Some leakage about the new Palm device

[cervezas]

Palm's managed to keep the lid very tight on the device that Hawkins will be announcing tomorrow. But there has been a rumorish leak or two. And another one today.

If these rumors are correct, this sounds like a nice way to bring eBook reading and Palm OS functionality together (among other things). What do you folks think?

[NatCh]

If it's something like what they're expecting it to be, it sounds something like a non-windows variant of that Home e-Reader that we heard about a couple of weeks ago, the one that used Vista's SideShow functions.

If so, it ought to be at least as interesting as the one that's locked into WinVista.

"♪ tomorrow, tomorrow ♫ ...."

[Bob Russell]

I think I'd need to see a little something more than just a Linux tablet that can do PalmOS by emulation.

The phone connectivity is not really a draw for me because I won't pay for both a phone and a Palm device phone, and this one is likely not portable enough or convenient enough to be my main phone.

Linux is not a draw for me because I want Windows compatibility.

Streaming content is not a draw because I can do that with my Treo already, or a UMPC with wifi.

A lightweight secure and remote terminal is attractive, but you can do that in other ways on a UMPC as well.

A note taking device is interesting, but only if the digitizer is exceptional in comparison to UMPCs, and if the collection method is better than OneNote.

Other than that, I might just see another immature device (i.e. likely to have bugs and limitations) that doesn't show me anything special over UMPCs except for the PalmOS emulation, which is the OS my smartphone runs anyway. I am with Mike Mace... show me what problem it solves, and where is the zen?

Or at least show me something that gives me the advantage over a UMPC, besides Linux and stuff I can do anyway (like streaming media).

But Hawkins is not stupid. Either he is aiming for the novice user in a new way, or he's got something up his sleeve that we want. I'm sure he is smart enough to put himself in the customers' shoes and ask why we would buy this new line of devices over a UMPC or smartphone. If he doesn't have a good answer to that, expect Palm stock to drop along with our estimation of him as a hero/genius that can do no wrong.

P.S. I should add the following... there seems to be plenty of room for a novel new form factor that might make all the difference if, say, he manages to get a useful keyboard in a small form factor. Or if it just looks and handles great. They did get that ex-Apple designer, after all. And there might be room for a less powerful device on Linux with PalmOS emulation that has a side-show like screen (or dual use screen), which can be a low price point.

But I have a feeling that phone carrier connectivity is part of it because he talks about "always connected." That means he either has a way for the carrier to make big revenues in a new and creative way such as local ads or hooks, or he expects us to pay for hefty carrier plans. Either way, he had better do it in a way that is appealing to the user, not imposing or expensive.

It's a tall order to come up with something good, but if anyone can do it, it's Hawkins. Maybe it's a killer app that will make us not notice how much we are paying the phone company because we love it so much? I don't know, but I can't wait to hear why we will want this thing!

[cervezas]

Great comments.

I'm embarrassed to say that rumor I posted about today appears (based on information from someone I trust much more) to be almost completely wrong! And so it goes!

No more rumor-mongering for this chastened blogger.

[NatCh]

If it weren't for rumor-mongering, we wouldn't have anything to discuss about 65% of the time, cervezas!

So don't leave us hanging -- what's the counter-rumor?

[cervezas]

Originally Posted by NatCh

If it weren't for rumor-mongering, we wouldn't have anything to discuss about 65% of the time, cervezas!

So don't leave us hanging -- what's the counter-rumor?

I'll never tell! (And neither will my source!)

[mogui]

In his book, "On Intelligence" Hawkins describes the mammalian brain as a auto-associative memory rather than a computer. I am sure they are exploring the possibilities of this new understanding at Numenta. One of the logical consequences of this line of thinking is that all of the knotty pattern-recognition type problems become much easier to solve.

Could we have our voice-enabled pocket device now please? Is it too much to ask?

Tomorrow we will see Hawkins' new baby.

[Bob Russell]

Here's the latest scoop - the Palm Foleo.
http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmad...new_produ.html

"[From Eric Mann, Brian, Knowles, Tien, JWinter ] Thanks to everyone who sent this in, regarding a Palm press release that seemed to slip through the net. 'Palm, Inc. today announced the Palm Foleo, world’s first smartphone companion product.
# Foleo has a large screen and full size keyboard to view and edit email and office documents. Edits made on Foleo automatically are reflected on its paired smartphone and vice versa.
# Foleo and its paired smartphone stay synchronized throughout the day or at the touch of a button.
# Foleo turns on and off instantly, features fast navigation, a compact and elegant design, and a battery that lasts up to five hours of use.
# U.S. availability for Foleo begins this summer with pricing expected to be $499 after an introductory $100 rebate.'"
And discussion here...
http://discussion.treocentral.com/sh...d.php?t=144011

I like the easy phone pairing idea, and the keyboard. But I'm concerned that the functionality will be too limited. On the other hand the price is reasonable. This is much more the sort of thing one would expect from Hawkins. If true, sounds very promising.

[rlauzon]

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

a battery that lasts up to five hours of use.

That's the killer for me. 5 hours of use isn't long enough. My current Palm TX only needs to be "topped off" every other day (when the battery indicator gets about half way down).

Granted 5 hours is better than what I'd get on a UMPC, but I still say that batter life has to be, at a minimum, 1 full business day without needing to be recharged. If I have to recharge it in the middle of the business day, the device loses usefulness.

Either the device dies when I need it, or I have to carry around a life support unit for it (increasing the amount of stuff I already have to carry around).

[Harpgliss]

Hi,

I really think that the Palm users community is really desperate to see something from Palm that indicates they are interested in users who may want something other than a treo to use as a pda.

From details posted elsewhere, I am just like, this is the same Palm who did no innovation until Sony entered the scene and Palm lost marketshare in an area they created.

I do not want some addon for my phone or my pda incorporated into my phone.

A nice standalone pda with wifi, bluetooth, multimedia functionality, and better office capabilties would be awesome.

This item being announced today, from reports, is not it tho.

David

[Ken Stuart]

The Palm CEO showed it off today on CNBC live at around 10am PDT.

Looks like a small laptop.

It has the same instant-on as PalmOS, so maybe it has PalmOS ? No technical details on the CNBC show.

Until more details are available, the question remains why I would want one instead of the IBM Thinkpad X22 (12-inch screen, 97% size keys) which I bought in new condition for $180 on ebay from a corporate-lease-return-liquidator...

Could we have our voice-enabled pocket device now please? Is it too much to ask?

No, and Yes, respectively.

Transcript of my wife just this morning, talking to phone voice answering system at a major high-tech company:

Her: "George ..... Smith .... no....George ..... Smith .... no....George ..... Smith .... no....George ..... Smith .... "