Palm Foleo Makes Popular Mechanics 10 Worst List

Popular Mechanics has released their Top 10 Worst Gadgets list for 2007. Coming in at number 1 is Palm’s Foleo mobile companion.

Erik Sofge, writes for Popular Mechanics:

“Sometimes, a product makes a Worst of the Year list for all the wrong reasons. Take the Foleo, Palm’s perfectly reasonable attempt to revolutionize ultra-lightweight laptops. We tested this 2.4-pound computer, which ran for up to 5 hours per charge, and despite a relentless pre-release trash-talking from the tech world (mainly from bloggers who hadn’t touched the thing) we liked it.

The 10.2-in. screen and meager flash-based storage were good enough for word processing and Web surfing. Without even realizing it, we started carrying it everywhere. Within days, the tiny machine was a fixture in our dorky lives, tucked under our arms, popping open at every meeting, and drawing as many chortles as breathless questions. Like it or pity it, the Foleo was generating a buzz.

But before a single Foleo hit the shelves, Palm killed it, claiming that they needed more time to develop the Foleo 2. The bloggers won, Palm lost, and our review unit became a bizarre unreleased prequel to a product that might never exist. It wasn’t perfect, but the Foleo deserved better. “

Just for the record, I was one of the bloggers who did touch a Foleo. And I’m waiting, not too patiently I might add, for the Foleo II running Palm OS II.

Read the full Popular Mechanics article…

[Thanks to bulls96 for the tip.]

One Comment

BaDZeD

December 19, 2007 at 10:51 pm

I totally disagree with PM.So, all of the sudden, the bloggers (“Ahem, Engadget, ahem) opinion automatically makes a device appear on the worst gadget list? Even though it has received good reviews from those that actually got to use it? I own the “next best thing” to the Foleo (the EEE PC) but I would have gladly paid $100 more for a larger screen, keyboard and bluetooth.Ben Combee got to use both units and STILL thinks Foleo is better hardware design-wise (but suffers from the fact that its ARM and not x86 based and therefore has less application:“I still like the hardware of the Foleo better than the Eee, but having used both, I really want the combination of both — the Foleo’s screen and keyboard (with a few alterations, like adding the Esc key) on top of a x86-compatible chipset so I can easily run the software I want.” The EEE has proven that there IS a market for SSD-based subnotebooks, which is even further testament that Hawkins’ vision was head on.

BaDZeD

December 19, 2007 at 10:51 pm

I totally disagree with PM.So, all of the sudden, the bloggers (“Ahem, Engadget, ahem) opinion automatically makes a device appear on the worst gadget list? Even though it has received good reviews from those that actually got to use it? I own the “next best thing” to the Foleo (the EEE PC) but I would have gladly paid $100 more for a larger screen, keyboard and bluetooth.Ben Combee got to use both units and STILL thinks Foleo is better hardware design-wise (but suffers from the fact that its ARM and not x86 based and therefore has less application:“I still like the hardware of the Foleo better than the Eee, but having used both, I really want the combination of both — the Foleo’s screen and keyboard (with a few alterations, like adding the Esc key) on top of a x86-compatible chipset so I can easily run the software I want.” The EEE has proven that there IS a market for SSD-based subnotebooks, which is even further testament that Hawkins’ vision was head on.