Although the buzz around here lately is mostly concerning the much-anticipated release of the Palm Pre, it's also fun to ask the "what if" questions - like what if Palm's new webOS pops up on other mediums besides the Pre smartphone? If you've followed Palm over the past few years, you may remember the ill-fated Foleo, a mobile companion for the Palm OS. That poor ship sunk before it ever left the harbor, but David Beers writes on his Software Everywhere blog that "by building a system using de facto cross-platform standards like JavaScript, WebKit, Java and Jetty, Palm has made a great platform for creating companion applications that can run on any desktop—Windows, Mac, or Linux—leveraging the same code that runs on the handset."
At the time Palm introduced it, the Foleo was ill-fated, but perhaps the idea and implementation was ahead of the OS that would make it attractive to a broad base of consumers. Maybe now that Palm can place the horse in front of the cart, we can expect to see a Foleo redux and hopefully webOS applications showing up on the desktop as well. What do you think, would you pick up a webOS-based Foleo II over another netbook?
Comments
I would pick up a netbook running webOS :)
I fully agree with the new platform possibilities.
Especially if the cards and touch screen go with it.
Give it the swivel screen that has touch and all the base configuration with the screen that senses up and stays oriented accordingly.
This would be great.
Then throw in two cameras and let the TI CPU flow that they have now with a larger battery.
There are Great Possibilities here.
Depends on the quality of apps that are released for webOS. The better the quality the more likely I would be to purchase it.
I must be in the minority here, because while I absolutely love the cards metaphor for a smartphone, it makes no sense to me on an actual computer, even if it had a capacitive touchscreen (which my current laptop, a Dell XT, has). It's really two entirely different metaphors based on resolution and screen size. On a smartphone, its a necessity for everything to be fullscreen. On a computer, even the netbooks, there's generally enough resolution and size for multiple windows all open at the same time, a taskbar or dock for switching between them, etc. WebOS's card metaphor would be a step backwards on a netbook device as far as I'm concerned.
This would actually be less interesting to me than the original Foleo. Though, a Synergy PIM program for Windows/Linux/Mac would be a great idea.
I would prefer to see a Redfly type solution. The Pre has that nice zippy processor so it should be the perfect device to work with a "dumb" terminal.
I have not taken my laptop on one trip since I got my redfly and it does everything I need it to do. I am really wanting to get a Pre but I am concerned about giving up my RedFly and Windows Mobile.
I keep expecting an official announcement of a Foleo type device. The Palm Pre's little party tricks all sound nice, but at the same time, they don't make all that much sense on a mobile phone.
On the other hand, if the Pre were to act as the CPU for a netbook sized personal computer, the added screen real estate and most likely storage memory boost, the multi-tasking abilities would make far more sense.
We keep hearing about how Android is going to turn up on a netbook or laptop, but do we really want to pay money for a brand new system that runs on 32mb devices? Hardly. The Pre and WebOS, however, are built for more high end hardware.
Seriously want this to become a reality.
Just for the form factor, I'd like to get my hands on one of these Foleo devices. It seems slimmer than most notebooks and it has a trackpoint device which I believe is a must for netbooks, although I can name only one manufacturer who has recognized that, and their device isn't really a netbook (Sony P series). It seems wider also, thus having a bigger keyboard than most netbooks, right? Not having a trackpad helps with the size of the keyboard too.
So whether they put WebOS on it or not, it wouldn't mind too much for me, since even if it wouldn't suffice I'd probably put Linux on it then.
jhoff80, even EeePC didn't have conventional interface when first released. Sure, cards based interface is more radical, but I don't think I'd have problems with it (it might be interesting, I'd like to try it), although it would make sense to customize WebOS a bit because you're right, after all it doesn't make much sense for this type of devices.
And look how long the Eee PC lasted before they started putting Windows on it. :P
Actually though, I've read that an abnormally high percentage of Linux-based netbooks get returned, so people just don't want alternative interfaces on them apparently.
I have never heard of Redfly until I saw it mentioned in the comments here. That being said, it makes perfect sense, in a video a Palm official did say the Pre was designed to give the user a desktop experience. He said the Pre can take the place of your laptop, it was also mentioned that webOS would be available on 'other devices'. I am assuming webOS will not be locked down to phones.
As soon as I saw the Pre presentation I thought there were really strong possibilities for Palm to expand WebOS idea.
