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Update! Leaked Palm press release IS real -- "Foleo" it is
13 comments- IT TOPICS:Development, Emerging Technology, Hardware, Linux, Mobile & Wireless, Personal Technology
UPDATE: I wrote the blog post below about two hours ago. Now, Palm's news is official but sans the folding screen ... which might have been the coolest, most innovative feature, if only it were true! So what that leaves us is Jupiter-esque, albeit running Linux and with Palm's typically well-designed synchronization options. That's moderately interesting, but what REALLY interests me is this: hey, it's a Linux subnotebook for $500! Hackers rejoice. Meanwhile the press conference is still planned for 2:30 EST today. - Evan
TreoCentral was mostly correct. Palm's new device, to be announced this morning, is indeed called the Foleo.
As TreoCentral notes, Palm accidentally leaked its own press release to a news feed, which anyone can access at http://socialnews.palm.com/rssfeed.aspx. The feed's hyperlinks are not yet active. Explains the feed text:
"Palm, Inc. today announced the Palm Foleo, world’s first smartphone companion product.
Foleo has a large screen and full size keyboard to view and edit email and office documents. 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.
Foleo turns on and off instantly, features fast navigation, a compact and elegant design, and a battery that lasts up to five hours of use.
U.S. availability for Foleo begins this summer with pricing expected to be $499 after an introductory $100 rebate.
Built on an open Linux-based platform,Palm hopes to replicate earlier success with developers by drawing a large community to create new applications that will extend the mobile companion’s capabilities. Already, Palm has partnered with DataViz and Opera Software, demonstrating ease with which applications can be ported to the Palm Foleo.
Jeff Hawkins, Palm co-founder and inventor: "Foleo is the most exciting product I have ever worked on. 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."
Ed Colligan, Palm president and CEO: “As we did with the PalmPilot more than a decade ago, and more recently with the Treo smartphone, Palm is driving innovation and capitalizing on emerging opportunities in mobile computing, a market full of potential. The Palm Foleo represents our first product in a new line of solutions that will redefine how people work while away from their desks. It starts today with a focus on wireless email, and we expect the Foleo to grow in features and expand its capabilities as the platform grows.”
This doesn't say anything about whether the Foleo's screen actually unfolds somehow, or it it's just large-ish, similar to an UMPC or even similar to the late-1980s category of clamshell "palmtop" computers such as the Atari Portfolio and HP-95LX.
We'll find out ... very soon!
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