[Bob Russell]

With recent events, I can't help but think about the Foleo announcement, the stagnancy of the Treo line, the lack of new Palm standalone PDAs, the withering ecosystem of PalmOS, the inevitable bugs and issues with PalmOS on Linux as a new emulated version, etc, etc.

Years back, Palm Pilot was the most exciting thing going in the mobile computing world. They did it again to some degree with the Treo. But the Foleo has limited appeal to tech fans. There is obviously not much in the way of product innovation left, and there's no longer a Sony Clie to push things forward.

So let me ask some very simple questions...
1) Do you have great expectations for Palm's future?
2) Do you still expect great products from Palm?
3) Do you think your next smartphone will be a Treo?
4) Is Palm even relevant to the future of mobile computing?

To be honest, while I've been a huge fan of Palm for years (even in uncertain and lean times), I don't really know how I feel anymore. I am disappointed that we haven't seen more from Palm, and my expectations are crashing. The Foleo is clearly not what tech fanatics were hoping for, even if it can succeed on the market financially. Maybe this is only the tip of the iceberg, and we'll love future versions?

But really - is there any magic left at Palm? For the first time, I seriously wonder. Maybe their day is past, and we only have the fond memories.

So what do you think? Anyone else feeling let down and disappointed by Palm? Is it just a reaction to Foleo, or is it years of frustrated hope? Or maybe you are just as excited as ever about Palm.

Tell us what you think.