Palm's Jeff Hawkins live from D 2007
By Ryan Block 
posted May 30th 2007 1:30PM
posted May 30th 2007 1:30PM
10:31am - Last time you were here talking about the brain... you basically created the first handheld computer. You've been working on something else for a couple years.
The concept of this product is five years old, devleopment is a couple hours. A little history behind all this... we started palm 15 years ago on a palm and an opportunity. Desktops and laptops were too large, expensive, complex. You're not going to build billions of these complex machines, you build mobile computers. But the technology didn't exist, but that was the goal behind Palm. We are a future-of-personal-computing.
But it became clear the smartphone wasn't going to fill that role. It has a keyboard, nice display, except there's a problem. You need a full size screen and keyboard. The smartphone is a truly capable computer, billions of comptuer have one, but sometimes you need to be able to look at that big spreadsheet.
Hawkins isn't convinced. You need a big display, there's no technical solution for that. I thought about it, came in Monday morning, I have this great idea! Here's the solution... no, come back later. But I also knew this concept, the mobile companion, is taking that mobile phone and extending it with a large screen and full size keyboard.
10:35am - So I have my Treo, a lot of people say I can go for two days, I don't need a computer... but this extends that experience.
10:37am When you want to introduce a new platform, a new product category, you have to find someone who really wants it, and it grows beyond that. The thing we focused initially on is that email experience. Talking about battery life... it's similar to a cellphone usage model.
10:38am - I want to use it more and more, it's got a nice browser (Opera), you can use it with your phone. You can use it as a little laptop...We're careful not to position it as a laptop... it doesn't have a DVD drive, but it does have a lot of functionality built around the phone, but you're right, this is the smallest... crowd shouting to take it out and show it off!
10:41am - Almost no ports on the unit, very clean lines. You open it like a hard-cover book.
10:42am - Less than an inch, weighs about two pounds. Full size keyboard
10:43am - I believe this is the smallest keyboard with a full size keyboard. There are no modes, no sleep, no suspend.
10:45am - Showing the email client. This is what's on your phone, not what's going on at the server, its synced only to your phone. You don't have to set anything up, just use it with your phone -- "you don't even have to tell them you bought one!" You're looking at the email on the phone...
10:48am - On-screen demo time.. starting off pairing a Foleo to a Treo. 755p with two accounts, one with POP3... it has video output, that's nice. So they're going through the initial guided setup routine. Four steps, Bluetooth pairing.
11:01am - Can I talk about other things? No... it's available this summer, it's selling for $499 with $100 mail-in rebate. It'll be sold direct and through our stores and rolled out... it gives us the ability to do whatever we want, we can position it any way we want, distribute it any way we want, it gives us an opportunity to do more innovation. There are laptops that are small, 10.4 inch screens, laptops that are $499...
11:04am - We're going to start doing that, we're going to support the iPhone. They're gonna need it. We'd love to do that. Great, thank you.
I love that eFool concept, er Foleo, sorry. I really think it's gonna change the way people interact with email. WTG, Palm!
You guys are missing the idea and focusing on what it doesn't do. Sure, it's not fully a laptop, that's the point.
What it does do:
because it's not a 7ghz quad core with Nvidia 8800, the battery can last ALL DAY. Not 2hrs, but ALL DAY. Balance for mobile people.
it uses the same wireless data provider as your phone; you do NOT have to get a second SIM/account just for your laptop, like teathering via bluetooth.
There is no synching. It is real time b/c it displays what's on your phone.
No, this device is not the end all be all. However, it can probably be made without any fans, lighter, smaller, and cheaper than any notebook out there, and it'll outlast any notebook on the market. Additionally, he's talking about supporting ANY phone; PALM, WM6, Berry, so you can take it with you when you get a new phone, regardless of platform.
With a couple of apps like directions from current position (calc via connected cell tower so you don't enter starting addy), and local theatres/restaurants, this thing could be very useful for people who travel a great deal.
Good summary of the pluses of this device. It's astonishing how most of these ppl are trashing Palm without even having a clear grasp (based on their comments) of what they are actually trying to accomplish with the Foleo.
I personally am intrigued and would like to at least try it out. $500 is a bit on the steep side, but seriously, if I don't have to travel around with my laptop (which isn't that heavy or anything, but it's not ultraportable and after a few hours of it on my back, it sucks), this might be a godsend. Also, the ability to simply use my phone's connection (Sprint EVDO) straight up without having to get a Sprint DUN acct is pretty damn key.
When is Steve Jobs going onstage?
I am shocked. I really can't believe they just released this.
It's a total waste.
