Palm Foleo To Flop

I know that's a pretty harsh statement, but apparently I'm not the only one of this opinion. Jonathan Greene and Fabrizio Capobianco were pretty disappointed with the new mobile companion device, and it's probably not a good sign when the Palm founder sells 15,000 shares of company stock just before the device was officially shown.

My personal gripes with the device are that it just doesn't scream innovation, something Palm originally had and lost a long time ago. My hopes were that this device would be the rebirth of that creative spirit Palm once had in its early days. And no matter how much Palm dives into Linux and Open Source, a product like this just isn't what most people really need or even want. It's too large, too expensive, and underpowered. If there was an opposite to what Internet Tablets attempt to offer, the Palm Foleo would be it. My message to Palm; Try again and try harder, much harder.

Close, But No Cigar

After checking out the Gizmodo review of the Helio Ocean I'm pretty disappointed in what it has (or rather, doesn't have) to offer. I don't know if it's due to my being spoiled with what the 770 has to offer, but lacks the features one would expect in a 2007 mobile.

I have to admit, I was pretty excited about the Ocean when I first heard about it. The awesome dual-slide design, direct search feature, and great contacts integration were just what I'd need in a phone. However, with all the shortfalls I've seen in my brief encounter with the actual device as well as Gizmodo's review, I couldn't see myself buying one. I think the keyboard is much too small, the battery life seems way too short, and the web browser and multimedia presentation pales in comparison to the large Internet Tablet screen. I didn't get enough time with the phone to see if the bluetooth connection worked with the 770 for Internet use, but I did find the interface to be quite nicely implemented. Overall, I didn't find the Ocean to be the right fit for my needs. It's close, but "almost" doesn't count when it comes to my money.

It was a very noble attempt by Helio, and I think the dual slide idea is still a great one. Maybe they'll get it right with the next version, but until then I'm holding out for something a bit more polished. But like I said before, after some time with an Internet Tablet like the 770, it's hard to like anything without even the basic luxury of such a large touchscreen and software capability. And so, my search for a new phone continues...

Spread A Bit Thin

I'm in over my head with work and other projects these days, and I'll be taking some time to restructure my hectic new schedule to optimize for better efficiency. So while I may not have many NET9 posts over the next few weeks, I will be continuing work in the flash.lab and the iso.man project (soon to get an official name), and even 3pm will get an update soon too.

I'll be grooming my RSS feeds, using my Google Calendar a lot more, and working my 770 harder than ever before while on the move. Overall, I'll be working on getting my life a bit reorganized for maximum efficiency. You can call it Cyber Feng Shui, but to me it's just something I think is necessary for myself to get work done a little faster, better, and smarter.

Internet Tablet Competition Getting Stronger

A while back I talked about some potential competitors of the Internet Tablets, and since then there have been more and more devices coming ever closer to truly posing a challenge to Nokia's new wireless Internet appliance genre. However, I still wonder if the new competitors like Intel and their upcoming Mobile Internet Device will have much of an impact on the overall popularity of Nokia's tablets that has taken a very short time to build up. In my opinion, the N800 didn't offer much over the 770 in terms of quality software, but hardware wise it was quite a step up. And even though the 770 suites my needs quite well at the moment, I look forward to Nokia's next new tablets, as there is now an even greater incentive to create the best device in this class.

The overall idea of Linux powered mobile devices like these are a relatively new and exciting development, but the "battle to bring the best" is close on the horizon, and Nokia will have to fend off the likes of Intel soon. I think the only way they'll be able to do so is to make a greater effort in making sure their current Internet Tablet customers don't feel completely left behind whenever newer hardware (as well as some software) is released. I trust that Nokia can pull it off, and I think they have learned a lot from past mistakes. Time is the determining factor now, and the future will either show Nokia as the greatest innovator or simply a pioneer of these devices.