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Laptops, UMPCs & 'mobile companions'

I get fed up with people using the "you can get a decent spec laptop from dell for £400" argument. When Dell start selling a thin and light laptop for that price, then that argument might be valid.
 
editor said:
If the Foleo can do multi-tabbed browsing and basic image editing and stays under £300, then I may well be interested. It would be perfect for journo jobs, festie reports, blogging and webcafe surfing.

I can already do basic image editing on my Treo, but it would be a lot easier on a big screen.
Click to expand...

Well... It appears it will run Opera, though not sure if the port will have tabs. Since it runs a version of Linux, I wonder how hard it will be to port stuff over. If Palm offer a SDK (and there are very good indications they will) it might not be too hard to get image manipulation utils over and on to it... :D
 
Xanadu said:
I get fed up with people using the "you can get a decent spec laptop from dell for £400" argument. When Dell start selling a thin and light laptop for that price, then that argument might be valid.
Click to expand...

You can get a decent one, not from dell, for £600 now.
 
Kid_Eternity said:
You can get a decent one, not from dell, for £600 now.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but it will be bigger, bulkier, less rugged with a worse battery life and no instant on, and no tight integration with your phone.
 
editor said:
Yeah, but it will be bigger, bulkier, less rugged with a worse battery life and no instant on, and no tight integration with your phone.
Click to expand...

Mine has a 12.1inch screen, not much thicker, 4 hour battery life, perfectly easy and quick syncing with my phone (the phone is used as a 3g modem regularly).

If I was as time obsessed as apparently the rest of the world is I can leave it in standby and it's ready to use within seconds. It cost £600. It's a full working laptop with very decent specs too (Core 2 duo, 100 gig hard disk, 1gig ram, card reader).
 
Kid_Eternity said:
Mine has a 12.1inch screen, not much thicker, 4 hour battery life, perfectly easy and quick syncing with my phone (the phone is used as a 3g modem regularly).

If I was as time obsessed as apparently the rest of the world is I can leave it in standby and it's ready to use within seconds. It cost £600. It's a full working laptop with very decent specs too (Core 2 duo, 100 gig hard disk, 1gig ram, card reader).
Click to expand...
It won't sync like the Treo does. It costs considerably more. It's not as rugged. The battery life is nowhere near as good. It won't start up as quick.

Moreover, the last thing I'd want to take to a festival is my laptop stuffed full of all my private stuff, important documents etc.
 
editor said:
It won't sync like the Treo does. It costs considerably more. It's not as rugged. The battery life is nowhere near as good. It won't start up as quick.

Moreover, the last thing I'd want to take to a festival is my laptop stuffed full of all my private stuff, important documents etc.
Click to expand...

How do you it wont sync like the Treo does?

The battery life is only 1 hour less, yes it wont start up as quick but as I said from standby it does. Besides I really don't mind waiting 45-60 seconds for a laptop, I've never had an emailing emergency!

Costs? Well there we'll have to disagree, I've said plenty of times the chances of this coming out anywhere near your wishes aren't likely. We just aren't that lucky over here...the Foleo will be, imo, not less than 450 over here. I don't mind paying an extra 150 for a great deal more.

Rugged? Well, my two laptop bags (one briefcase like which I use for work and the other a small rucksack) are more than useful given the padded inner bags they have. If you're talking about sitting around drugged/boozed up in a muddy field well yeah I wouldn't use it but then I would be doing much else other than giggling so that's not an issue.:D

My documents are backed up in a number of places and secure trust me.:cool: I would take it a fesitval is I were a journo covering it, wouldn't if I was just a punter...
 
Kid_Eternity said:
How do you it wont sync like the Treo does?

The battery life is only 1 hour less, yes it wont start up as quick but as I said from standby it does. Besides I really don't mind waiting 45-60 seconds for a laptop, I've never had an emailing emergency!
Click to expand...
I think you'll find that there will be a considerable difference in battery life in real world usage, and you should read up how the Foleo syncs with the Treo.

But the Foleo isn't for everyone and it sounds like you're not in its business demographic. I've already got a nice compact Sony laptop with a decent battery life but I can still see the appeal of a Foleo.

As for pricing, I'd rather wait and see. If it's around £450 as you suggest, then they've no chance.
 
Maybe Palm is on to something after all:

Palm's Foleo: The Closer It Gets, the Better It Looks?

Palm's announcement of the Foleo at the end of May quickly became a ridicule-fest. The name was an acronym for "Fat Obsolete Lacking Expensive Ordinary" according to one Engadget commenter. But Palm is showing it off this week at LinuxWorld in San Francisco, and the better you understand it, the harder it is to make fun of it.

A post yesterday on LinuxDevices.com includes photos and specs that make the device sound downright interesting: full-size keyboard, TrackPoint pointing device, 10.2-inch 1024x600 screen (and a video out port that runs at 1024x768 to match standard SXGA projectors), USB, Bluetooth, WiFi, weight 2.4 pounds, and battery life 5 hours. It's diskless, and RAM and flash storage haven't been specified, but there's a hidden Compact Flash bay and an accessible SD slot.
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/08/palms_foleo_the.html
Click to expand...
Well, I'm still intrigued.
 
Question is, will it really be able to compete with asus' eee pc?

Guess they're hoping the full-sized keyboard and sync software will entice enough people.
 
Xanadu said:
Question is, will it really be able to compete with asus' eee pc?
Click to expand...
You're missing the point. It's not designed to compete with a laptop.

But it'll certainly be much, much faster to boot up than the Asus, have a much longer battery life and be quicker to get online via your phone.
 
