Continuing its transition from PDA maker to who knows what, Palm today announced the Foleo, a mobile companion designed to work in tandem with a Treo smartphone. The Foleo pairs with a Treo and allows the user to open attachments, files, and e-mails from a smartphone. Changes made on the Foleo are then propagated back to the smartphone "instantly." Synchronization can happen automatically or by pressing a button on the Foleo.
Palm says the Foleo offers five hours of battery life and can power on instantly. It has a 10" wide-screen display, a full-size keyboard, and also offers built-in 802.11b/g connectivity along with Bluetooth for pairing with a smartphone. It apparently lacks built-in 3G support, underscoring the device's role as a smartphone companion. There's 256MB of RAM, half of which is reserved for the OS, and it weighs in at 2.5lb. Other hardware details, including the CPU used, are not yet known.
Although it is designed to work in tandem with a smartphone, the Foleo can also function on its own as a stripped-down PC. It runs Linux and includes a built-in web browser and e-mail client (it can also run Outlook Mobile). There's a USB port, SD and compact flash slots for memory expansion, and a headphone jack included as well. Similar to Nokia's strategy with the N800, Palm is making it possible for third-party developers to develop applications for the device.
