MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - One simple addition that makes the Foleo a winner

Bob Russell · 06-01-2007, 07:36 PM

Okay, so the Foleo looks like a dud with potential at best. Not so fast!

I want to propose a simple change in the design and purpose that would make it the killer device that it should have been in the first place, and it would be so good that I would run out and buy one as soon as it's released.

Here are the three simple additions to the Foleo that make it a winner:

1) Make it a touchscreen convertible tablet device that you can write on
2) Add a program like OneNote, with smart phone sync
3) Put a decent calendar program on it that uses the big screen and keyboard

Now that's a revolutionary device that I would buy, and I bet they could sell it for $600. Later they can improve it even more with more storage, faster processor, multimedia and so forth. But this makes it a device I want now!

How do you describe such a device? As a Franklin Planner. You remember - those things that everyone carried around until smart phones came out. Why did people carry them around? Because it served an important purpose. People had their life in there. Calendar, reference material, notes, addresses and so forth.

Instead of paper, now a lot of people have half rate solutions. A smartphone is convenient, but have you ever used the calendar in them? It barely suffices, and mostly it's for geeks. You can't see much on the screen so it's hard to use as a calendar. What about notes? It's hard to capture text or writing.

Those who use paper don't have a backup, they don't have password protection, they don't have search capability, they can only carry a limited amount, they have to keep buying refills, they have lots of things scratched out or falling out. In short, it's limited because it's paper and not electronic.

Now we're talking about a real life need being satisfied. PDAs and smart phones didn't do it. Paper has severe limitations (of which backup is a very important one - people often have a great fear of what would happen if they lost their paper planner). UMPCs aren't really integrated really well with the smartphone yet, and are going to be a little more expensive for a while. But the Foleo can be simple and cheap and small, and it can meet a need. It can be your electronic planner.

Even the phrase "electronic planner" has a bad connotation now because it's so hard to use PDAs that way. But not the Foleo with a touch screen.

Ask just about any tablet pc owner. What is one of the most loved programs and uses for a tablet pc? It's OneNote. They can take notes and organize them with web clippings and documents and find it easily even if it's handwritten. Want to pull up your notes from that conference call last week? You can do it. Want to know what the sermon from last week was about? Pull up your notes. Want to remember what the house you saw Friday was like from the back? Pull up the picture you took. (Whoops - no camera you say? No problem because there's a camera in your smart phone, so if properly integrated you can add pictures on the spot.)

So if they had Bob Russell on the design team at Palm, that's the device you would have. Maybe a two-tier option. Simple Foleo for barebones field organizations to roll out cheaply with custom applications, and a consumer Foleo for executives and regular people who actually want to do something with it!

Let's do a little poll on this. Tell me what you think. (Click on the full article to see the poll.)

06-01-2007, 07:36 PM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	One simple addition that makes the Foleo a winner Okay, so the Foleo looks like a dud with potential at best. Not so fast! I want to propose a simple change in the design and purpose that would make it the killer device that it should have been in the first place, and it would be so good that I would run out and buy one as soon as it's released. Here are the three simple additions to the Foleo that make it a winner: 1) Make it a touchscreen convertible tablet device that you can write on 2) Add a program like OneNote, with smart phone sync 3) Put a decent calendar program on it that uses the big screen and keyboard Now that's a revolutionary device that I would buy, and I bet they could sell it for $600. Later they can improve it even more with more storage, faster processor, multimedia and so forth. But this makes it a device I want now! How do you describe such a device? As a Franklin Planner. You remember - those things that everyone carried around until smart phones came out. Why did people carry them around? Because it served an important purpose. People had their life in there. Calendar, reference material, notes, addresses and so forth. Instead of paper, now a lot of people have half rate solutions. A smartphone is convenient, but have you ever used the calendar in them? It barely suffices, and mostly it's for geeks. You can't see much on the screen so it's hard to use as a calendar. What about notes? It's hard to capture text or writing. Those who use paper don't have a backup, they don't have password protection, they don't have search capability, they can only carry a limited amount, they have to keep buying refills, they have lots of things scratched out or falling out. In short, it's limited because it's paper and not electronic. Now we're talking about a real life need being satisfied. PDAs and smart phones didn't do it. Paper has severe limitations (of which backup is a very important one - people often have a great fear of what would happen if they lost their paper planner). UMPCs aren't really integrated really well with the smartphone yet, and are going to be a little more expensive for a while. But the Foleo can be simple and cheap and small, and it can meet a need. It can be your electronic planner. Even the phrase "electronic planner" has a bad connotation now because it's so hard to use PDAs that way. But not the Foleo with a touch screen. Ask just about any tablet pc owner. What is one of the most loved programs and uses for a tablet pc? It's OneNote. They can take notes and organize them with web clippings and documents and find it easily even if it's handwritten. Want to pull up your notes from that conference call last week? You can do it. Want to know what the sermon from last week was about? Pull up your notes. Want to remember what the house you saw Friday was like from the back? Pull up the picture you took. (Whoops - no camera you say? No problem because there's a camera in your smart phone, so if properly integrated you can add pictures on the spot.) So if they had Bob Russell on the design team at Palm, that's the device you would have. Maybe a two-tier option. Simple Foleo for barebones field organizations to roll out cheaply with custom applications, and a consumer Foleo for executives and regular people who actually want to do something with it! Let's do a little poll on this. Tell me what you think. (Click on the full article to see the poll.)