Palm cancels Foleo!
We did not see this one coming. Palm’s infinitely-wise CEO Ed Colligan has just made a public statement, announcing that the company has decided not to release the Foleo Mobile Companion in its current configuration. While his statement certainly left the possibility of a future Foleo release open, it seems like this might be the final nail in the Foleo coffin. Considering the promised "Summer 2007" drop date, this will certainly go on record as one of the most significant last minute product cancellations in recent memory. Colligan goes on to say that he is "convinced" that the right path for Palm involves focusing on improving their mobile platform design and improving the unified end user experience. Apparently the Foleo didn’t fit into this plan. We are as convinced as the next guy that the Foleo is a dead end product, but pulling out at the last minute? Somewhat questionable, especially in the eyes of the company’s already skittish stock holders. Palm better bring the pain with their next OS/Hardware configuration, or this could turn out to be but one more indication of the company’s impending collapse.
Thanks, to everyone that sent this in!
OH SNAP! Foleo 2007-2007.
Was anyone excited about this?
Palm’s CEO is getting smarter. People who buy smartphones do so because they won’t want to carry a laptop with them in the first place. The Foleo was a Laptop Lite. Hey Ed, spend more time updating the phones and adding, well maybe WiFi and thinner and better and nicer and etc. etc.
I really thought they were gonna go through with it. Although the stockholders may be in question over the move I’m sure anyone with a decent common sense will now that going full force with the foleo wouldve turned out disastrous. I’m sure Palm made the right move in cancelling and started concentrating on the mobile devices. They have a very large consumer fanclub with the treos to which they can easily increase by simply updating their lineup. I mean serious the design hasnt changed for like over 4+ years, Even the damn sidekicks change in looks and improvements while the treo has somewhat stayed still practically :-\ heck the biggest change they ever did was remove the antenna… seriously big woop lol.
Wow, that open Engadget letter must have had an effect.
This was bound to happen. I am just glad it happened prior to a full product release. I wonder how many devices were made? I also think they heard all the forums commenting on how cool it might be but how late and expensive it would be, making it DOA.
LOL @ Teen Tech….Thank god they didn’t release it, thanks to engadget i guess
what they need to do is start making revolutionary devices and a new OS, not just updates of the same friggin phone
@tech teen (again)
I was thinking the same thing but really they need better phones before they release garbage like this.
Dear President Bush,
Man, what a crazy year, right? We know things haven’t really been going your way lately, but we want you to know that we haven’t given up on you, even though it might seem like the only thing anyone wants to talk about these days is the iPhone. It can be hard to remember right now, but you used to be …
Sincerely,
Engadget
(Eh, it’s worth a try)
the specs on tha thing were depressing ive seen umpc’s with a faster clock the foolio was bass ackwerds from the start even the concept. that centro comming out is nothing mor than a trumped up dash ever since the treo 650 palm has been a slave to htc. no if palm wants to stay in the game doo somthing tha no smartphone brand has never done. EG make a phone tha lets you upgrade hardware over time. a slot for the prcessor gpu tranceiver chips ie make a basic chasis setup you can pimp out. most manufactures hav Mico sdslots to expand storage. why not take that concept into different areas?
yeah, HTC was killing this device with all their good umpc’s. Good move by Palm, must be a heartbreaker for whoever was in charge of this disaster. Oh well, still no decent new phones.
While they have pulled the plug on the current iteration of the Foleo, the Email from Palm went on to say…
“Jeff Hawkins and I still believe that the market category defined by Foleo has enormous potential. When we do Foleo II it will be based on our new platform, and we think it will deliver on the promise of this new category. We’re not going to speculate now on timing for a next Foleo, we just know we need to get our core platform and smartphones done first.”
Well. I have owned Palms since 1993 and have owned stock in that company via US Robotics/Cisco/3COM/PALM/Palm and Palm Software/…you get the drift. I agree the OS is tired and that the Foleo was a disaster in the making. To me, it seemed as if Hawkings and Ed had time-warped back to the mid nineties and hoped to do the Windows CE palmtop computers right this time or something. You cant move backwards in such a forward market as smartphones and PALM was doing just that. I just had to give up my IPHONE and switch to Sprint. While the 755p is not revolutionary, it was much better than recent TREO’s. I hope the Centro gives Sprint a decent text-oriented device because the price point might just work-even for a tired old OS like Palm. I guess we will have to see. Still a new OS and no Foleo is not a bad first step, I just hope it’s not too little too late.
Thank you Palm for having the sense to cancel this garbage. It would seem that you have taken engadget’s letter to heart.
In case you are reading this here’s a todo list:
1. Get your Linux Platform out the door!
2. Make the Linux OS an option for existing treo users.
3. Get to work on a *slim* Treo w/ Wifi (& GPS optional.)
HAH. Palm doesn’t even make their own phones anymore. HTC does. I have the Treo Pro. Its 400MHz processor doesn’t cut it. By a long shot. And the “fake 320×320 LCD” is all too little and way too late.
Go home, Palm, and call it a day. You won’t be missed.
And neither will you, Mr. President. I have a pretzel here you can choke on.