It's totally dependent on your phone. What's the point?
Why not just come out with a cheap sub-notebook that can also sync with your phone?
This should be an installable application for laptops or other devices (UMPCs).
I am so disappointed. It really is the last nail in the coffin for Palm. Who would want one of these? It is too big to slip into a shirt pocket, so I won't carry it with me. It is almost as expensive as an entry level laptop that can run all of my applications. It has yet another Linux OS variant that they have to induce people to write code for.
I have a Nokia 770, and recognize what Nokia was trying to do -- a complementary device to the cell phone, but also recognize how it falls short. The only advantage that this device has is a keyboard. In all other ways it falls sort -- and the 770 hasn't been a commercial success.
The only way that this will make money is if cell phone companies pair it with cell phone plans.
While I think the market it is going after will laugh at this, I'm thinking this could be a great device for the mobile automobile market. Think about it. If you're into the car PC thing, what more do you really need than access to the web, email, and media. If this thing can support an external hard drive, it's all that is really needed for a car PC on the cheap.
I really thought you could go somewhere with "a new platform" Palm, but this is the most retarded idea I've seen in quite a while. It's dumber than the iPod Shuffle, because at least the Shuffle's tiny size is somewhat beneficial. But it's similar in that's its faults are supposedly its benefits: "Wow, it doesn't even has a screen! My music is so random!" = "Almost no ports on the unit, very clean lines. You open it like a hard-cover book." Wait, so it opens like a... laptop...? Are they aware that laptops exist? Even the OLPC kicks this things ass. So either this is a laptop with its face totally beaten in, or a really large, expensive, smartphone.
I thought the whole idea of a smartphone is that you don't need a PC with you. Why would you carry this thing when a full-fledged ultraportable is hardly bigger? This thing makes UMPCs look like the first great innovation in electronics since the microprocessor.
Looks like it DOES have 802.11b.
www.palm.com has SOME info, but no specs like dimentions, ports etc
ACK!!!!!!!!!
Says you WILL need to PAY for DUN (Dial Up Networking) plan to actually use the thing online!!!!
Fruck! $$$
I am a college student with a major in journalism. For the past several months I have been looking for a subcompact that is alright to type on and can fit in my bag for less than $700. The Sony TX series looked like a great option (good battery life, nice screen and keyboard, attractive) but its about 2000 too expensive for me. I have been considering the HP Journada series along with the NEC communicator series, or simply adding a ThinkOutside keyboard to my Q, but I hate dealing with old electronics, and I was displeased with the lack of Flash amongst other online content on these devices.
This device is perfect for me. Palm has a decent fan base and with the support of all the mobile phones I bet there will be more than a few developers coming up with "killer apps" for this. This device is EXACTLY what I want. Its like they took an N800 and suited it for the office while adding some power. I will gladly pay a half k for this unit when it comes out this summer.
> I am a college student with a major in
> journalism. For the past several months I have
> been looking for a subcompact that is alright to
> type on and can fit in my bag for less than $700.
If you can afford another Benjamin, you should look at the new Samsung Q1 Ultra UMPC ($799).
It has a dual-core ULV processor that's fast enough for video.
It runs Vista, not some proprietary version of Linux. So you can run any Windows application. Graphics good enough for Aero Glass. Speakers for when you fire up iTunes.
Since you're a journalist: it has dual microphones for recording. Oh and you can write on it like a Tablet PC, take handwritten notes when you're grilling people. Built-in stand so can prop it up and use it with a Bluetooth keyboard.
I never thought I'd recommend a UMPC, but the Q1 Ultra is about 10 times the value of the "Foleo" at about 2 times the price :-)
A UMPC is trying to do everything for everyone and does nothing great. The screen is small, its difficult to navigate, it has poor battery life, a thumb keyboard, sub par recording abilities, and I've never been a fan of the pen function on tablets.
This device does exactly what I want it to. I can access my email, write articles, and I assume it will be capable of playing a media feature, but I am a fan of dedicated devices. For media I have an iPod, for desktop collaboration I have a PC, and for recording I have a high quality audio recorder. The Q is my only vice as it can do all of these functions but none of them particularly well- just as the iPod has a poor voice recorder, the recorder has an awful UI, and a UMPC does nothing particularly well.
http://www.engadget.com/photos/palm-foleo/258045/
this is lame
I am not impressed at all. I really though Palm would create something innovative considering the hype surrounding Hawkins
--
This guy has hype? He can't even sit in a chair properly. What a knob. Nice OLPC, by the way.
Move along people, nothing to see here....
