Palm Foleo gets Linux platform, remote PC access capability

Palm has announced two important components for its upcoming PDA extension device "Foleo". Wind River will be the open standard Linux platform for the device and LogMeIn will provide a fee-based service for the device to access a PC over the Internet.

Palm said that it has selected Wind River Systems as open standard Linux platform for future software releases for the Foleo "mobile companion" to serve as the development and deployment environment for software developers. Along with the platform, Wind River said that it will be providing its Workbench development suite, professional services and customer support to assist Palm and its development community.

Palm and Wind River said that the Linux platform will be built into the Foleo "over the coming months." Officially called " Wind River Platform for Consumer Devices, Linux Edition," the software is used as Linux development platform mainly by mobile handset, digital TV, and consumer electronics manufacturers, Wind River said.

“By building the Foleo on an open Linux-based platform and publishing the tools developers need, Palm hopes to establish a vibrant developer community to create new applications that extend the mobile companion’s built-in capabilities,” said Mark Bercow, senior vice president for business development at Palm, in a prepared statement.

So far, The Foleo was only described to be able to only access Treo handhelds and possibly other smartphone devices as an extension to simplify the authoring of emails and other tasks that require a full-size keyboard or a larger screen. A collaboration with LogMeIn now extends the Foleo's reach to a PC via a "secure" Internet connection. The companies said that this application will give users "the ability to quickly and securely access files and network resources on their home or work computers when away."

Pricing of the LogMeIn service was not announced, but it will not be a service that will be included for free with the Foleo. Palm said that "applications for the Palm Foleo mobile companion will be sold separately. U.S. pricing and application availability will be announced in conjunction with Foleo availability later this summer."