More from a Foelo developer:
Also, the use case for the Foleo isn't replacing your laptop. I don't expect many users to give up their laptop computer for this. However, having a device like this around means you don't need to get the tiny laptop that's got the small screen and the lower capabilities; you can replace your desktop system with a more capable laptop that's portable when you need it, even if it's usually docked and hooked up to all your gear. This is a device that can remotely access your system, your files, and your email. In a sense, it's as much of a companion for your laptop as it is a companion for your cell phone, as it supplements what both can do.

I've got a Dell Latitude D610 that I take with me to California. When I'm in the office, it's locked to my desk and has an Ethernet cable tethering it to the Palm network. At home, it's usually either up on my desk or downstairs on a table. It's pretty powerful, and the screen is very nice. However, if I want to take notes in a meeting, do research web browsing on the couch, go sit someplace nice to write a web posting, or play a game of solitaire, I grab my Foleo. I don't have to grab a power brick, I don't have to wait for it to boot up, and I don't have to do some weird shutdown key sequence when I'm done, I just close the lid.
http://unwiredben.livejournal.com/250258.html
Click to expand...
 
I'm probably being a bit thick, but I don't get what you mean.

The asus will be instant-on, and have a 3-hour battery. And it'll only cost a couple of hundred dollars.

I guess it's the phone synchronisation that Palm are counting on, but is it really enough?
 
editor said:
You're missing the point. It's not designed to compete with a laptop.

But it'll certainly be much, much faster to boot up than the Asus, have a much longer battery life and be quicker to get online via your phone.
Click to expand...

Well... I would guess that the majority of laptop owners needs would be met by the Foleo... How many people (ie, average consumers) really need all the features of a laptop...? And the maintenance nightmare that they can be...?

If Palm can persuade the average user to give up their fully featured laptop then their onto a winner.
 
Xanadu said:
I'm probably being a bit thick, but I don't get what you mean.

The asus will be instant-on, and have a 3-hour battery. And it'll only cost a couple of hundred dollars.
Click to expand...
It takes 15 seconds to boot. The Foleo is instant. The Foleo's battery life is substantially longer (5 hours of heavy use which will work out to being a lot, lot long longer that the Asus in the real world), it has a much bigger screen, it has a bigger keyboard and it has one touch email synchronisation, so it's better for making quick notes, writing and sending emails and web browsing.

Video review:
http://www.vnunet.com/tv/?channel=vnunet.com TV&clipid=1386_vnunet_0100
 
Kid_Eternity said:
Sure but what Palm wants and what the market will do are necessarily the same thing.
Click to expand...
Not entirely sure what that means, to be honest. I don't think Palm have made any claims for what the market will do - they've just created a different product that they think is of interest and could do well.
 
Xanadu said:
Open-office is preinstalled.
Click to expand...
I'm definitely going to be in the market for either a foleo, an asus eee or some sort of subnotebook. Price isn't particularly important to me (as long as it's under £1500), though since it's something I'll be carrying around all over the place, I'd prefer something under £500.

I want it for web-browsing, music, office apps. Possibly video and web development but I'm not too bothered if it can't. I wouldn't be able to survive with anything less than 1024x768 or whatever the widescreen equiv is though.
 
editor said:
Not entirely sure what that means, to be honest. I don't think Palm have made any claims for what the market will do - they've just created a different product that they think is of interest and could do well.
Click to expand...

You said it's not meant to compete with a laptop, my point is that what Palms marketing department want consumers to believe but I reckon not all people will buy that line and will compare to a laptop.
 
editor said:
It takes 15 seconds to boot. The Foleo is instant. The Foleo's battery life is substantially longer (5 hours of heavy use which will work out to being a lot, lot long longer that the Asus in the real world), it has a much bigger screen, it has a bigger keyboard and it has one touch email synchronisation, so it's better for making quick notes, writing and sending emails and web browsing.

Video review:
http://www.vnunet.com/tv/?channel=vnunet.com TV&clipid=1386_vnunet_0100
Click to expand...

But the instant-on on the foleo is just putting the laptop into suspend mode. Calling it instant-on is a marketing term. The asus eee will support exactly the same feature, they'll just be calling it suspend mode.
 
editor said:
I bet you wouldn't be online within a minute from a cold start.
Click to expand...

And? That's a non statement because if speed was of the essence I could live it on standby and be online pretty damn fast.

Also, you haven't answered the question; from both the Foleo switched off and not plugged to the phone, how long will it take to get online?
 
Xanadu said:
Calling it instant-on is a marketing term.
Click to expand...

Looks that way doesn't it? Palm have to push this line hard because otherwise the market will just compare the Foleo to a laptop and act accordingly.
 
editor said:
More from a Foelo developer:However, if I want to take notes in a meeting, do research web browsing on the couch, go sit someplace nice to write a web posting, or play a game of solitaire, I grab my Foleo. I don't have to grab a power brick, I don't have to wait for it to boot up, and I don't have to do some weird shutdown key sequence when I'm done, I just close the lid.
Click to expand...

With the exception of web browsing, that's precisely what I used to do with my Psion Series 3 nearly 10 years ago. Send text messages, the odd email, tuck it in my pocket and enjoy a massive bettery life with AA batteries.

Ok, so the screen's colour on the Foleo now, the keyboard slightly better, wi fi now widespread. But the battery's life worse, it's much more chunky - you'll need a manbag rather than an inside pocket - and it's comparatively way more expensive, especially with ultra portable solid state laptops on the way.

I like the idea, but it still seems like an overpriced white elephant to me. 5 years ago and it may have seemed unusual. If someone gave me a Foleo, I'd no doubt be a happy trooper, but the chances of me buying one are very low...
 
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