First Post-Foleo Interview with Jeff Hawkins

bulls96 · 08/09/2008, 12:20 AM

I'm surprised no one has posted this or mentioned it here yet... probably not much foleo fans around

It was exciting to hear what he has to say though so here it is...

http://www.investors.com/Tech/TechEx...02991427791949

It made it clear JH has not fully extracted himself from Palm Inc. and is serving as an "adviser". He admits to the weaknesses and faults of the device, but still see a lot of room for growth. He does not feel the category has taken off yet with the release of the eepc's and the like. He does not mention of an ongoing attempt by palm to create a new one though. He adds that there were no bad feelings towards Palm's pulling the FOleo out, and agrees it is a sensible "business" decision.

I agree that none of the "netbooks" have gotten the right mix of features for this category of devices.

PalmHead · 08/11/2008, 12:29 AM

Thanks for that. It's always interesting to see what he's thinking. I think he's one smart guy.

After one more summer of lugging my laptop away every Friday ana back every Sunday, I'd still like a Foleo. And as a person who can complicate most things, I agree that simplicity is good. That is why I like the Palm interface - simple and intuitive.

~Q~ · 09/02/2008, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bulls96

I'm surprised no one has posted this or mentioned it here yet... probably not much foleo fans around

I did read Jeff Hawkins review with respect to the Foleo. My impression:

- Jeff screwed the pooch on this one and he knows it.

- He is still pretty jadded for getting his knees cut out from under him, but just doesn't want to admit it.

- Jeff knows he was on to something, but Palm just couldn't deliver. That's probably the saddest part of the entire thing. They basically thought up the concept, put the concept out to the public, but it took other companies to actually make it happen. What a complete WASTE! How much time did it take the Palm guys to develop the brick we all now refer to as foleo? YEARS.... What the? I understand you guys carried a slab of wood around in your pockets to simulate a palm device and made a fortune when you put the concept to maket, but HELLO we have better technology than a slab of wood for that now!!!!

- Palm totally screwed the pooch on this one. They had the design, they had the technology available to them to make it happen, yet they got lost down some rabbit trail trying to make the Foleo an overgrown Treo or something.

Nothing that came out in the Asus EEE, for example, is groundbreaking by anymeans. In fact, the concept is 100% Foleo. It was ALL about packaging, which from what I could see Palm was posititioned to do better.

Honestly, I am very disappointed in Palm and I hope Jeff Hawkins in sitting up every night wondering "What the hell happened....." Palm has the resources, technology, money, and they were RIGHT THERE. They choked and blew it.

This is partially why I am now carrying a Blackberry, sport an Asus Eee 901 and will likely never care a Palm unit again as long as I live.

Sorry Palm, you totally blew it.

The Phone Diva · 09/02/2008, 08:34 PM

Amazingly the Redfly seems like an overgrown WM smartphone, similar to the Foleo. Is it selling well? We even have a forum for it.

slbailey1 · 09/08/2008, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Phone Diva

Amazingly the Redfly seems like an overgrown WM smartphone, similar to the Foleo. Is it selling well? We even have a forum for it.

I have the Redfly and I really like it. It is as good as the smartphone it is connected to. I'm looking forward to getting WiFi access when the Sprint Touch Pro and the Redfly driver for it is released.

I'm currently using the Redfly with my Sprint Touch and the Redfly Sprint Touch 6.1 beta driver.

The makers of Redfly is currently working on drivers for the Treo Pro, Touch Pro and Touch Diamond.

The Phone Diva · 09/08/2008, 04:25 PM

So what did they do that Palm did wrong? Better features for the money? What?

bulls96 · 09/08/2008, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Phone Diva

So what did they do that Palm did wrong? Better features for the money? What?

I highly doubt the Redfly is selling. I can bet money that the FOleo had it come out would be a bigger hit than the Redfly. Just no comparison in terms of features.

The Phone Diva · 09/08/2008, 05:06 PM

I thought netbooks were the hot item now anyway. REAL ones, not ones like the Foleo and Redfly. I have seen netbooks but I don't think I've seen anyone using a Redfly. You never know though.

bulls96 · 09/08/2008, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Phone Diva

I thought netbooks were the hot item now anyway. REAL ones, not ones like the Foleo and Redfly. I have seen netbooks but I don't think I've seen anyone using a Redfly. You never know though.

Yes Netbooks are selling like crazy. If Palm had sold the Foleo at least in the $349 range, it would be selling a lot too.

I wonder though that the device category for a "smartphone companion" will ever take off though. I agree with JH that these netbooks arent exactly the devices that he has envisioned.

