Palm Foleo

Palm Foleo

Palm Foleo (right), sitting next to a Palm Treo 755p (left)
Manufacturer	Palm, Inc.
Type	Subnotebook or "Mobile Companion"
Media	CompactFlash, SD Card
Operating system	Linux
CPU	Intel PXA27x 416MHz
Memory	256MB Flash (126 MB available), 128MB RAM
Display	10.2" 1024x600 LCD, XGA video output 1024x768
Camera	None
Connectivity	Wi-Fi (802.11b), Bluetooth 1.2, USB
Power	Unknown, but reportedly 5 hour battery life
Dimensions	268×169×24 mm (10.55×6.65×0.94 in)
Weight	1.133 kg (2.4 lbs)

The Palm Foleo was a planned subnotebook computer that was announced by mobile device manufacturer Palm Inc. on May 30, 2007, and canceled three months later. It intended to serve as a companion for smartphones including Palm's own Treo line. The device ran on the Linux operating system and featured 256 MB of flash memory and an immediate boot-up feature.

The Foleo featured wireless access via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Integrated software included an e-mail client which was to be capable of syncing with the Treo E-Mail client, the Opera web browser and the Documents To Go office suite. The client did not send and retrieve mail over the Wi-Fi connection, instead transmitting via synchronization with the companion smartphone.

The device was slated to launch in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2007 for a price expected by Palm to be $499 after an introductory $100 rebate. Palm canceled Foleo development on September 4, 2007, with Palm CEO Ed Colligan announcing that the company would return its focus to its core product of smartphones and handheld computers. Soon after the device was canceled, a branch of subnotebooks called netbooks, similar to the Foleo in size and functionality, reached the market. Had it been released, the Foleo would have been the founding device in the category. At the time, Palm was performing poorly in face of heavy competition in the smartphone market. The company's sales did not recover, and it was purchased by information technology giant Hewlett-Packard in April 2010.

The Foleo was initially reported to run a modified Linux kernel. The kernel was reported as being version 2.6.14-rmk1-pxa1-intc2 ("rmk1" indicates this is the ARM architectural version, "pxa1" indicates it is of the PXA family of Intel/Marvell Technology Group XScale processors, "intc2" is possibly an IRQ handler). On August 7, 2007, Palm announced that it had chosen Wind River Systems to help it customize the standard Linux kernel to make it more suitable for this device.