MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Why the Foleo might succeed even though we don't like it

branko · 05-31-2007, 09:22 PM

The "Think Grandma" argument rubs me the wrong way. That's only one step away from the "if only one percent of one percent of all Chinese people buy your product" argument, and both are often used to defend still-born products.

I like the "uneducated CEO" argument better, but here's a scenario: your CEO brings his toy Foleo to a conference where all his buddy CEOs are, and they whip out their 3000 USD ultra mobiles...

So what's left is the group of people who would like to do some work on the smart phones ... all four of them.

I think I get what Palm are trying to do, what with smart phones getting smarter. The thing is that for now this combination will have to compete with real computers, and the combo is going to lose. The very first time Foleo+smart phone owners are unable to do something they know they can do on their laptops, they're going to decide to leave the Foleos home next time and bring the laptops instead.

Also, the first flash-RAM, optical drive-less laptops will come out this year (Dell already lets you buy an ultra mobile with flash mem instead of an HD), and I wouldn't be surprised if you would be able to get real laptops for a Foleo price in a year that are just as light, and just as energy friendly.

(For those saying that a Linux-based laptop IS a real computer: think grandma.)

05-31-2007, 09:22 PM	#25
branko Connoisseur Posts: 93 Karma: 549 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Amsterdam Device: Palm Zire	The "Think Grandma" argument rubs me the wrong way. That's only one step away from the "if only one percent of one percent of all Chinese people buy your product" argument, and both are often used to defend still-born products. I like the "uneducated CEO" argument better, but here's a scenario: your CEO brings his toy Foleo to a conference where all his buddy CEOs are, and they whip out their 3000 USD ultra mobiles... So what's left is the group of people who would like to do some work on the smart phones ... all four of them. I think I get what Palm are trying to do, what with smart phones getting smarter. The thing is that for now this combination will have to compete with real computers, and the combo is going to lose. The very first time Foleo+smart phone owners are unable to do something they know they can do on their laptops, they're going to decide to leave the Foleos home next time and bring the laptops instead. Also, the first flash-RAM, optical drive-less laptops will come out this year (Dell already lets you buy an ultra mobile with flash mem instead of an HD), and I wouldn't be surprised if you would be able to get real laptops for a Foleo price in a year that are just as light, and just as energy friendly. (For those saying that a Linux-based laptop IS a real computer: think grandma.)