Listeners of my weekly 1SRC.com podcast know that I prefer to take a measured approach to covering what’s going on in the Palm community. However in the last few weeks there have been reports of Palm’s Foleo being used. Allow me to recap for you.
Back in New York at the DigitalLife conference where Palm announced the new Centro consumer-oriented smartphone, Palm CEO Ed Colligan was asked a question about what was happening with the Foleo after it was disclosed that it was going to be canceled in an on camera interview. Mr. Colligan said that the company could possibly release a Foleo-like device in the future and that he still uses his all the time.
Similarly at the JP Morgan Small/Mid Cap conference that was held in Boston, Massachusetts, Palm CFO Andy Brown indicated that he has been using the new Palm Centro for the last two months and that it works great with his Foleo.
Last week blog GearDiary.com published photos of the Foleo in action, including photos of the configuration page, file manager, and the Opera web browser. In one of the web browser photos it is clearly visible that the date on the article was November 14, 2007.
Three separate instances of the Foleo in action after it was canceled. Foleo Fanatics can get their rant on with the following two segments from 1SRC.com podcasts 154 and 156.
Just for the record, I do agree with all the business reasons that Palm sited for not doing the Foleo right now. The decision to focus on Palm OS II and then later using the new Linux-based operating system in both the Treo smartphone and any future Foleo or Foleo-like device has some really appealing synergies that I’m interested in seeing in action; such as portable applications (between Treo and Foleo devices), file browsing across devices, and the ability for the Foleo to operate as an independent low-cost (read: sub-$400) computing platform for mobile business professionals, educators and students, and busy individuals.
For more news, analysis, reviews, and commentary on the Palm community, check out my weekly 1SRC.com Palm Powered podcast. You can subscribe to the show with your podcast catcher of choice with the 1SRC.com Podcast RSS feed.
Foleo Rant 1 from 1SRC.com Podcast 154 (11/9/07)…
Foleo Rant 2 from 1SRC.com Podcast 156 (11/21/07)…