Palm announced the Foleo just hours ago in a live webcast. The Foleo, taken from the business “folio” accessory we carry under our armpit is supposedly the future of mobile computing. It is meant to become an addendum to the Palm Treo smartphone, but will work as well with other Windows Mobile devices and other smartphones like the RIM Blackberry and the upcoming Apple iPhone.

The Foleo is the “future of mobile computing.” It looks like a friggin laptop that is lighter, smaller and has a 5 hour battery life. It supposedly pairs very well with any smartphone and acts like a databank or conduit if you wish to sit down and get some work done.

There are two types of “mobile computing” – the ones done while walking and the ones done in a sattelite office like a park bench or a coffee shop. As for the latter, getting engaged with work on a smartphone doesn’t feel right, and thus the Palm Foleo is there to change this. At roughly $499.00 you get a pseudo-laptop. If you already own a laptop, well, gee.

Jeff Hawkins may have something going on here. With 10 inches wide being an acceptable range for an uber small laptop, I’ve kinda figured that you also won’t need a super drive for certain types of portable computing.

The Foleo acts as an extension of the smartphone. It does what the smartphone’s Achilles’ heel fails – comfortable personal computing. With the way I describe it, you may even paint a picture of a laptop. And sadly this may be the Foleo’s worst fate – to be considered as an ultra light portable. But then I have to give Palm the benefit of the doubt. They released the Treo and it was well received because of its software and user interface. Let’s see what the Foleo can ACTUALLY do in a real mobile road test, because Jeff himself is excited.

If you don’t own a smartphone, then I really don’t know if you’d care for this device. At the very least, it is a cheaper laptop.

The Foleo has the following specs:

– One-button access to full-screen email

– Instant on, instant off

– Rapid access to various applications

– 10-inch screen and full-size keyboard

– Web search and browsing via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi

– Editors for Word, Excel and PowerPoint, plus a PDF viewer

– Compact, stylish design that fits on an airline tray table

– Lightweight at 2.5 pounds

– Fast, simple and intuitive navigation

– 5-hour battery life

– Linux OS for easy application development

Post from: Cellphone9