It’s Like A Freaking Time Machine Crystal Ball!
The obsession with Palm continues with the expansion of my collection of vintage computing hardware.
The Foleo (or better known at the time of its announcement – the Fooleo) never made it to the market being announced and killed in less then three months in 2007. Running Linux this puppy was a netop computer before the category was ever dreamed up. Featuring a stupidly quick boot and outfitted with WiFi and Bluetooth, this was designed to be a comanion to your smartphone to sahre its internet connection and email client (Sound fimaliar?!)
The device was slated to launch in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2007 for a price expected by Palm to be $499 after an introductory $100 rebate. Palm canceled Foleo development on September 4, 2007, with Palm CEO Ed Colligan announcing that the company would return its focus to its core product of smartphones and handheld computers.
Was Palm An Unnecessary Causality Of HP Mismanagement?
Its no secret I love Palm. Was a Treo user since the 600 and when the Pre was announced I was blown away by how revolutionary it was. However taking a year to ship the Pre device guranteed it stillborn at launch. When HP bought Palm and all of its assets – it was a shot in the arm of the beligured smartphone maker.
Finally a company with deep pockets, distribution channels and a thirst to make it in the mobile world. With the iPaq and assorted failed Windows Mobile hardware HP was poised to make a splash. Enter Leo Apotheker – a software as a service and infrastructure CEO – who didn’t get it. In a quest to recover from the embarassing ousting of Mark Hurd, Leo slashed (potentially fatally) all of HP’s promising technologies. Palm was caught in the crossfire. Now under the leadership of Meg Whitman can Palm find a way back to the marketplace? With the $99 firesale on the (underpowered) Touchpad – it showed HP had the chops to make the number two selling tablet in the world. Guess what, the OS isn’t bad either!
Meg, this is your chance to see the world is not happy with iOS and Android. While Microsft struggles to get its footing in mobile with agressive pricing and pouring millions into innovation and the strong Palm brand you can be the number three player. In this world of millions of cellphone users, being third is extremely profitable.
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