Brief Summary:
Invention/Product: Palm Foleo
Company: Palm, Inc.
Country: USA
Period: Announced in May 2007, canceled in September 2007 (before launch).
Essence: "Mobile companion"—a compact subnotebook with a 10-inch screen and full keyboard, designed to work alongside Palm Treo smartphones, providing a larger screen and convenient input for email, documents, and web surfing.
The Palm Foleo became a classic example of a product that was canceled before hitting the market due to extremely negative reactions from the press, analysts, and potential users. It was criticized for unclear positioning (an incomplete laptop and an overly expensive smartphone accessory), high price, limited functionality (ran on Linux but did not support standard applications), and overall lack of prospects in the face of rapidly developing smartphones and emerging netbooks.
Creation History
In the mid-2000s, Palm, a pioneer in the PDA and smartphone market, was looking for new development paths amid growing competition. Jeff Hawkins, the founder of Palm and creator of PalmPilot and Treo, proposed the concept of the Foleo—a device that would serve as a "companion" to the smartphone. The idea was that while a smartphone is great for quick tasks on the go, a larger screen and convenient keyboard are needed for extended work with emails, documents, or web surfing. The Foleo was supposed to turn on instantly, sync with the smartphone via Bluetooth, and provide such an interface. The device was announced on May 30, 2007, with a planned sales start in the summer of the same year.
Operating Principle
The Palm Foleo was a compact device resembling a small laptop. Key features included:
- Display and Keyboard: 10.2-inch screen (1024x600) and a full-size keyboard.
- Operating System: A modified version of Linux.
- Instant on/off.
- Smartphone Synchronization: The primary scenario was working with emails, contacts, and the Treo smartphone calendar (via Bluetooth). Changes were synced both ways.
- Built-in Applications: Web browser (Opera), email client, document editor (compatible with Microsoft Office), PDF viewer.
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB port, SD card slot.
The Foleo was not intended as a full-fledged laptop but rather as an extension of the smartphone's capabilities.
Declared Advantages
- Convenience of working with smartphone content on a large screen with a physical keyboard.
- Instant readiness for work.
- Long battery life (about 5 hours).
- Lightweight and compact compared to traditional laptops.
- Ease of use and automatic synchronization.
Why Did It Fail? (Or rather, why was it canceled?)
- Extremely negative public reaction: Right after its announcement, the Foleo faced harsh criticism from journalists, bloggers, and analysts. It was called "unnecessary," a "mini-laptop," and an "overpriced accessory."
- Unclear positioning and target audience: It was unclear who exactly needed such a product. Smartphones sufficed for simple tasks, and laptops for serious work. The Foleo was stuck somewhere in between.
- High price: The announced price of $499 (after a $100 discount) was considered too high for a device with such limited functionality, especially as the first affordable netbooks with full OS were already appearing on the market.
- Limited functionality: Worked only with specific Palm smartphones, did not run standard desktop applications, and the operating system was new with no ecosystem.
- Competition with evolving smartphones: Smartphones (including the iPhone, released in the same 2007) were becoming more powerful, with larger screens and better browsers, making the idea of a separate "companion" less attractive.
Under pressure from negative reviews and realizing the product's bleak prospects, Palm CEO Ed Colligan announced the cancellation of the Foleo on September 4, 2007, just weeks before the planned sales start, stating that the company would focus on developing its new mobile OS (the future webOS).
Ahead of Its Time?
In some ways, the idea of a "companion" or lightweight device for working with cloud data and syncing with a smartphone had potential and was later partially realized in netbooks, Chromebooks, and even some tablet features. However, the Foleo's implementation was unsuccessful, and the market was not yet ready for such a specific product, especially at that price.
Can It Be Revived?
Specifically, the Foleo cannot be revived. But the concept of a lightweight smartphone companion device has evolved. For example, Samsung DeX or Motorola Ready For allows you to connect a smartphone to a large screen and use it in desktop mode. Tablets also partially fulfill this role. The idea of a "thin client" working in tandem with a more powerful device or the cloud continues to evolve.
WTF Factor
The main WTF is that Palm, known for its innovative PDAs and smartphones, so badly misunderstood market needs and released (or almost released) a product that almost no one understood or wanted. The device, which was supposed to make smartphone users' lives easier, essentially proposed carrying another device, almost as heavy as a small laptop, but with much fewer capabilities and at a significant cost.
The mere fact of canceling the product just weeks before the launch after a major announcement is also quite rare and indicative of the misjudgment's depth.