Palm Foleo with Linux threatens the Laptop

At the Digital Experience in New York last week, Palm demonstrated the simplicity of their Foleo 2 pound sub-notebook device that can potentially replace a full blown laptop for mobile workers.  I was initially very skeptical of such a device until I saw it turn on and off instantly with virtually zero wait. You tap the on button and it comes on and you hit the email key and your email just comes up.  The Foleo represents a complete 180 degree turn on laptop development and it comes at a time when the traditional laptop becomes ever more complex.

There's a large user base out there that don't want to carry a bulky complex notebook.  They don't need or want all the fancy features.  All they want to do is carry something that will let them access email messaging, contacts, take notes, and give PowerPoint presentations and they want something simple and fast.  Priced at less than $500, the Foleo has a full sized keyboard making it easy to touch type and it comes with a dongle for VGA DB-15 output to a standard XGA (1024x768) resolution projector.  Palm claims that the battery life under actual usage is 5 hours.  The display has a resolution of 1024x600 which is nearly a 16x9 aspect ratio display so it looks great for surfing the web or watching a movie.  The only thing I'm not certain about is how well the processor and graphics subsystem handles Video playback and how much battery that drains.  With an empty Compact Flash and SD slot, plenty of solid state storage can be added at a very low price.  I've seen 4 GB SD/CF cards going for less than $40 and that's plenty of capacity for all your personal files excluding music and video.

The Foleo uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for Network Connectivity and it synchronizes email and contact information to Palm OS or Windows Mobile devices.  It essentially gives you an oversized typing and viewing experience for your existing Smartphone but it can also work in a standalone capacity using Wi-Fi or Dial-up Networking over Bluetooth.  At this stage there are some key features missing but since Foleo is built on top of Linux, there are plenty of Open Source projects out there that simply need to be compiled for Linux on an XScale CPU.

At present time, the following key features need to be added:

• RDP, Citrix, VNC client, etc
• VPN support (L2TP, IPSEC, SSL tunneling VPN)
• Video playback (WMV, DIVX, XVID, MPEG2, VOB, etc)
• Storage encryption for Enterprise Compliance
• Google Desktop Search for Foleo Linux

The Palm Foleo is joining a list of MID (Mobile Internet Devices) like the Nokia N800 and Asus Eee that use a lightweight version of Linux but the main advantage of the Foleo is its instant on feature.  While traditional "Linux" may be too difficult for the average user to handle, these highly integrated implementations of Linux have no problem being adopted by the masses.  That could pose a problem for Microsoft in the long run if these devices ever get widespread adoption.  The Foleo isn't perfect yet but they may eventually find the right balance of responsiveness and features that users have been craving for.