Palm scuttles Foleo companion device (A Message to Palm Customers, Partners and Developers)

Ed Colligan, Palm CEO, delivered the news in a September 24, 2007 open blog message, "I have decided to cancel the Foleo mobile companion product in its current configuration and focus all of our energies on delivering our next generation platform and the first smartphones that will bring this platform to market."

The Foleo was announced in May 2007 as a mobile companion product designed to provide a readable screen and usuable keypad, to be used in conjunction with a smartphones or handheld mobile devices.

Q. Does the concept of a very portable deviced married to a slightly less portable companion lighten your travel worries, or does it weight you down?

Microsoft unveils new 'Surface' computer

Here is a look at Microsoft Surface, a Windows Vista-based PC with a 30" touch screen turned into a table. With an up to $10,000 price tag at present, Microsoft doesn't feel consumer versions may be available for up to 5 years. They should be available in T-Mobile stores by November 2007. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. are among the early adopters.

Surface uses cameras mounted underneath its acrylic frame to sense external objects, and it can recognized barcodes on common items. Be sure to check out the intriguing video and article hosted by KING-TV's web site.

Q. Which surface in your work, home, or travels would be more useful if compute-enabled?

Forget Google Phone? Google eyes wireless spectrum

The FCC plans to auction off a swath of 700MHz spectrum that is currently dedicated to over the air, analog, television signals. Presumably the bands, whose signals can carry abou double the range of those from higher-frequencies, can be used to offer consumer wireless broadband access in competition with cable and DSL. The auction is expected to rake in $10B or more.

According to USA Today, Richard Whitt, Washington, D.C. telecom and media counsel for Google, allows that Google may participate in the auction. Chilling to me was Google's request to the FCC to allow winners of the auction to create an auction system allowing third-parties to bid for use of the spectrum.

I observe that Google serves about 50% of Internet searches, down from perhaps 75% when free market forces prevailed and Yahoo! stopped purchasing Google's search ranking results. If Google owned this new frontier of spectrum outright and set the terms for third-party use, what free market forces could intervene?

Q. Cable, DSL, or holding out for 700MHz?