Palm Invents The $500 Keyboard
But some analysts were skeptical, saying the company, which has been hard-pressed to follow up on the success of its Treo line of phones, seems to have struck out with the Foleo. Despite record sales in the most-recent quarter, Palm posted a 61 percent drop in profit as it struggled to compete with larger rivals like Research In Motion and Nokia.
The increasing competition has prompted some investors to call for a sale of Palm to a larger company or at least the development of a breakthrough product to re-energize the company's lineup. Analyst Todd Kort with Gartner Research said the Foleo is not likely to be that standout product.
"I think it's the most disappointing product I've encountered in several years, considering all the secrecy and hype we've gotten about it," Kort said. "Basically, the thing is way too big and heavy. You won't take this thing around as an adjunct to a phone."