The Phone Diva · 09/08/2008, 10:13 PM

Bad timing IMO. This MAY have worked before netboooks became hot, like when he first thought about it 5 or 6 yrs. ago. Since small laptops at that time were $2000. But once the netbooks decided to become actual laptops with limited functionality, but not as limited as the Foleo or Redfly, in a competitive price range; so much for limited "smartphone companions". Unfortunately the market has spoken against them for the most part.

However, it looks like the Redfly got some respect anyway. I wonder if it's because it can be used with many WM phones.

Kupe · 09/09/2008, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Phone Diva

However, it looks like the Redfly got some respect anyway. I wonder if it's because it can be used with many WM phones.

Not according to this Engadget article from last month titled, "REDFLY now available for $499, purpose even less clear."

The Phone Diva · 09/09/2008, 07:24 PM

Engadget has a bad habit of having biased writers though. I take everything they say with a grain of salt.

Kupe · 09/10/2008, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Phone Diva

Engadget has a bad habit of having biased writers though. I take everything they say with a grain of salt.

I feel like they are more sarcastic and cocky, but that can be a turn off when it's directed at something you like. But I'm right with them on this headline. Why would I purchase a grossly limited device when I can get a similarly (better?) equipped, much less limited device for the same price? Redfly's niche in the marketplace is too small to fit a razor blade into.

slbailey1 · 09/10/2008, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kupe

Not according to this Engadget article from last month titled, "REDFLY now available for $499, purpose even less clear."

Wrong price. The correct price is $399. Any one who brought the Redfly for $499 got $100 back.

Kupe · 09/14/2008, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slbailey1

Wrong price. The correct price is $399. Any one who brought the Redfly for $499 got $100 back.

So I guess the last part of that title should read "...purpose still mostly less clear."

Gameboy70 · 10/22/2008, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bulls96

Yes Netbooks are selling like crazy. If Palm had sold the Foleo at least in the $349 range, it would be selling a lot too.

I wonder though that the device category for a "smartphone companion" will ever take off though. I agree with JH that these netbooks arent exactly the devices that he has envisioned.

I haven't used a Redfly, but having used a Foleo, I'd say the Redfly is closer to what Hawkins described as a mobile companion than the Foleo.

The Redfly is designed to do almost nothing other than provide a full-size screen, keyboard, VGA and USB ports for your smartphone. It's better to think of it as an advanced version of the folding keyboards that have been around for years. You extend its functionality with the existing pool of WM software on the market. The device is future proof by allowing you to use any newer WM phone with it, as long as Redfly makes the drivers available. There's nothing to sync. What shows up on the Redfly is the data that's on your phone.

The Foleo was a separate platform, with its own OS and memory. I absolutely loved the ergonomics, and every time I used it in public, people would ask about it and tell me where they could get one -- even when I told them that it didn't run Windows, had no hard drive, etc. They were drawn to the size of the device more than anything, so even when I mentioned the $500 ($600?) price tag, they brushed that issue aside -- in contrast to the heated debates the price generated online. Since there were no netbooks on the market, it was a steal compared to Sony subnotebooks at 4x the cost.

The Achilles Heel of the Foleo, from an actual user's standpoint (not theoretical speculation), was synchronization. Syncing only email and contacts -- no tasks, no calendar, no documents -- was a palpably incomplete experience, pretty much negating the whole "mobile companion" concept. Unlike the Redfly, where adding software was as simple as drawing from the existing pool of WM apps on the market, the Foleo required developing a new base of third-party apps, including some that should've been native to the device, like the Palm Desktop.

If Redfly continued to sell their device at its current promotion price of $199, it would probably survive long enough to extend support to other platforms. If it goes back up to $399, it will only be compared unfavorably to netbooks, even though the devices are apples and oranges.

NickDG · 01/23/2009, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Phone Diva

Bad timing IMO. This MAY have worked before netboooks became hot, like when he first thought about it 5 or 6 yrs. ago. Since small laptops at that time were $2000. But once the netbooks decided to become actual laptops with limited functionality, but not as limited as the Foleo or Redfly, in a competitive price range; so much for limited "smartphone companions". Unfortunately the market has spoken against them for the most part.

However, it looks like the Redfly got some respect anyway. I wonder if it's because it can be used with many WM phones.

It doesn't matter that there was competition from netbooks, Like Q posted Palm had the packaging angle. They could have created a complete consumer electronic product rather than just a small laptop with a desktop OS.

The iPod proved selling to the mass public isn't about the best features and price, it's about the entire experience.