Editorial by John Andrews.

My first impression of the new Palm Foleo Mobile Companion wasn't positive because the “big new product announcement” wasn’t what I had expected. I was thinking we might receive a new Treo based on Linux. Or maybe a new Treo form factor with a full-face touch screen, like the upcoming iPhone from Apple. So my first impression of the Palm Foleo Mobile Companion was along the lines of, “What is this, some kind of poor-man’s laptop? I want to see the next generation Treo!” And based on some of what I’ve been reading in the discussion forum today, I wasn’t the only person who initially felt this way.

But after listening closely to what Jeff Hawkins said in Palm’s webcast, I understand his vision, and that the Foleo Mobile Companion is just the first step towards a very interesting and exciting future.

What We Know

The Foleo Mobile Companion won’t be released until this summer, and the technical specifications haven't been clearly defined. But let’s review some of the information we have about the Foleo today:

• Cost: $499 after $100 mail-in rebate
• Size: 0.94” thick, 6.67” deep, 10.55” wide (basically just wide enough for the full-size keyboard)
• Memory: The amount of internal memory is not known, but there is an internal Compact Flash slot for “built-in” memory that will be user-upgradable and an external Secure Digital slot for expanded storage.
• Processor: No details on the specific processor, but Jeff mentioned in the webcast that it wasn’t a high-end processor so we shouldn’t expect too much
• Battery Life: 5 hours of actual usage (or all day when you consider that it is powered down when you turn it off or close the lid)
• Display: 10” color screen (1024x600) with VGA output (1024x768), but not a touch-screen
• Network Connectivity: Wi-Fi (when within range of a hotspot) or Bluetooth (using your phone)
• Supported Devices: The Foleo works with the Palm Treo running Palm OS, the Palm Treo running Windows Mobile. It should also work with any Windows Mobile smartphone.
• Navigation: There is a button mouse in the middle of the keyboard, and a scroll wheel with left and right buttons below the keyboard. There are also four arrow keys for navigating documents. Scroll wheel can be moved one click at a time to move one row at a time or faster movement moves one page at a time.
• Other features:
  • “Instant On” so there is no delay between pressing the power button and using the Foleo.
  • Includes a new version of Documents to Go from DataViz for viewing editing Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files.
  • Slight ribbing on the side so it is easy to grip
  • Like a book, the screen can be opened from the front or sides without any latches
  • Running Linux OS with access to terminal interface
  • Allows third-party developers to deliver additional features and functionality (just like the Palm OS and unlike the Apple iPhone)
  • Can be password protected and you can use Treo to automatically unlock when within range

What the Foleo is Today

While it looks a lot like a laptop, the Foleo is described as the first device in a new category called “Mobile Companions”. There is a difference between a mobile companion and a laptop, and in order to understand the Foleo it's necessary to understand this difference.

Rather than starting with the laptop, we need to start with the original Palm Pilot. The first Palm Pilot was a personal digital assistant that allowed you to keep track of contacts, events, tasks and notes, with the ability to be extended by developers to do much more. Once the mobile phone industry could support it, the Palm OS devices evolved to support wireless networking features such as email and web browsing, becoming a new type of device called the “smartphone”.

Over the next few years the Treo smartphone incrementally evolved, gaining more memory, faster processors, better screens, higher resolution cameras (not necessarily better), Bluetooth support, and so on. Life was good and getting better (a possible exception being the frustrated Treo 700p users who waited a year for a maintenance release).

But the more powerful the Treo smartphone became, the more obvious it became that there are two irreconcilable desires that users have. We want something with a keyboard that is easy to type on, we want a large screen for browsing the web, and we want our smartphone to be as small as possible so it is easy to carry around in our pocket. Big keyboard and big screens are simply incompatible with small devices.

In my opinion, the Treo form factor is by far the best compromise between form and function when compared to any other smartphone. But it is still a compromise.

And that’s where the concept of a “mobile companion” comes in…

What are the two main problems with using a smartphone for heavy duty email, writing documents or browsing the web? The screen and keyboard are both too small.

What does the Foleo do? Its primary purpose is to address these problems by providing a full-size keyboard and large screen that can be used as input and display devices for your smartphone. Jeff Hawkins emphasized this point a few times during his presentation, but it still took a while for the point to sink in for me. Since the Foleo looks like a laptop, I kept comparing it to a laptop, and while some people might be able to use the Foleo instead of laptop, I think that is more of a side effect than Palm’s intention.

But just because the Foleo’s primary purpose is to be a video and keyboard extension to your smartphone doesn’t mean it can’t do a lot more…

I’m thinking the Foleo would be an awesome device for browsing the web around the house. Just leave one on your coffee table and if you want to check something on the web all you need to do is open it up, turn it on and start browsing. With the instant-on feature you can be browsing in a second or two using your household Wi-Fi connection. While I love being able to browse the web with my Treo, if I have the choice between a 10” screen and a 2.5” screen, I’ll take the larger screen any day.

And if I want to head down to the coffee shop for a bit of reading or writing, or possibly putting together a draft of a presentation for work, I can easily do that with the Foleo. If I need more powerful features I can always copy the files to my desktop PC, but for the majority of things I need to do on a daily basis the Foleo should be fine.

What the Foleo is Not (at least Today)

While it looks like a laptop, the Foleo is not intended to be a replacement for your laptop. It doesn’t have the processing power or memory to run CPU-intensive applications like Photoshop or to do video editing, and it probably never will because major processing power meaningfully shortens the battery life of mobile devices.

That doesn’t mean the Foleo can’t do many things you would normally do on your laptop. It can, just like your Treo smartphone can. But for full laptop functionality, such as being able to run Windows or Mac applications, you will still want a laptop.

What the Foleo May Become

I believe Palm still intends to continue making smartphones both smarter and more powerful, but with the introduction of the Foleo Mobile Companion I believe Palm now has the flexibility to explore different form factors to address different customer needs.

For example, while the current Treo form factor with a built-in keyboard is targeted at users that do a lot of typing on their Treo, some users might be willing to trade the Treo’s keyboard for a larger screen and on-screen keyboard. While on on-screen keyboard isn’t as usable as a fixed keyboard, this shortcoming is minimized if you can use a Mobile Companion for your more intensive data entry tasks.

Also remember that the Foleo is running the Linux OS, and just like the original Palm Pilot and Palm OS, Palm is going to publish SDKs so that the developer community can build upon this new platform. There is every reason to expect that at least some of the many Linux developers out there will be looking at the Foleo as an opportunity to leverage their skills at building great applications to fill the needs of Foleo and smartphone users.

I believe the Foleo is a lot like the early Palm Pilot, the first product in a new category that will evolve in the coming months and years. It may take a while for a lot of people to be convinced that these devices are useful and worth their price tag, but as functionality is added and costs come down, I believe more and more people will start to “get it”.

Closing Thoughts

Like any first generation device, the first Foleo Mobile Companion will have some shortcomings and some of them will be showstoppers for certain users. The initial price is fairly high if you only see the Foleo as a full-size keyboard for your Treo, and the features are too skimpy if you see it as an alternative to a laptop. But I’m sure that there are a number of smartphone users out there like myself who will immediately find the Foleo a useful companion for their Treo or Windows Mobile device. And I think that, just like in the early days of the Palm Pilot, the number of users will increase over time.

Related Links

Palm Webcast: Foleo Mobile Companion

Foleo Mobile Companion Video Clips