Today, Palm announced the Foleo, a device the company calls a "smart phone companion product." The 2.5-pound Foleo sports a ten-inch screen (1024 x 600-pixel resolution) and falls somewhere between a PDA and an Ultra-Mobile PC in terms of functionality.

 

Users can view and edit e-mail and Office documents residing on a smart phone via the Foleo's ten-inch screen and full-size keyboard. Paired via Bluetooth, changes made on the Foleo are automatically reflected on the smart phone (and vice versa). The Foleo features editable Word, Excel, and PowerPoint programs courtesy of DataViz. PDFs can be viewed but not edited.

 

The Foleo is compatible with Palm's Treo family of smart phones, as well as Windows Mobile phones, which Palm stated should work with little or no modification. Symbian-based phones, BlackBerrys, and the iPhone are compatible with a "modest software effort."

 

In a unique arrangement, your phone is used as a key to unlock the Foleo. If you have a password set and your phone is within Bluetooth range, the phone will automatically unlock the Foleo; if it's outside of Bluetooth range, the password has to be manually entered.

 

Although it's primarily designed as a smart phone companion, the Foleo can be used as a mini computer. Its Linux-based OS, Opera Web browser, and built-in Wi-Fi allow users to connect to the Web (it can also do so when paired with a phone). The Foleo also sports a USB port, Video-out port, headphone jack, and ports for SD and CompactFlash cards. A solid-state drive (the exact capacity has not been announced) lets users instantly start up and shut down the device. The Foleo is rated for five hours of battery life and is slated to be available this summer.