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Palm and webOS product auction reminds us of the forgotten Foleo
It's funny how, as time passes, we grow fonder of gadgets that were once disregarded. Nerd nostalgia has a knack of trumping common sense and draining wallets, which is why we're almost hesitant to bring this auction of Palm and webOS gear to your attention. Featuring the collection of a former webOS employee, you'll find everything from t-shirts, posters and other branded paraphernalia, through to a mint-condition Palm VII PDA, 4G TouchPads and a range of mobiles, including many from the long-forgotten Pre series. The prize piece, however, has to be the boxed, unused Palm Foleo complete with an hour of phone time with one of the product's OG engineers, who also "has apps for you," apparently. All money raised from the auction is going to a charitable cause, which totally justifies whatever exaggerated sum Palm's nigh-mythical flop ends up going for.
Clamcase's Clambook gives Android phones and iPhones a laptop shell, feels decidedly Airy
The idea of creating a full-fledged laptop companion to a smartphone isn't new -- just ask the former Palm team -- but rarely has it come across as so pretty. Clamcase's upcoming Clambook, while it has more than a slight hint of MacBook Air about it, is really meant as a large canvas of sight and sound for an Android phone or iPhone. Although the Clambook can at least be used as a big, 16:9 ratio display for an iPhone, the emphasis is clearly on more Google-inclined users that can use an MHL port: the one cable provides audio, video, power, an Android 4.0-native keyboard and a multi-touch trackpad. More recent Motorola phone owners might get the most out of it, since Webtop's full-size Firefox browser and windowed interface will kick in without needing one of Motorola's proprietary docks. We're still waiting on many basic details, like exact device support and the all-important matter of pricing, but the Clamcase should be ready for supersized Real Racing sessions by the holidays.
Palm Foleo lands on eBay, can be yours for a relative song (update: sold!)
It's probably not the first Foleo to ever splash down on eBay, but this one might just be the most comprehensive of them all. Palm's companion laptop-that-never-was will almost definitely remain a tech mystery for eons to come, but today, the chance is yours to own the flop of the last decade for just $750. Better still, that Buy It Now price includes a smorgasbord of applications, so you won't have to go hunting in order to find programs that actually take advantage of the thing. The only downside is the lack of a VGA dongle and the original packaging, but there's only so much griping you can do about a Foleo that costs less than an Adamo. Update: And she's gone! But strangely, it looks as if the entire auction has been removed. We're guessing someone paid this fellow a couple million to end it early and take an under the table lump sum, Just a guess, though.
Switched On: The Foleo Imbroglio (Part 2)
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: Last week's Switched On identified two groups of early adopters that have damned Palm's featherweight Foleo 10-inch screen unseen. The pricey purists won't give up the capabilities of Windows in an ultraportable, even if it costs them money and battery life, while the mobile minimalists have embraced and adapted to smartphones as all they need even for the excursions at which Palm is targeting the Foleo. For some of the latter, Foleo may seem like a product that has arrived too late. In the early days, Bluetooth promised to turn cell phones into wireless gateways for laptops and other devices like the Foleo or Nokia N800, but support for such Dial-Up Networking (DUN) features was slow to arrive (and even then carriers sometimes disabled it), as were packets on the wireless networks themselves. Meanwhile smartphones started getting better keyboards and their operating systems improved. Handspring, long since acquired by Palm, did more for the mobile minimalists than any company to date with the Treo, the first smartphone that was widely viewed as successful at balancing PDA functionality and usability. This is why Palm's "smartphone companion" messaging may be harming perceptions of Foleo. The smartphone installed base has been growing for the past few quarters as prices have come down, but the promise of Foleo is not having two devices. It's about providing the right device with wireless access. This is closer to the message that Nokia -- which has cell phones running deeply through its DNA -- pursued with its Linux-based, Bluetooth-enabled 770 and N800, and what has been responsible for their somewhat warmer reception.
Palm Foleo gallery
That's right, we've got a gallery full of shots of the freshly-announced Palm Foleo for ya, plus a bonus hands-on gallery live from D.%Gallery-3534% %Gallery-3536%
