CountBuggula asks
Is the processor ARM based or x86 based?

A PalmInfocenter photo shows the OS as "2.4.21mk1-pxa1-intc2." This strongly indicates that the processor is an Intel XScale (thanks to edoan)

imnevercomingback asks
Did management anticipate the negative response?

Is this device really ready for primetime?

Palm: Yes, for its intended purpose, quick email and browsing. Me: that's a pretty narrow purpose.

Did Jeff really mean to say he wished he'd put a faster processor in it?

Well, he did say it a couple of times. I suspect that, given Palm's initial target market, they're not too worried about it.

If the Foleo will help push Palm to innovate then when can we expect to see some of this innovation? Does management really think the Treo 600 platform is enough to prevent Palm from dying a slow death? Does management care that Palm has lost its edge? Should we care or just capitulate and buy an iphone?

sideman7 asks
So how much of your resources did you burn up (take this however you want) to come up with this P.O.S.? I guess I just don't get what purpose this is supposed to serve other than to waste money... Especially given that it relies on the one technology that is the achilles heel of pretty much every Treo ever made (bluetooth)...
Oh yeah, where is the 700p MR... :censored:

moderateinny asks
Why haven't you picked out your place on the site www.jumptheshark.com yet? You can start an entire new category: Hopelessly Arrogant Former Silicon Valley Heavy Weights. Seriously Palm....what a waste of time. Foleo is at least 10 years past it's prime and just like the "thin clients" that were to rule the world back in the internet hay day, so to will Foleo die a short, yet painful death. Dumb dumb dumb...someone needs to be fired over this one.

treobk214 asks
Who's on first? I dont see anybody on second, third, home, in the clubhouse or even in the damn nosebleed section! Is this game over?

emajy asks
My question is really simple: What the h*ll were you guys thinking? I had an old LG Windows CE device about 8 years ago that did almost all of what the Foleo can do now.

Ehsan asks
I will tell you one thing.....Folio will be collection item. Sorry was looking to convince someone to buy the damn thing:D

moderateinny asks
You're going the wrong way on the Palm technology continuum. What you should be asking is; will it have a 19.2Kbps modem built in? :D

I'm detecting a slight negative trend in these questions. ;) It's legitimate to wonder, though, why Palm allowed Hawkins to stir up so much excitement prior to launch - with the hints and such. Did it mean that Palm really does see the Foleo as groundbreaking? If so - what are they going to do about the fact that a plurality of tech-junkies think that you'd have to be a little cracked to call the Foleo revolutionary?

And let us not speak of the 700p Maintence Release right now, it is too painful.

tirk asks
What VPN clients does it support? If it had (say) a decent Citrix implementation I could just about see a niche market for it.

Initially I suspect it will just use whatever VPN implementation you have on your smartphone. Later on, assuming that it's as easy to develop for as I hope, there should be all sorts of solutions.

samkim asks
1. We know that it can't handle YouTube video smoothly. But can it handle playing a movie from local storage? 2. What's the maximum CF card it can handle? 3. Can it run TomTom6 while connected to a bluetooth GPS receiver? 4. Is it capable of displaying multiple windows at once? 5. Is Paul Mercer responsible for the industrial design? 6. What channels will you sell this through?

1: Probably, once an app has been written for it (Kinoma, I'm looking at you). 2: Dunno. 3: Dunno, but note that TomTom isn't currently available for the Foleo anyway. 4: Right now: not really, no - and that apears to be by design. 5: I don't know, sorry. 6: Palm.com's store and Palm retail stores, initially.

miradu asks the following (repeat questions omitted)
Confirm: The device stays fully synced without needing to press a button? (IE, it's all automatic?)

That appears to be the case, yes.

It's a modern day slim client no?

YES! Honestly, this might be the most important thing about it.

industrial design is pretty boring, stale, bland... was that purposeful? What users/motives/factors led to this design? What else did you try out?

Business.

It feels to me you missed the larger market for this device -> slim, affordable, home laptop for web browseing and the web.. respond?

Palm's response: we didn't want that larger market. Or rather - we think that this market will be larger. My response: good luck, I hope you're right but I suspect you're not.

treobk214 asks
When will the next REAL treo upgrade be released? By "REAL" upgrade, I mean the following features onboard the phone: 1) New or significantly upgraded operating system. stable, free of crashes. 2) A2DP bluetooth 3) 400 mhz processor or higher 4) wimax 5) 128 mb ram 6) 320x320 hires screen 7) gps 8) wifi

Palm won't comment on future produts. I think that the first Linux-based Treo will hit at least 6 of your 8, though. Then again, I'm an optimist.

Brandorr asks the following
1) Are there any plans to make a three way sync between my Treo, a Foleo, and a suite of web applications that allow me to interact with the same set of data? 2) Does the foleo actually require the same amount of storage as on the Treo? That is to say, does it cache documents, or does it need to keep a full mirrored sync?

