Palm Foleo
Encyclopedia
The Palm Foleo was a planned subnotebook
computer that was announced by mobile device manufacturer Palm Inc. on May 30, 2007, and canceled three months later. It intended to serve as a companion for smartphones including Palm's own Treo line. The device ran on the Linux
operating system and featured 256 MB of flash memory
and an immediate boot-up feature.
The Foleo featured wireless access via Bluetooth
and Wi-Fi
. Integrated software included an e-mail
client which was to be capable of syncing with the Treo E-Mail client, the Opera
web browser and the Documents To Go
office suite. The client did not send and retrieve mail over the Wi-Fi connection, instead transmitting via synchronization with the companion smartphone.
The device was slated to launch in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2007 for a price expected by Palm to be $499 after an introductory $100 rebate. Palm canceled Foleo development on September 4, 2007, with Palm CEO Ed Colligan announcing that the company would return its focus to its core product of smartphones and handheld computers. Soon after the device was canceled, a branch of subnotebooks called netbook
s, similar to the Foleo in size and functionality, reached the market. Had it been released, the Foleo would have been the founding device in the category. At the time, Palm was performing poorly in face of heavy competition in the smartphone market. The company's sales did not recover, and it was purchased by information technology giant Hewlett-Packard
in April 2010.
kernel. The kernel was reported as being version 2.6.14-rmk1-pxa1-intc2 ("rmk1" indicates this is the ARM architectural version, "pxa1" indicates it is of the PXA family of Intel/Marvell Technology Group XScale processors, "intc2" is possibly an IRQ handler). On August 7, 2007, Palm announced that it had chosen Wind River Systems
to help it customize the standard Linux kernel to make it more suitable for this device.
The device used a custom-built widget framework called HxUI, which is based on the LiTE toolbox over the DirectFB
graphics subsystem. HxUI uses XML to describe its interfaces. Bundled Applications included the Opera
web browser (Supports Flash
and Ajax
, but not Flash video), an E-mail
application, a PDF viewer, and DocumentsToGo to handle Microsoft Word
, Excel
, and PowerPoint documents.
A number of companies had announced plans to release applications for this product. For example, LogMeIn planned to provide remote PC access capabilities to the Foleo, Avenuu planned to provide remote file access, Bluefire planned to provide VPN software. On July 26, 2007, Normsoft was the first company to announce an MP3 player for Foleo. Some executives at Palm had suggested that the fan-less CPU would probably not be able to play back video, while others had disagreed. Other companies had announced plans for games, a photo editor, and blog
ging tools.
stated that Palm has "created a device that's not quite pocketable, but it's not quite full function, either". Users on forums and news sites have widely mocked the name (calling it the Palm Fooleo), and criticized the apparent lack of ability to run Palm OS applications, the lack of multimedia features, and the price. TechRadar said "If you've got a mobile that can handle email, why on earth would you want the Foleo?"
Palm continued to tout the device as an alternative to carrying a standard laptop when traveling, as it was cheaper, smaller, lighter, and sturdier, with a longer battery life and the ability to access the internet through a smartphone when not in range of a Wi-Fi network, despite its lack of computational power for such tasks as video playback or 3D games, and a few reviewers were very positive about this possibility.
Subnotebook
A subnotebook is a class of laptop computers that are smaller and lighter than a typical laptop....
computer that was announced by mobile device manufacturer Palm Inc. on May 30, 2007, and canceled three months later. It intended to serve as a companion for smartphones including Palm's own Treo line. The device ran on the Linux
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
operating system and featured 256 MB of flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
and an immediate boot-up feature.
The Foleo featured wireless access via Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
and Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
. Integrated software included an e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
client which was to be capable of syncing with the Treo E-Mail client, the Opera
Opera (web browser)
Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...
web browser and the Documents To Go
Documents To Go
Documents To Go is an office suite for Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Maemo, Blackberry OS, Symbian OS, Android, and iOS. Also, a larger-screen version would have been included with the Palm Foleo, but Palm, Inc. cancelled the device before its release...
office suite. The client did not send and retrieve mail over the Wi-Fi connection, instead transmitting via synchronization with the companion smartphone.