I would buy it if:
-The screen was 7", 1024x768
-It cost $200
-It was basically just a monitor/kb that connected to my phone via bluetooth and didn't have any crap inside
Something like that would spur smartphone makers to make better/more expensive phones with better processors to power the apps and add more functionality to phones (gps video etc.)
Success of this device will greatly depend on how good are Documents on the go for it. For Treo Sheets (Excel counterpart) is useless, as it always loses focus with keyboard.
Ok here is my take on this as a Palm 700p user. I could actually see myself buying this device at the $250 to $300 dollar price point. Just today I was on the train with my treo and macbook browsing the internet at dial-up speeds, since I dont want to pay the extra $15 a month to sprint for the tethering charge. If I could just bring this with me and leave my macbook at home and be able to browse the internet at EVDO speeds without another monthly service fee I would deem it useful and worth it. $500 is way too much though, thats almost 3 years of tethering fees.
Awesome Palm a 500 non laptop that looks like junk. So inventive that must be why your stock and company are going through the roof
yeah and what you need is a unlimited data plan .. the ones available cost a small fortune ( non blackberry ones ) oh just check out VODAFONE for theirs .. outsch .. !
so i certainly wouldnt want a mini lap that uses my fone for its data cos on your mobile device at least you know when browsing you are using it but when you use such device you might forget that very easy and your next wireless bill is woooooowww ... bang ..
OK, it was fun to mock the Foleo because it looks so much like a throwback to the 80s (Psion anyone?). Now, if you look at it rationally, people who use smartphones all the time to do email may actually like to carry that thing in their bag, and leave it at their desk when they're at the office. It depends on how good the user experience really is. However, the price seems to high for a device that is just for convenience. Now, if they target business users primarily, maybe those won't care that much if it truly saves them time when processing emails... Not sure, we'll see. And people who have been saying that they would never use a touch screen keyboard like the iPhone's can use that to enter data. Now, you are looking at $1,000+ for the whole system, though. Not sure, not sure... At any rate, I cannot really see them replicate the success of the Palm with that, although only future will tell. :::waiting patiently for my iPhone *AND* Mac subnotebook later:::
well thanks to jeff hawkins I know another way of how to waste my money!!
thank you jeff
$100 laptop at 5 times the price, great work!!!
This is too similar to a laptop, low end lappies from Dell or HP are only $50 more.
Why would anyone spend $500 and give up all the laptop features???
"it's selling for $499 with $100 mail-in rebate."
I have never heard of a product being launched with the price referencing a mail in rebate. Seriously, who does that??? Why not just throw it in the bargain bin and be done with it?
Who are you kidding Jeff? Another sub-notebook/UMPC to carry around, and in addition I shall use a TREO? Okay, the price point for the Foleo is quite attractive, but is this really your final answer to the threats posed by Apple, RIM, Nokia, Samsung et alumni. Nice having known you Palm, it was fun while you lasted! Palm Foleo - sounds awfully similar to Palm Fool, Failure and Folded.
Maybe he isn't as stupid as he looks. He did just sell a bunch of shares . . .That shows confidence in your new product, right? Right?
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/05/30/ap3770761.html
Great concept but bad execution, the main function is email and most people can live with Blackberry or SmartPhone for email alone. If it did web browsing with Wifi, that'll be a difference story. Price need to go down to $299 for it be a mainstream device with limited functionalities or $499 with wifi and full integration with Google Apps to make it a light office productivity machine.
What happen to serving the PALM graffiti practitioner?
Palm/Treo ignores the market for the "weak-eyed, all-thumbs" user who wants to speed along with a stylus. If I cannot "hunt and error" on a small, multifunction TREO keypad, why would a full-size keyboard-drag along help. My Palm Vx works like a champ, but Bluetooth and WiFi would be nice. But to get a T/X is like an Atari -- it meets the task, but what about future improvements and software.
The original PALM concept was built along the KISS principle -- opening a technologic world for a vast market. The attempt to do all things with a Swiss-Army phone is overkill, pushing a non-tech user away.
I just installed a newer TCMP ( core player ) on my Treo 650 ( is there any reason to upgrade?) It plays movies ON A TREO 650 for 8 HOURS..... a 302MHz Arm (?) But this $499 sub laptop can't play a movie?
I was hoping they'd get a clue.... Headline, "Palm creates it's own Tombstone" This is your phone on DRUGS!
> It's astonishing how most of these ppl are
> trashing Palm without even having a clear grasp
> (based on their comments) of what they are
> actually trying to accomplish with the Foleo.
So what are they "actually trying to accomplish?"