Both good questions that Palm doesn't want to be clear on yet, the launch was about the "idea" of the Foleo more than its details.

3) Do you have any other devices planned in the PAN (personal area networking) space?

Palm won't talk about future products.

4) Do you have any plans for Foleos with much longer battery lifetimes? (A full working day is 8 hours.)

Two bits. Hawkins claims that's 5 hours of networked battery life - i.e. with WiFi ON. With the instant on, off, you could turn it off between use and it would likely last that 8 hours for you. On the other hand, since it appears to be using standard 700p battery cells strung together, I expect that it won't be difficult to design an extended battery for the Foleo.

5) Did you consider a tablet style device? (w/ foldable keyboard) Are there any plans for a tablet style Foleo?

There are on plans that Palm would comment on. Hawkins did say that he loves the form factor and wouldn't change a thing. The "foam board" anecdote he told during our conversation makes me suspect that Palm never seriously considered the tablet form factor.

6) Do you plan to provide integration with feature phones? (vs. smartphones).

Magic 8 ball says: signs point to no.

7) Do you see a significant market for Foleos that are uncouple from a Treo. (IE: strict laptop replacement) Do you see a future market for Foleo only applications.

Initially, no. In the very near future, I think they do - BUT - really, though, *is* there a market of people who want a laptop who don't have a phone they could use for email? Sure - but what is that market doing? Shrinking. What about the market of smartphone users - growing. So that's Palm's target.

8) Why only three launch applications? (Office, email, web) 9) Why not include the rest of the outlook equivalents? (Calendar, tasks, contacts, journal, notes)

Palm says those work "just fine" on the Treo and won't benefit from a bigger screen. I say that's a pretty poor answer.

10) One thing is unclear. Does the Foleo allow me to open office documents that are stored on my Treo's SD card? (That aren't email attachments, and without moving the card from my Treo to the Foleo)

It does allow you to do this.

11) Can you clarify whether or not there are plans to include DiVX, XVid, AVI and other video codecs? (This is one area where laptops excel.)

Palm says "maybe someday." I say "Palm, please send a Foleo and the SDK to Kinoma ASAP."

12) Are you familiar with the concepts related to HSM (Hierarchial Storage System). If so can you comment on how these concepts may relate to the Palm's future integration plans?

Sorry, over my head.

13) Your CEO has indicated that there will be a Linux phone released by the end of the year. Is it known at this time if there is a plan to include application level compatibility between both Linux product families? (Treo, and Foleo)

Ok everybody, I have bad news. IIRC, what Colligan said is that Palm would release a Linux "device" by the end of the year. The Foleo fulfills that product. All bets are off as to when we'll see the next Linux-based PalmOS Treo.

14) Any chance for some serious gaming on the Foleo? (IE: Is there any video acceleration)

No video accelleration, I'm almost positive. Sorry.

15) Have you considered bundling in an RDP client? (There is also a Mac equivelant, same question applys).

Update: OHHH, Remote Desktop Protocol. I suspect that Palm thought that would be too complicated for their initial target audience and so didn't put any development effort into it. Again, 3rd party support should theoretically come fairly easily.

16) It seems with this device there is a welcome shift away from "Hotsync". Am I reading to much into this?

You are not reading too much into it. Hawkins hates the hotsync - hates tethering to a computer in any way.

17) Do you plan to release an SDK prior to release of the device?

Sadly, they do not.

mw22 asks
Will it have cell fone connectivity proper (ie with a sim card plug in tray ) in version 2 Skype ??? Will it be able to run palm os garnet apps ?? Will it be able to run other linux apps such as accounting software and pims ???

The answer to all of these questions is basically "no." However, with some 3rd-party support, the answer to the last three could be "yes, eventually."

cglaguna asks
Why not make the top rotate 180 so it could be used as a tablet, this would be the perfect tablet form factor? (with touchscreen of course)

That's the rub, eh? The form factor is a small laptop, period. Ah, well.

taylorh asks
Since it can not be turned off, what happens when the battery dies? (in standby, in storage, in luggage, etc.)

Good golly, I didn't think to ask. If it doesn't have persistent storage like all modern Treos, I'll eat one of my socks.

Tastypeppers asks
'Why?' Keep asking that until they run out of marketing fluff and tell the truth.

Silly Moose, there's never an end to marketing fluff. ;)

palmdoc2005 asks
Can it do VOIP?

Nope. I don't know if it even has a microphone.

jazzkids asks
Um, I think the price listed on the overview page is misleading. You stated: The Foleo will retail for $499 with a $100 rebate and is expected to be available this summer. But on the Palm site is states: Special introductory offer only $499* * After $100 mail-in rebate. So the lowest price will actually be $499, not $399 after the $100 off. Did anyone else read it as "yay $399" or am I dense?

