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The Foleo – Even Less Of A Reason To Buy One

Posted on 05 June 2007 by


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?

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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.

This post was written by:

- who has written 208 posts on Gear Diary.

Mitchell Oke is a 22 year old Bachelor of Creative Technology (Digital Video Production) from Sydney, Australia. He's previously worked for News Ltd as a Multimedia Producer, and currently works as a freelance editor and videographer. He has a great love for gadgets and cars, always wanting to have the latest and greatest phones, notebooks and other electronic toys. He is a huge fan of Star Trek, Top Gear and Seinfeld, citing them as his favourite TV shows. In December 2006 he became a Mac convert, having used Windows since he was 5.

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  • reidme

    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/2007/06/05/toshibas-12-1-inch-portege-r500-is-worlds-thinnest-with-disc-d/

  • reidme

    Now this looks like a nice little clamshell net device (but it still runs on Windows.)

    http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/pocket-browser/asus-eee-pc-the-tiny-ultraportable-for-web-browsing-266008.php

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett Hughes

    I suspect that we will see a rash of “Foleo beater” headlines popping up once a day for a while. ;-)

  • http://www.geardiary.com Mitchell Oke

    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!!

  • reidme

    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.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett Hughes

    Yeah, I am noticing that, too. I think it may be a WordPress 2.2 bug. (sigh) :-(