You can use it to view and edit documents on your smartphone
Jim Jamieson
Province
What is it? Palm Foleo Mobile Companion
Price: $600-$700
Why you need it: You love the idea of a micro-notebook that will bond with your smartphone.
Why you don’t: You already have a laptop and this doesn’t have enough bells and whistles for you.
Our rating: 4 mice
Palm’s new teensy laptop is a great idea, but is it one whose time has come?
Palm founder Jeff Hawkins calls the device “the most exciting product I’ve ever worked on.”
The concept is that smartphones are becoming so prevalent and small that this laptop is really just a viewer — with a full-size keyboard and a 25-centimetre screen — to view and edit e-mail and office documents that reside on your phone. It’s forecast that by the end of 2007, an estimated 24.2 million wireless e-mail accounts will be in use worldwide.
There is a built-in Bluetooth wireless link that automatically updates edits made on Foleo or its paired smartphone. The Linux-based Foleo uses the smartphone or the Foleo’s built-in Wi-Fi for general Internet connectivity, and its applications include e-mail, a full-screen web browser, and editors or viewers for business documents such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files.
Obviously aimed at mobile business types, this device will also get some traction with those who just want a cool, tiny laptop to take to the coffee shop.
Palm’s challenge is to get some momentum going on this new idea, and the company said it will work with third-party developers to support as many smartphones as possible, including its own Palm Treo, those using operating systems from Research in Motion, Apple and Symbian.
The 1.1-kg Foleo mobile companion turns on and off instantly and features a battery that lasts up to five hours. Available in Canada at retail stores this fall.
Rating 4 out 5
© The Vancouver Province 2007
