Palm, Inc. has announced the Palm Foleo, its first smartphone companion product. The Foleo mobile companion has a large screen and full-size keyboard with which to view and edit email and office documents residing on a smartphone. 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. The device which is quite like a laptop should have no problem running with Palm or Windows OS.
The Foleo mobile companion turns on and off instantly and features fast navigation, a compact design, and a battery that apparently lasts up to 5 hours of use. Its applications include email, full-screen web browser, and editors or viewers for common business documents such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. The Foleo stays synchronized via Bluetooth wireless technology and uses the smartphone's radio or the Foleo's built-in Wi-Fi radio for general Internet connectivity.
"Foleo is the most exciting product I have ever worked on," said Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm, Inc. and the visionary behind the Foleo's concept and definition. "Smartphones will be the most prevalent personal computers on the planet, ultimately able to do everything that desktop computers can do. However, there are times when people need a large screen and full-size keyboard. As smartphones get smaller, this need increases. The Foleo completes the picture, creating a mobile-computing system that sets a new standard in simplicity."
The Foleo's synchronization architecture is open, and Palm expects to work with third-party developers to support as many smartphones as possible. Its Linux-based operating system and built-in Wi-Fi radio helps ease in creation of new applications that can be installed. The Foleo has a USB port, video-out port, headphone jack, and slots for SD and compact flash cards for memory expansion.
There is never a delay or boot-up time. A dedicated button provides access to email. All work is saved, so there is no need to close applications or take actions in order to save files. When the Foleo is turned on again, it resumes where the user left off. New users follow a simple process to pair a Foleo with their smartphone. From then on, email stays synchronized on both devices.
U.S. availability for the Palm Foleo mobile companion will begin this summer. The price of the Foleo mobile companion is expected to be approximately Rs. 20,172 ($499).
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