Palm abandons Foleo

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Posted by Tadd Rosenfeld on September 4, 2007 10:18 PM

Palm's CEO Ed Colligan posted a message on the company's blog today indicating Palm is abandoning the Foleo. Conceived of as a "mobile companion," or an inexpensive laptop-like device for use with smartphones for connectivity, the Foleo was scheduled to launch this quarter.

Although we favorably reviewed the concept, the Foleo was not anticipated with as much excitement as many of Palm's past product announcements. Palm was criticized for the product's anticipated high price point and weak multimedia capabilities.

Mr. Colligan attributed the decision to a desire to focus internal resources on developing a single platform. He wrote:

"We are very excited about how this [Linux smartphone platform] is coming together. It has a modern, flexible UI, instant performance, and an incredibly simple and elegant development environment. We are working hard on this platform and on the first smartphones that will take advantage of it. In the course of the past several months, it has become clear that the right path for Palm is to offer a single, consistent user experience.... To that end... I have decided to cancel the Foleo mobile companion product in its current configuration and focus all our energies on delivering our next generation platform and the first smartphones that will bring this platform to market."

Although we believe the Foleo held promise (and may hold promise still should Palm resurrect it), we are not disappointed by Colligan's decision. With extraordinarily tough new smartphone competition from the likes of HTC and Apple, the Foleo is an unnecessary distraction from what should be a solitary focus by Palm management on winning the smartphone race.

Will we see another version of the Foleo released sometime in the future? Mr. Colligan had this to say:

"[Palm Founder] Jeff Hawkins and I still believe that the market category defined by Foleo has enormous potential. When we do Foleo II it will be based on our new platform, and we think it will deliver on the promise of this new category. We're not going to speculate now on timing for a next Foleo, we just know we need to get our core platform and smartphones done first."

Mr. Colligan was careful to point out that Palm remains committed to the Microsoft Windows Mobile market.

Our impressions of the Foleo

Jeff Hawkins & Ed Colligan Demonstrate Foleo (Videos)

Social bookmarking:

Possibly related entries...

Palm Centro gets City Chase participants to finish line - May 01, 2008

Palm launches Centro in Columbia with Comcel and Movistar - Apr 18, 2008

Viva el Centro - Apr 07, 2008

Microsoft demonstrates new Windows Mobile 6.1 for mytreo.net - Apr 04, 2008

Pick-up line contest - Apr 04, 2008

Comments

September 4, 2007 11:49 PM {#}

Alli says:

What a brave and intelligent move on Palm's part. Let's hope this is a real portent of things to come!

September 5, 2007 12:41 AM {#}

ColonelKernel says:

WOW!

I was very much looking forward to this device and what I believed it could have done for Palm and smartphones in general.

Still, I understand their logic of only focusing on one OS and I look forward to the launch of Foleo II.

September 5, 2007 01:12 AM {#}

brandzel says:

I think this was exactly the right choice. As recent web activity has made clear, there is a huge constituency of us who love Palm and will fight to the death for them, but feel like suddenly we looked up from the front lines and realized we were fighting alone. Palm's stubborn refusal to acknowledge and fix problems with it's flagship Palm OS models, especially the 700p, couples with it's mystifying distraction with the Foleo as *the next big thing* had many of us at the point of despair. Finally, finally, finally, it feels like they get it. Like they know they can't take us for granted. That they know they MUST deliver a superior core product - an amazing, fun, powerful, open ended smart phone that leads the curve. I now have faith they will, and I'm personally ready to battle any iphones I see until Q1 2008 when my new Linux treo will blow them all away. Go PALM!!!!!!!!!

September 5, 2007 10:25 AM {#}

EazyE says:

Thank you Palm. Just when i/we thought the onslaught of terrible decisions (3: fooleo, 755, and centro) was the beginning of the end, you've restored hope in one fell swoop. Upon fulfulling your promise of a linux device and exploiting said "incredibly simple and elegant development environment" its possible you'll stay afloat in the smartphone category and win us all back. God Speed, hawkins, god speed...

September 5, 2007 12:49 PM {#}

ilabelu says:

ha, can you say fool-eo. palm tried to pull the wool-eo over our eyes. how bout concentrating on what's really important, like the correct firmware update for the 700p using verizon.

September 5, 2007 04:13 PM {#}

egadgetguy says:

Well, that's more like it. Welcome back to the real world Palm!

Oh, and if you want us to be able to use a laptop with our treo, make the treo talk to REAL laptops... and develope the foleo II as a laptop that also connects seamlessly to the treo... not JUST a companion. I'm talking instant on replacement... who really wants to carry two 'laptops'?

To be competitive, the Foleo is going to HAVE TO be a laptop replacement. there is no room in this economy for JUST a companion, IMHO!

September 5, 2007 08:21 PM {#}

gwj2000 says:

I salute Palm and Ed Colligan for this brave move. I hope that Foleo II will support all BT enabled smartphones. It will be a killer device then!

September 6, 2007 02:45 AM {#}

Derek Edison says:

Wait... there's a pulse... somebody get the paddles!

September 6, 2007 03:41 AM {#}

Feldhege says:

The only problem now is that they state in their blog that they will be sending ALL their engineers to work on the new devices using the new interface. Lovely. Now my 700P will stay a piece of junk.

September 6, 2007 06:19 PM {#}

hierophant says:

Wow. I am so disapointed in palm I really hoped to get my 700p working but I guess not. after a string of really crappy "new" devices that palm has anounced I'm lead to believe that they really just suck at makeing smartphones or anything inovative for that matter. get the lead out palm fix the 700p.

September 11, 2007 02:52 PM {#}

fruehaw says:

I recently did a side-by-side comparison of my Boss's Windows device to my 650, and nothing in the Folio seemed like it was going to address the shortcomings which are so obvious in a side-by-side: 1. multimedia features (audio and video), 2. vpn connectivity, 3. rdp capability, 4. a slick interface.

ALL of these things are available as options from other companies - Docs 2 Go, pTunes, ZLauncher, Mergent VPN, MobileTS, etc.

Palm would do better to buy up products and companies like pTunes and DataViz than waste R&D money. I think they've proven they have no idea how to "leapfrog" (LifeDrive, Folly-o) but we users know what we want to see in a next-gen Palm (and those who go over to the darkside know for what [very justifiable] reasons they are doing so)...they just need to LISTEN.

September 11, 2007 04:29 PM {#}

haridsv says:

Seems like the release of ipod Touch (iphone without the phone functionality) might have had some influence here. Foleo II would probably be a competitor for Touch?

September 11, 2007 04:41 PM {#}

mbtech0 says:

I'm one that had a need for a device like the Folio. Working on the road, the EVDO connectivity would've been a valuable asset, no PC Cards, extra data contract, etc. Instead, I have to deal with a very expensive Sprint EVDO equipped laptop, and I'm locked into Sprint, unless I want to buy a new unit($5000+), to use Verizon, or AT&T. The Folio would've saved me $100/month, and I could've left the laptop at home.....