The Foleo – Even Less Of A Reason To Buy One
Posted on 05 June 2007, at 3:58 am, by Mitchell Oke
The recent announcement of the Palm Foleo has had many people wondering exactly what market it is targeted at, and whether a market for such a device even exists. Well it has come at the wrong time, as VIA has announced a new ultraportable laptop that could very well snatch the few Foleo buyers away if it sells for the $600 it is supposed to. Considering it is lighter, smaller and runs Windows XP or Vista, whilst matching the 5hrs battery life, what possible reason would there be to buy a Foleo?
VIA Nanobook Picture from Engadget
Hopefully they don’t let us down and actually bring this to the market soon!! Packard Bell are on the list of rebadgers, along with another as yet unnamed OEM, so fingers crossed! Head over to Engadget for more details.
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6 Comments For This Post
June 5th, 2007 at 7:54 am
What possible reason? No Windows.
Seriously, the Mini windows laptop has been done many times (and I’ve bitten for several.) The tiny screen is no fun for Windows and the tiny keyboard isn’t so hot either.
The Foleo has a full size keyboard, a much bigger screen, an efficient instant on-off OS, and apps designed specifically for the hardware.
If you want a small Windows laptop this looks better (though I’m sure it won’t be as cheap.)
http://www.engadget.com/2007/0.....th-disc-d/
June 5th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Now this looks like a nice little clamshell net device (but it still runs on Windows.)
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/poc.....266008.php
June 5th, 2007 at 8:17 am
I suspect that we will see a rash of “Foleo beater” headlines popping up once a day for a while.
June 5th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Yes I can see your point Reidme, some people would prefer a device that is not based on Windows, but considering the close prices (assuming it comes out at $600 that is), I think thy would really have to hate Windows before they pay almost the same amount (and the same after the initial sale price) for a limited device.
I like the look of that ASUS device!!
June 5th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
I don’t hate Windows, I just don’t think it’s appropriate for everything. In our house we have two Windows desktops, two Windows laptops, and a Macbook. Windows works great on a big screen with a fast processor, a mouse, and an AC outlet near by. To me (and this is just my opinion), shoe-horning Windows into a mini device is like taking a 200 pound backpack on a hike. Not much fun. Mostly I think what it comes down to for me is that I’m just bored to tears with Windows and can’t get very excited about any new Windows device.
That ASUS device does look sweet. I think they’re onto something with the dual-mode: full Windows when you want it and “simple mode” when you don’t. However, they said the simple mode took “only” 15 seconds to boot. That’s fast compared to Windows, but certainly not instant-on like the Foleo is touting.
P.S. For some reason, the formatting of my posts here is getting compressed to one paragraph no matter how I type it.
June 5th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Yeah, I am noticing that, too. I think it may be a WordPress 2.2 bug. (sigh)