17 Responses for "Brakes put on the Palm Foleo"

1. Starman September 4th, 2007 at 2:18 pm 1

   DIVX (the one from Circuit City). I was vocally opposed to that as well. I went so far as to go to a CC during a “demo” and ask all these tough questions.

   And of course, the Zune

2. Clee September 4th, 2007 at 2:59 pm 2

   I have a very old one, the Apple III. This half baked computer should never have been released by Apple in the first place. Another one I can think of is the ATRAC3 format released by Sony, it is a nice idea, but who really would want to pay Sony’s high licensing fees.

3. Googleman81 September 4th, 2007 at 3:11 pm 3

   i didnt like the motorola q because initially i wanted to buy it, but it had cdma instead of gsm so no way i could have used it in europe, i have a zune and its great because the display is actually good (like big enough) for watching videos on it and i always feel superior when i see people on the subway fingering with their tiny “other” devices, but of course the wireless function is kinda halfbaked so its not all greens n roses either. i also have a general tendency to dislike any devices with touch display that are smaller than a notebook. dont ask me why.

4. George September 4th, 2007 at 4:40 pm 4

   Wouldn’t this be a completely viable device if it used wifi instead of the phone?

5. Richard Mondello September 4th, 2007 at 5:09 pm 5

   This idea is going to be different from others in that I’m choosing software that should never have seen the day of light. My pick is the infamous iMovie ‘08, the evil video editing application lacking basic features of its predecessor, iMovie ‘06.

   I completely agree with Starman’s pick of the DIVX player. Just like Google Video, that was a display that DRM in the form of phoning home just doesn’t work. Then again, most DRM doesn’t work.

6. Kevin September 4th, 2007 at 5:18 pm 6

   Funny you linked to the Coby MP3 player. I bought a Coby digital frame and it’s horrible. Very clunky and cheap with a bizarre UI. I think I will avoid that brand in the future.

7. Adam September 4th, 2007 at 6:04 pm 7

   Sony MiniDisc - Not necessarily a bad product, but definitely released at a bad time trying to topple over the juggernaut that was/is the compact disc.

8. Starman September 4th, 2007 at 7:30 pm 8

   The Minidisc was great for its time because CD Recorders were still in the > $600 range. Once the price dropped, all bets were off and the Minidisc died.

   I had TONS of them. I was a mix fiend since jr. high and making my own digital mixes was great. To date, you still can’t put track titles on a CD that most players will display.

9. Gary September 4th, 2007 at 8:48 pm 9

   The Foleo was so painfully and obviously a failure in the making. We have small laptops and we have small smartphones, if we need both we carry both. Both laptops and smartphones are getting smaller so carrying both is no big deal and the laptop can do so much more, plus there are powerful mini computers that can fill in for both. Then I think Ryan and Peter (and others like you) pointed out that it is a huge waste of resources for a company that desparately needs to come out with a new version of its core product. Baffles me that this would not be obvious to palm. This should have been shot down right away or a quiet prototype should have gotten canned.

10. Mark Stevenson September 5th, 2007 at 3:51 am 10

    The Amstrad PDA 600 . Definately the worst ever . Only had handwriting recognition as a way of inputting data , this wouldn’t have been so bad if it had ever worked , even once …

    I actually had a website which showed some of the PDA’s I have collected over the years , and on it I listed the Amstrad PDA600 - as the worst PDA ever - and got a very nice email from one of the guys who had developed it explaining that they were limited in the processor they could use , and that the emulated units which ran on a faster and more powerful PC processor were vastly superior than the production ones , but that Sir Alan Sugar ( then owner of Amstrad ) insisted they went ahead with it . I felt a little bad after that for being so unkind . They were hideous though , and expensive , and ugly … I’ll stop now …

11. Shalin September 5th, 2007 at 4:48 am 11

    I think the Foleo and this whole “not quite a laptop, but more than a phone, but not totally like one” field needs to grow naturally and quietly. For me, I love traveling with my Nokia N800 internet tablet ’cause I no longer consider taking my laptop on trip any more. I also like that it doubles, er triples as a GPS nav unit (aftermarket purchase add-on) and an audio/video player. media formats are slightly limited and the video playback can be a bit jerky, but the websurfing ability and portability is fantastic.

    …hmmm…I wonder if the Foleo will find a home in a market outside the U.S….somewhere more progressive…

    Best,
    Shalin

12. Mike September 5th, 2007 at 5:58 am 12

    I don’t know much about the Foleo, but it looked kinda cool…

13. Kato September 5th, 2007 at 6:42 am 13

    I am PALMFOLEO, I need PC for my phone hole!

14. Ken from Chicago September 5th, 2007 at 8:21 am 14

    I’m gonna go old school, but pencils WITHOUT erasers. What’s the point? You might as well have a pen.

    – Ken from Chicago

    P.S. Veronica, since you have an affinity for lasers, how about a HOME-MADE laser weapon, used with common parts from your local electronics store?

    http://www.core77.com/blog/videos/flashlight_laser_hack_7354.asp

15. Brent September 5th, 2007 at 8:55 am 15

    Nintendo’s Virtual Boy. In all of its monochromatic red LED glory. I think I have permanent eye damage.

16. Rick Webb September 5th, 2007 at 12:32 pm 16

    Flock. The Apple ///. The original DIVX. Atrac3. The Apple eMate. The Apple digital camera. Apple’s eWorld. The PS3. The DVD/Remote Adaptor for the Xbox that you HAD to buy to watch DVDs. Every MP3 player before the iPod - especially the flash-card based ones. Those Digital wallet credit card storage devlices. Business card scanners. Filemaker. Quark Immedia. God there is so much software. Flex. Microsoft Passport. The Quantel Graphic Paintbox. Daisywheel Printers. The Mouse for the Apple //s, ProDos, The Zune (definitely), The Intellivision computer keyboard. DCC (Digital Compact Cassette, a really bad DAT competitor), Smellovision.

    Oh man, this is fun.

17. Feenwager September 5th, 2007 at 2:41 pm 17

    In a word? Origami.

    Filling the market niche that doesn’t exist…a Microsoft specialty.