Palm Planning a Laptop-Like Smartphone Companion?

If reports all over the Web are right, Palm chief Jeff Hawkins can't be very happy right now. Not only has news of Hawkins's big morning announcement already broken (allegedly through an overzealous RSS feed), but the device described in the rumors, the Palm Foleo, is being given a big Web raspberry, even by Treo fans.

According to the alleged press release, the Foleo has a large screen and full-size keyboard. It pairs with a smartphone so you can pull documents and email off the phone, edit them and then synch the edited version with the smartphone. The release promises that the Foleo will turn on and off quickly, run on a Linux-based platform and last up to five hours on a charge. The device would cost $499, but at least initially will come with a $100 rebate.

The overwhelming reaction so far could be summed up this way: "Ugh, not another device to cart around!" Based on the sketchy details released so far, I can't say I disagree. Sounds like something that's very like a notebook, with a price tag close to that of a notebook, but won't be a notebook in some significant ways -- won't be able to run most of your software and may well have problems with many Web apps as well.

If all this is true, there's only one person who's probably more unhappy than Hawkins -- whoever prematurely pulled the trigger on Palm's RSS feed.

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