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Originally Posted by DaveNB
I too have been intrigued by the Foleo.
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What intrigues me is who exactly Palm expects to buy it.
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Sure it isn't a Windows laptop (a good thing in my book actually) but this trade off buys you a much sleeker/pared down machine that can run well even with modest hardware specifications. If implemented properly, Linux on the Foleo can be MUCH less of a resource hog than Windows, so you'll get usability, cool operation and much better battery life too.
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Palm is working with embedded OS vendor Wind River Systems. Wind River has been at this for some time, offering the VXWorks embedded OS before getting into the Linux space.
There are also rumors IBM is looking at acquiring them. That would be good for them: they had some serious losses recently, and acquisition by a much larger and better-heeled partner would be a relief.
But that shouldn't affect the Palm deal one way or the other.
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Folks are making the mistake of comparing the Foleo to these Windows capable sub notebooks that are all the rage in Japan but for some reason never caught on here in the U.S. That's not really a fair comparison as most of these sub notebooks come in at the >$2500-3000 price point. Remember these sub-notebooks usually don't have an internal optical drive either.
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The comparison is in what it can and can't
do.
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If the Foleo's UI is responsive and stable, has a decent looking/bright screen, the Opera Web Browser works well and can properly render/run web based applications (like Google's suite of apps, maps, etc), runs cool (no fan noise, man that would be great), and has made software development/porting available to the Linux community, I think you'll have a very useful and compelling device. The other built in applications already cover 90% of what most business users/travellers actually use their "real" notebooks for anyways.
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The problem with the Foleo is precisely what you will do with it.
It's marketed as a traveling companion for the Treo. My guess is the folks who could use such a thing already have a laptop. If they do, the Foleo needs to be able to
replace it with a smaller, lighter, more convenient device. If it
can't, the Foleo loses, as they certainly aren't going to lug around
both.
If it
can, it becomes interesting indeed, but what I've been able to discover so far doesn't point in that direction. The device isn't actually out yet, and Palm's official information is remarkably vague. There are also rumors that Palm is denying that the Foleo won't be delivered on schedule due to last minute bug fixes.
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If you need more software, it'll likely be available pretty readily. Just look at the Nokia 770/880 community of Linux hackers/programmers who have ported a whole grip of quality software to this little device. Check out www.Maemo.org and look through the various software offerings. Even if Palm dumps Foleo after a year or two (in which case, you'll be able to pick it up super cheap!!!), it'll still have a useful life as it's Linux foundations will allow for continued fan/community support and this takes alot of the anxiety out of buying one for me.
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I have, and it's not comparable.
The difference is that Nokia went the open source route, and opened the platform to outside developers. (There were some bumps in that road, as the open source model is antithetical to standard corporate development models, and the 770 team had internal opposition to deal with.)
Palm has
not done so, and the mere use of an embedded Linux kernel does not mean they
will. The GPL under which Linux is issued is "viral": code that links against GPL code becomes GPLed in consequence. But apps simply running on top of a Linux kernel are not linking against it, and do not have to be open source.
The question is whether Palm will have an SDK available and support the development of third-party software for the Foleo, whether or not they choose an open source model. I'd like to think so, but developer support has been an issue for Palm for some time.
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Dennis