My guess: it's sort of like the One Laptop Per Child thing. Only uglier, and five times more expensive. LOL
Way to re-package the laptop, no that's giving Palm too much credit. It IS a laptop! WOW! Talk about innovation! Jeff Hawkins is obviously in complete denial here, talk about an INSTANT failure.
All, let's really think about this. It is not a laptop, nor is it meant to replace a laptop. Laptops at this price point are poorly built with cheap Celery processors, small amounts of RAM, no built-in bluetooth, and weigh 7 lbs. They take 50s to boot from power-down, 15s from suspend mode, and have maybe 2 hours battery life in them.
Ultra-Portables in this size/weight class cost at least 2-3 times as much and have similar issues with processing power and battery life. Up the price to 3-4 times more and then you start getting decent power, but you are paying for it.
This makes sense (limited, but still makes sense) for the executive or salesperson on the go all the time. The Foleo could fit in a nice leather binder with a pad of paper and some business cards. All this would weigh less than 3 lbs. Take it to your 6 appointments that day all around the city(s) and use it for presentations, answer email in the car or at a coffee shop in between appointments with no need to lug around a laptop bag.
With that said, I will not buy this product. There is no mention of the ability to access the PIM applications on the Foleo. That just does not make since. If you are checking email, this logically links to todo and calendar items. Does it mean you need to pick up your treo and thumb type in your new appointment? What about your other applications that make Palm great. Natara Daynotez, Bonsai, and Project would be perfect to extend to this device.
Make this a standalone tablet system, with pen input that can run all Palm software on the big screen AND AS A SIDE USE for it to be used as a mobile email companion, then it would be worth the money.
Ok, I have a serious question here. I had a Palm 3 that I used for 5 years, and I currently have a Sony Clie T665C that still probably has a few years of life left in it. I was hoping to upgrade to a smartphone that would still run my PalmOS apps. Clearly, based on this announcement, Palm is doomed, and I'm going to have to switch to something else.
I'd rather keep using what I have than to switch over to Windows Mobile. What alternatives are there? And are there emulators available that will allow me to run old Palm os4 apps on those platforms?
Damn you palm. You totally blew it.
Nice conversation going along. I compiled some of the information i found regarding the d2007 conference here, http://sriram-krishnan.com/2007/05/31/d-all-things-digital-2007/.
Apart from this let me know if i had missed out on any other interesting bits. I find the awkward lift and michael vs kara part kindda cool. but neways, who will have youtube in appletv in the first place?!
I waited... for this?
My only remaining question is "Will the iPhone replace my aging T3, or do I move to the Dark Side?"
What a waste. Palm. RIP.
So who's the target audience for this? The mobile professionals already have a Blackberry to check their email on the go, and then they have a desktop or laptop when they are at work. Maybe the mobile powerpoint professional?
You don't have many people riding mass transit in the US with ubiquitous data access so who's going to use this in the car?
It doesn't have GPS in it, so who's going to use it as a spiffy large-screen navigation system?
It's kinda of expensive as a replacement for a plain paper notebook for meetings.
Is your target audience schools, libraries, and students where their primary tasks are to take notes, write essays, check email, and browse? They don't have money while keeping up with "No Child Left Behind".
Doesn't this belong in the toys/bargain-bin section of Radio Shack?
See, the PalmPilot solved a long standing problem: how to organize personal data from an old-style Rolodex into something new with search functions, centralized organization and synchronization, and portability.
The iPod solved a long standing problem with organizing music from old-style mishmash of directories and playlists into something new with search functions, centralized organization and synchronization, and portability.
Smartphones are an extension of the mobile life and about solved how to make data portable and digestible.
Mobile OSs such as Windows Mobile brought the old adages of synchronization, organization, and third party apps to the mix with multitasking. PalmOS Treos are missing that last bit.
What the hell does the Foolly-o solve?
Very dissapointing...
I want something cool and useful like an UMPC/Tablet PC to complement my smartphone. That way I can run all the software I need, and not carry yet a another device (already have way to many). Active Sync already does exactly what Jeff H boosts/hype here as something new or innovative.
My guess: This fooley will tank.
This only confirms my hunch that the wagons are circling for the final stand. This is the new device???? Wow, won't be long until they are gone!
Bye-bye Treo, hello Iphone. It was fun (and frustrating) to be a Palm owner for a long time. I been there since the pilot but alas, no longer.
Time to move on.
HAR! HAR! I can't wait to ditch my Treo! 2 more UNHOLEO weeks! What retards! That sad thing makes me miss my Sharp Handheld PC, with the cute phone jack! I am pissing myself!!!