Palm Foleo
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consumer electronics, Software |
| Founded | January 1, 1992 |
| Founder | Jeff Hawkins, Donna Dubinsky, Ed Colligan |
| Defunct | April 28, 2010 |
| Fate | Acquired by Hewlett-Packard |
| Headquarters | Sunnyvale, California , United States |
Key people | Ed Colligan (CEO) |
| Products | Smartphones, handheld devices, subnotebooks (Palm Foleo) |
| Parent | Hewlett-Packard (from 2010) |
The Palm Foleo (stylized as Folēo) was a subnotebook concept unveiled by Palm Inc. on May 30, 2007, designed to serve as a portable extension for smartphones, including Palm's own Treo series. Operating on a Linux kernel, it offered 256 MB of flash storage and was engineered for swift startup times.
Featuring wireless options such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, the Foleo came preloaded with software like an e-mail client that synchronized directly with the Treo's messaging system, the Opera web browser, and the Documents To Go productivity suite. Importantly, the device did not send e-mails over Wi-Fi independently but relied on syncing with the paired smartphone.
Palm aimed to release the device in the United States during the third quarter of 2007, pricing it at $499 after applying a $100 rebate. Nevertheless, the initiative was discontinued three months later, with CEO Ed Colligan citing a renewed concentration on Palm’s primary smartphone and handheld product lines. Shortly thereafter, netbooks—a comparable category of compact laptops—emerged in the marketplace, suggesting the Foleo might have been an early entrant had it reached consumers.
At the time of its termination, Palm was facing intense competition in the smartphone arena, experiencing ongoing sales declines until its acquisition by technology leader Hewlett-Packard in April 2010.
Software
The Foleo utilized a customized Linux kernel version 2.6.14-rmk1-pxa1-intc2, optimized for ARM-based PXA processors from Intel/Marvell’s XScale family. On August 7, 2007, Palm selected Wind River Systems to further tailor this Linux kernel for their device.
Its user interface was built on a proprietary widget system named HxUI, which leveraged the LiTE toolkit running atop the DirectFB graphics layer; interface elements were defined using XML. Pre-installed applications encompassed the Opera browser (supporting Flash and Ajax, but excluding Flash video), an e-mail client, a PDF reader, and DocumentsToGo for managing files from Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Several developers announced intentions to create software for the Foleo. LogMeIn planned remote desktop access; Avenuu intended to enable remote file retrieval; Bluefire aimed to supply VPN capabilities. On July 26, 2007, Normsoft revealed it was developing the first MP3 player application for the platform. While some executives at Palm questioned whether the fanless CPU could support video playback effectively, others expressed optimism. Additional announced applications included gaming titles, a photo editing tool, and blogging utilities.
Criticism
Early responses from industry media were mixed regarding the Foleo. Reviewers such as Tim Bajarin, Gizmodo, and Slashgear offered favorable impressions; however, analysts pointed out that subnotebooks traditionally struggled to gain significant market share. Gartner’s Vice President of Research Leslie Fiering described Palm’s device as “neither truly pocketable nor fully featured.” Users expressed dissatisfaction over its inability to run native Palm OS applications, absence of multimedia functionality, and its price point. TechRadar questioned its worth given that smartphones already provided email capabilities.
Gartner analyst Todd Kort labeled the Foleo “the most disappointing product I’ve seen in several years,” expressing skepticism about carrying a 10-inch device weighing 2.5 pounds as an accessory to a smartphone.
Palm marketed the Foleo as an affordable, compact, and lightweight alternative to laptops suited for travel purposes. The company emphasized its extended battery life and internet connectivity through smartphone tethering when Wi-Fi access was unavailable. Despite limited processing power restricting video playback or advanced gaming experiences, some reviewers recognized potential within this specialized segment.