Palm Announcement Stuns Press- Pre Cancelled; Introduces Palm Peo

12:01 Las Vegas- Palm CEO Ed Colligan stunned the technology press tonight with a surprise announcement that has far-reaching implications. The top Palm spokesman addressed a roomful of the press in Caesar’s Palace, and his statements stunned those in attendance from the very beginning.

“We at Palm have a dedication to advance the technology in the products we produce and will not be happy to be second to any. We intend to reclaim the place at the top of the heap in a product group we invented with the first Palm Pilot and advanced further with the Palm Treo. We are always analyzing what we do with the aim to make it better than anything else on the market.

“That self analysis has led us to realize that the latest product in the Palm family fell short in certain areas and we could not be comfortable releasing it like that so we are canceling the Pre. I know the Pre has excited a lot of people who watch these things and it’s true we put a lot of innovation into the Pre but we can do better.

“There are those who will no doubt say deja vu- you came close to the release of the Foleo and canceled it prior to launch and you’d be right. The Foleo was so advanced a concept that it was simply too far ahead of its time. We were going to release it prior to this whole netbook craze and that shows how appropriate the Foleo was in its day. The problem with bringing the Foleo to market at that time was the divergence of the phone and the notebook. We realized the requirement that users bring their own phone, an older Treo at that, would not fly and that is why we stopped the Foleo before bringing it to market.

“This same process has led us to realize that the Pre is not the product that our customers want and need. There is only so much you can do with a phone, even one as advanced as the Pre. It is a case of the Pre being too far ahead of its time just as the Foleo was, and we can’t introduce a product that falls short in the area we feel is the most important.

“Imagine how productive you would be if you had a netbook-like device that was self-contained, including a phone. You could do all the work you need to do, hang out on all the social networks you enjoy, and also have the best phone on the market. Yes, it’s a dream but we at Palm are going to bring that dream to our customers.

“I am proud and excited to introduce you to the Palm Peo (Pay-o). The Palm Peo may look like the Foleo, after all the Foleo was an advanced, highly portable notebook type of device. But that’s where the resemblance ends. The Palm Peo has all the things you expect a notebook to have but is also a top-of-the-line phone. That’s right, we put the Pre in the Foleo and produced the Palm Peo.

“You only want to carry one device with you to do all you need to do both business and personal, and the Peo is your device. Imagine you get up in the morning and check your stocks right there on your Palm Peo. It’s always connected no matter where in the world you roam. Then you check your schedule to see what kind of day it’s going to be. Once you get to the office you can work on all the documents you need to until lunchtime. You decide to see if your friend Sue is free for lunch and you tap on her picture on the Peo screen. The Peo begins dialing Sue and when you hear her answer all you do is close the lid on the Peo and hold it up to your ear. You’re talking to Sue and make lunch plans and when you’re finished you simply set the Peo down and open the lid. The call is automatically ended, just that simply.

“I am convinced that the Palm Peo will be the converged device that revolutionizes the netbook/ notebook/ smartphone world. One device, all the time. There’s nothing better than a good Peo.”

Colligan’s announcement seemed to stun the press as only one question was put to him when his statement concluded. When asked if he knew what Peo meant in Spanish, Colligan said no and was heard to be asking an assistant off-stage what it means.

SLOOF LIRPA