Palm kills the Foleo dead

We are seriously not going to take credit for this, but holy crap, Palm just cancelled the Foleo, just like we asked them to! Palm CEO Ed Colligan just posted a message to the company's official blog stating that they've decided to cancel the Foleo mobile companion "in its current configuration" in order to "focus all of our energies on delivering out next generation platform and the first smartphones that will bring this platform to market." In a way we're sort of disappointed that we'll never at least get to play with one and put it through its paces, but it's definitely the right move -- Palm needs to focus on one thing right now, and that's coming out with a category-killing smartphone. Not that they're giving up on the idea for good; Ed says that they'll do a "Foleo II" based on the new mobile platform they're already developing for their next generation of smartphones.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 5th 2007 12:11PM]

Engadgets letter was so near universally accepted by its readers that if they (Palm) did not listen it would have been a foolish move…

Palm were still thinking they were the big boys from 2002/3 where their ecosystem was marvellous, back then I wanted to get a Psion series 7 precisely because my thin Laptop was actually a pain to carry around.

Here in 2007(/8) where Palm support has dwindled (you can always tell how healthy a market is by the number of small user developed unique free fun applications there are) to the point where the Foleo would not have garnered the trust because as we all knew the ecosystem is too weak to support a useless Palm(PDA/Treo) with a device that still has a future in 2009/10 when and if Palm get their act together.

I am using a Tungsten because I know I wont get a decent Palm until 2009 (standalone) and then I can buy a Tx, yes I am actually slowing my technological attachment because I know I would end up having a device for x+ more years than I want! That is what Palm has done to me!

I truly do commend Palm for listening; there is a chance that they can get into a healthy 25% of the market (read: healthy, I read in engadget comments that it was 22%) where people are fanatical about Palm… But what can they offer us?

I always thought that a Nokia lipstick (7280 or 7380) with a 3G modem or HSDPA would be perfect complement to a Tungsten (slide) style device, but no, Palm on its own and its stupidity with Access/Source division.

And people making comparisons with the Wii and Foleo. The Wii offered a new input method on a mass market scale. The Foleo offered nothing new in it’s conceptualisation, perhaps execution, but thankfully we will not find out.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 5th 2007 4:14PM]

I give you the full props for bringing this most fortunate of events about, Engadget! You rule.

Now maybe Palm will give me something to ditch my N95 and iPhone for . . .

[mszv Posted Sep 15th 2007 12:27AM]

Great news.

You don't know if it was the Engadget letter that did it, or it was already something that Palm was thinking about doing. For whatever reason, I think it's a smart move on their part. To me, the Foleo felt like a device from another time, not something that would succeed in today's market.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 5th 2007 5:45PM]

I am sad that Palm did not have the courage to bring the Foleo to market. I have been a Palm user on and off since the Palm Pilot, however, even I recognise that they need to bring their products up-to-date (currently using a Treo 680).

If only they maintained the conviction of a company like Nintendo (DS - not convinced of the Wii yet), I truly believed that the Foleo would have found a market; certainly in business, and probably in the consumer market as well (if it could playback video, and possibly by removing the smartphone dependency - v2?).

It is hinted that they may be a 'Foleo II' in the future, but I think they should have used Foleo I to fine tune the next version.

Thanks to the fan boys and other short-sighted luddites, I can no longer decide for myself, but I suppose you will always get more criticism than praise on the net. Engadget is a good read mostly, but for it to 'validate' the Foleo critics means that it is not a site I will take seriously in future for a balanced view on my gadget habit. (And no, I do not think Engadget can claim exclusive credit for Palm's decision, although it fanned the flames).

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 5th 2007 9:46PM]

Since the foleo was ready to ship... what will they do withthe units? Sell em on EBAY or what? I would.nt mind buying a Foleo from UBID or anywhere else that PALM may unload the Foleo's.
Any ideas where i could pick one up now that it is officially canned.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 5th 2007 11:34PM]

This was the right decision, not least because the Foleo was a bad idea from the start. It was product-centric thinking rather than user-centric, trying to base a new product on use of the old. I hope they don't come out with the "Foleo II" without a fundamental re-think of the idea.

More on this at http://www.userdriven.org/blog/2007/9/6/foleo-was-a-bad-idea-from-the-start.html

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 16th 2007 3:36PM]

This is the most stupid decision they could have made. Our company would have placed an order for about twenty of these very quickly assuming they worked as described. Browser, email, and office compatibility without the short batery life of a portable nevermind the loading time.

I was in a moterway cafe last week and trying to read my emails onn a smart phone, and do some spreadsheet work. Only there for twenty minutes and ...

Does anyone know where to get a demo model? There must be some out there?

Mark.