in archives. The price does have to be kept low to be accepted and can be done ...in light of the third world push towards availability of a $100 (or less) laptop.
And it's syncing with Treo devices and others is a great idea that may catch on.
Oh...I've used Linspire ( Freespire . Graphic versions of Linux) and it works great, looks similar to Wxp and boots and runs fast!
You can even move the hard drive to a completely different machine...and 15 min's later you are up and running ...without any effort on my part! Try this with Wxp ...you may have experienced the impossible!
I think the time may have come for Linux and what better way then in a small, light, instant on and hopefully inexpensive sub-notebook or smaller - UMPC's, such as OQO, Raon Vega, etc.
I hope Jeff makes it!

Nope, sorry, can't see why I'd trade my hotsynced laptop for a Foleo. This looks like a Sinclair Z88 - anyone remember those?

It sure does look like a solution in search of a problem. I'll admint, my first reaction was, "Oooh, cool!", but the stiff price tag shook me back to reality, where anybody can snap up a low-end, light-weight, very inexpensive Bluetooth laptop, at a better price point, with more capability. Sure, Folly-o may be slightly lighter and smaller, but we're not talking about a device that you're going to carry in your pocket - it'll require it's own seperate transportation medium. By the time you slip Folly-o into a travel case, then into your briefcase\messenger bag\backpack, the miniscule benefit over an inexpensive sub-note has evaporated. And you're travelling, right? So your small form-factor Folly-o will need to recharge the battery after a busy day of emailing, surfing, office app-ing, presenting and solitaring, so toss in a travel charger.

Then, as you sit in your hotel room with free Wi-Fi, watching your Folly-o recharge, you can call Dell on your smart phone and order an inexpensive sub-note that can connect to the internet with Wi-Fi instead of burning your less-than-free minutes on your calling plan.

Perhaps the Foleo isn't awe-inspiring from birth, but given enough software (I'm interested in a remote-desktop client, for instance) it will expand into many new niches.

If the software is there -- and it should be easy to port a ton of stuff to it -- it will grow into a highly portable, instant-on, workhorse. Apple has found a niche in simplicity, and Foleo has that potential as well.

I for one would buy one, and don't think the price is out of line for what you get -- and what you (thankfully) don't get: The bloated overhead of Windows.