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OK Palm, We're Ready for the Foleo Now

Mar 08, 2010  By Shawn Powers
 in
Palm Foleo

Ahh, poor Palm. Sure, they have their fancy new WebOS toys -- but it wasn't that long ago they were banking on the Foleo changing the mobile world as we knew it. Sadly, they were just a little too early, and a little too lame. Here's the good news, Palm: We're ready now. Let me give you a bit of a vision, and you run with it...

Imagine for a moment that your cellphone is as powerful as a netbook. My Nokia n900 actually is that awesome, but we'll pretend I own a Palm Pre. And that it's as awesome.

Ok, back to the imagining: Your mobile computer is great, but sadly the keyboard and screen aren't that great for long form typing. Sure, you can tweet your tweets, book your face, and SMS your SMSers -- but even a moderate length email starts to get annoying. If only there were a way to get your pocket sized computer onto a docking station. A docking station with a battery. And a screen. And a real keyboard. Just like the Palm Foleo almost was!

I'm not suggesting the Foleo should exist in its original form. I'm suggesting Palm (or Nokia?) design a sheath for their mobile computers that could replace a netbook. Really, do you ever have a netbook somewhere you don't have your cellphone? Of course not. Just think about the advantages a Foleo-like device could offer the mobile geek:

  • A huge battery to charge the phone while "docked."
  • A big screen. Even if a similar resolution, bigger pixels.
  • A keyboard as opposed to a thumbboard.
  • A webcam, for Skyping?
  • A simple way to get mobile connectivity. The cellphone already has it, no need to hunt for WiFi or tether your cell!
  • No need for a pricey netbook you really hate anyway.

So there you go Palm. Give us a Foleo, but reinvent it a bit. If you give me a terminal window with WebOS, I might even switch from my Nokia to a Palm device. Do it quick though, because quite honestly -- if Nokia makes the Noleo first, I'll buy that in a heartbeat!

______________________

Shawn Powers is an Associate Editor for Linux Journal. You might find him chatting on the IRC channel, or Twitter

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notebook

astrologie's picture
Submitted by astrologie (not verified) on Sat, 03/13/2010 - 05:28.

yea i'd buy one to protect my notebook thanks

Personally

Curtis's picture
Submitted by Curtis (not verified) on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 14:50.

I want a Tungsten with WebOS that can make a phone call. Now that would be cool and I'd buy one in a minute. The Treo is lame and the Pre and Pixi are too small.

redfly is trying

david120's picture
Submitted by david120 on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 08:17.

I came across the Redfly at Celio Corp. I think it's a start at what Shawn suggests.

I don't have a smart phone yet. My cell phone company, Verizon, wants a $30/month data charge to hook one up. This is what's stopping me. But were I to have a smart phone, I'd want to be able to use it like a netbook.

there is a teminal for webos

Conquence_9's picture
Submitted by Conquence_9 (not verified) on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 13:14.

there is a teminal for webos (and it's AMAZING) ;D

-posted from my Palm Pre

Sorry: WHY not find...

Eats Wombats's picture
Submitted by Eats Wombats (not verified) on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 11:06.

Sorry:

WHY not find...

Foleo

Eats Wombats's picture
Submitted by Eats Wombats (not verified) on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 11:05.

Excellent. I'm afraid it's probably too late.

And not find a way to make it worth with an iPhone? It won't tether with an iPad, which doesn't have a keyboard, so one and another there are needs not being met.

I'd buy one, especially if it could tether to more than one kind of phone.

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