First Look:

Palm smartphone companion brings big screens to mobiles

By Bernard Cole
iApplianceWeb
(06/28/07, 12:54 AM GMT)

Carlsbad, Ca. – Apparently abandoning the pipedream of squeezing a large screen display into a mobile form factor that makes that impossible, Palm Inc. has just introduced its Wi-Fi connected Foleo smartphone companion device.

Designed for easy attachement to a variety of handheld mobile computing and communication devices, including its own devices, Palm’s 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 mobile companion turns on and off instantly and features fast navigation, a compact and elegant design, and a battery that 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.

“Smartphones will be the most prevalent personal computers on the planet,” said Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm, Inc., “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.”

He said the Foleo smartphone companion is designed such that smartphones based on Windows Mobile should work with little or no modification. Smartphones based on operating systems from Research in Motion, Apple, and Symbian likely can be supported with a modest software effort.

The Foleo’s synchronization architecture is open, and, said Hawkins Palm is working with third-party developers to support as many smartphones as possible.

“The Palm Foleo represents our first product in a new line of solutions that will redefine how people work while away from their desks,” said Hawkins. “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.”

He expects that the Foleo will find wide use as the skyrocketing use of mobile email creates demand for a new way of mobile computing.

“By the end of 2007, an estimated 24.2 million wireless email accounts will be in use worldwide, and by 2010 wireless email accounts will soar to 199 million,” he said.

The rapid growth of smartphone sales, the faster speeds of wireless networks, and the increasing digitization of content, he said, makes this the right time for the introduction of such a multidevice widescreen companion, such as Foleo.

Although designed primarily as a companion to a mobile phone, Foleo is a powerful computer on its own, based on the open-source Linux-based operating system making it easy said Hawkins, for developers to create new applications that can be installed with a single click in the browser.

The Foleo has a USB port, video-out port, headphone jack, and slots for SD and compact flash cards for memory expansion. Palm has opened its design and is actively supporting third-party software developers.

Hawkins expect the Foleo to be available this summer, with pricing of about $499, after a $100 introductory rebate, less than half the cost of a low end desktop or laptop computer.

To learn more, go to www.palm.com/seefoleo.

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