The device was slated to launch in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2007 for a price expected by Palm to be $499 after an introductory $100 rebate. Palm canceled Foleo development on September 4, 2007, with Palm CEO Ed Colligan announcing that the company would return its focus to its core product of smartphones and handheld computers. Soon after the device was canceled, a branch of subnotebooks called netbook
Netbook
Netbooks are a category of small, lightweight, legacy-free, and inexpensive laptop computers.At their inception in late 2007 as smaller notebooks optimized for low weight and low cost — netbooks omitted certain features , featured smaller screens and keyboards, and offered reduced computing...
s, similar to the Foleo in size and functionality, reached the market. Had it been released, the Foleo would have been the founding device in the category. At the time, Palm was performing poorly in face of heavy competition in the smartphone market. The company's sales did not recover, and it was purchased by information technology giant Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
in April 2010.
Software
The Foleo was initially reported to run a modified LinuxLinux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
kernel. The kernel was reported as being version 2.6.14-rmk1-pxa1-intc2 ("rmk1" indicates this is the ARM architectural version, "pxa1" indicates it is of the PXA family of Intel/Marvell Technology Group XScale processors, "intc2" is possibly an IRQ handler). On August 7, 2007, Palm announced that it had chosen Wind River Systems
Wind River Systems
Wind River Systems, Inc. is a company providing embedded systems, development tools for embedded systems, middleware, and other types of software. The company was founded in Berkeley, California in 1981 by Jerry Fiddler and David Wilner. On June 4, 2009, Wind River announced that Intel had bought...
to help it customize the standard Linux kernel to make it more suitable for this device.
The device used a custom-built widget framework called HxUI, which is based on the LiTE toolbox over the DirectFB
DirectFB
DirectFB stands for Direct Frame Buffer. It is a software library for GNU/Linux/Unix-based operating systems with a small memory footprint that provides graphics acceleration, input device handling and abstraction layer, and integrated windowing system with support for translucent windows and...
graphics subsystem. HxUI uses XML to describe its interfaces. Bundled Applications included the Opera
Opera (web browser)
Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...
web browser (Supports Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
and Ajax
Ajax (programming)
Ajax is a group of interrelated web development methods used on the client-side to create asynchronous web applications...
, but not Flash video), an E-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
application, a PDF viewer, and DocumentsToGo to handle Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
, Excel
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
, and PowerPoint documents.
A number of companies had announced plans to release applications for this product. For example, LogMeIn planned to provide remote PC access capabilities to the Foleo, Avenuu planned to provide remote file access, Bluefire planned to provide VPN software. On July 26, 2007, Normsoft was the first company to announce an MP3 player for Foleo. Some executives at Palm had suggested that the fan-less CPU would probably not be able to play back video, while others had disagreed. Other companies had announced plans for games, a photo editor, and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ging tools.
Criticism
Initial reaction to the Foleo in the trade press was quite critical, noting that subnotebooks had never found a large market. A vice president of research group GartnerGartner
Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001....
stated that Palm has "created a device that's not quite pocketable, but it's not quite full function, either". Users on forums and news sites have widely mocked the name (calling it the Palm Fooleo), and criticized the apparent lack of ability to run Palm OS applications, the lack of multimedia features, and the price. TechRadar said "If you've got a mobile that can handle email, why on earth would you want the Foleo?"
Palm continued to tout the device as an alternative to carrying a standard laptop when traveling, as it was cheaper, smaller, lighter, and sturdier, with a longer battery life and the ability to access the internet through a smartphone when not in range of a Wi-Fi network, despite its lack of computational power for such tasks as video playback or 3D games, and a few reviewers were very positive about this possibility.