You are not dense, I miswrote it. Perhaps it was a Freudian slip and I was trying to make the price point closer to what I think it should be.

TheDot asks
I would like to ask if they honestly thought the smartphone was ready for the Foleo. I'm not sure about you guys, but if my Treo 680 is the server, it's like running your thin clients off of Windows 95. I understand the concept and I think it's really great, but I'm pretty darn sure the smartphone isn't nearly powerful, full featured, or STABLE enough for what you are trying to pull.

That's an interesting question and I think the answer is twofold. 1) Your Treo is mostly ready, it's definitely ready for the applications we intend to use here, DUN and email. 2) In the very near future, your next smartphone will be more than ready.

sailsguy asks
Can I print from it? I have a bluetooth printer from Canon. So if I'm editing a Word Document, could I print a copy?

Ooh, good question. Let's hope so - but it may be up to Canon to write the drivers for it. Meanwhile, you could print from your Treo.

Merlyn_3D asks
Hmmm....so in one hand I could have a treo (312MHz processor, bluetooth 1.2) and a foleo for a grand total of over $1k retail. In the other I could have an iPhone for $500 or $600 (rumored multicore processor, bluetooth 2.0 EDR, wifi, etc etc). Hmm.....which would you choose?

I can see comparing the iPhone to the Treo - and the Treo's not looking to hot in that comparison. But comparing the iPhone to the Foleo... I guess I'm not sure what you're getting at there. The Foleo is definitely not in the iPhone's category (heck, Palm wants iPhone support!).

CGK asks
Wearing my coporate hat - this occured to me - generally speaking your bean-counters who decide your equipment budget will be basing it on one PC/Laptop one mobile phone. They will take one look at this and say "he wants another laptop?" and put a redline through it - they will not get the concept. Even if they allowed it, it would generally then reduce the money in your budget for a *proper* laptop. As for the prosumer - $500 for a sub-par laptop? get out of town!

To the first point, I think that Palm is expecting a lot of execs to buy the Foleo themselves "on the sly" as it were. To the second, well, again, Palm needs to figure out this "not a laptop" issue!

tirk asks
Will it have lasers? :D

Attached to sharks.

whatever7 asks
Here is my qurstion: Tungsten C never got a proper "version B" hardware update; the LifeDrive never got a proper "version B" hardware update, why should we expect Palm to give Foleo long term support it needed should the sale disappoint. Also question 2, why not a 5" or 7" screen, why is it so big and non-portable?

Palm's history of supporting their OS is not good - but I do suspect that part of it is that they're focused on this new, Linux OS. So perhaps we can expect more support because Palm will be releasing products with an OS they care about. As to the 2nd point, Palm wanted a *big screen* and a full-sized keyboard that's non-folding. The Foleo is about as portable as they could make it within those constraints.

Hdhntr23 asks
What kind of power jack does it have? (Palm's current set up or, mini USB) I think this has been asked already but what size if any is the audio jack?

Audio jack is 3.5mm. Power jack is something different - ARGH! I also don't know if it uses a big brick or not outside the Foleo.

pdaluver asks
Does the Foleo not include the basic Palm PIM's? I don't remember Jeff mentioning them in the webcast. I use those much more than I do email.

See above - Palm says you don't need a big screen for those.

questionfear asks
Most important question of all: WILL IT BLEND????

Oh god, let's hope so. It likely wouldn't fit in a standard blender, though.

taroliw asks
I was catching up on various threads and rather than try and cross-post amongst several, I had one specific question about an Ed Colligan quote you posted in one of the articles.

Did anyone happen to mention to him that the problem with doing "robust computing" on a (Palm OS) Treo is really more a problem with the platform and not so much the hardware? When are they planning on bringing the benefits of a real OS (Linux) to their aging platform?

A point I and others have posted several times in the discussion threads and no one seems to have opened with Palm representatives is whether they see the Foleo being unique from the "PC companions" of the mid- to late-90's (think Windows CE 1.1 and 2.0 clamshells with twice the battery life the Foleo is rumored to have, as well as instant on, etc, etc). True it has built-in WiFi and BT, which most CE devices of the era lacked. But this fundamentally seems to be a very similar product to all of those failed past attempts by others. How does Palm feel that what they are attempting to do here is anything different? I could, for example, buy an aged HP Jornada 820 off of eBay and do 10 times what a Foleo will on a similarly sized and powered platform, based on the specs that have been publicly shared thus far...

They're making that Linux-based PalmOS. When we'll see it is anybody's guess. As to the question of "I've seen this before on WinCE subcompacts" - well, Palm would say "Actually, you haven't. There's never been anything that syncs automatically to your smartphone. There's never been anything with this elegant an interface."

Myself, I'm inclined to say that while Palm may techically be right that this is a "new category" of product, it's not new in the sense that the Treo was new. I haven't been able to fully articulate what I mean by "new but not really new category" yet, but I'm working on it.

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