In no particular order:
- Netbook/Folio
- "Synergy" cloud server service - heck they used the Synergy name so many times in the presentation it felt like a branding
- No keyboard iphonish phone
- PDA sized internet device
- Tablet PC sized device
these all make sense on the new OS.
I would take a webOS netbook over a standard linux or XP running one. Especially if it does what the initial Foleo was intended to do - replicating/syncing information on the Pre onto the netbook.
I also think that the webOS looks like a promising OS for desktops and notebook pc's. In fact, it would be perfect for the Foleo II in creating a great, portable, powerful netbook.
I would love to see that happen.
"Actually though, I've read that an abnormally high percentage of Linux-based netbooks get returned, so people just don't want alternative interfaces on them apparently."
There's a group at MIT that's studied people's use of Post-It notes and found that most people favor them over something like Outlook because the software tends to have too many steps. That's why Palm has said many times that their chief competition is pen and paper. If Palm can make a Foleo II as easy-to-use as the Pre (based on people's reactions at CES), it can do well--if effectively marketed and supported.
That said, familiarity is also a factor--which is why Palm needs to do the effective marketing and support. Show people that the learning curve really isn't that steep, help them out a bit as they go, and show them what it can do. Just putting it out there and saying "This runs Linux"--with limited support--will limit adoption to power users.
I think webOS will have huge potential on a Foleo II, and I'd love to get one.
I'm not so sure we can expect a Foleo II anytime soon. The first Foleo was a complete failure (though there may have been some lessons learned that may help Palm with future products). I just think it would be a hard sell.
"Hey guys, we know Foleo I failed, but we've done it right this time, honest!"
I'm just not sure enough consumers will buy that. Maybe it could fly if it were branded completely different and Palm waited long enough for most of us to forget about Foleo I.
As a netbook, I'd consider it; as a phone companion I would not. But that's just me. I never thought the Foleo (as Palm presented it) was a good idea.
Since the apps I'd use on a netbook are slightly different from what I'd use on a phone (even one as wonderful as the Pre might just turn out to be), I'd still have to see what WebOS can do in the netbook/notebook market.
Foleo could have been the first netbook if Palm had not skimped on the specs! Foleo was a "failure" on the verge of hotness, oh so close. Remember not long after foleo we saw the netbook fever. If foleo had been tricked out to give user 1) a sweet youtube experience 2) extreme media experience (even today NO mobile devices can give the complete nytimes.com graphics experience) 3) If only Palm had delivered this to the market at $490-$540...we would not be salivating over the various netbooks.
They definitely did skimp on the hardware for the Foleo. Just like the TX (not enough stack) and Lifedrive (virtual ram instead of real ram). The netbooks came out with gigabytes of ram and enough SD to run an OS.
I don't recall right now what the hardware specs were on the Foleo but do recall reading about it and thinking "here we go again, cheaping out".
But the Pre is dynamite. The old team seems to be mostly gone now, thankfully.
I have wanted a netbook like device I guess you could say. My last palm device was the T5 and I have a wireless keyboard for it. I thought a the time it was a good idea. But it was clumsy and frequent use of the keyboard on the go was useless since you had to set it up to use every time. So netbooks style/form factor of looking like mini laptops is what I wanted as an upgrade to my T5 and wireless keyboard. I don't think I have found a netbook that has and does what I want it to do. That is also reasonably priced. The foleo really looked like it was going to be what I wanted however since it never got released due to the decision to make it better for their future devices I never got to see for sure. So a "netbook" with webOS on it may very well fit the bill for what I am looking for. Almost a year ago I got a blackberry 8330 which was closer to what I wanted but the screen size and lack of certain minor software type things still isn't exactly what I wanted in a PDA type device. The netbook style/form factor is really what I want for a PDA. I don't quite need a laptop capable device that fits in my pocket but I do want a device that not a smartphone but is more than the previous palm PDAs. Sort of a half way between them and a laptop and fits in my pocket. So it can't be greater than about 6 inches at its largest dimension.
Hey guys, we know Foleo I failed, but we've done it right this time, honest!
Yes, I hope Palm invests in a Foleo-like device. They shouldn't have ditched the original Foleo, it was a great device though a little ahead of it's time. It's focus should've been on standalone capabilities rather than just a 'Treo companion'.
StoneRyno, I suppose you should take a look at the Pandora, it's going to arrive soon :)
http://openpandora.org/
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