Palm's Linux-powered Foleo has potential, but only if Palm can stop denying that the device is actually laptop, reckons Sascha Segan of Gearlog. Palm has positioned the Foleo as a "mobile companion" for itinerant workers needing only email, document prep, and PowerPoint capabilities.

Palm has canceled the Linux-based Foleo mobile companion, CEO Ed Colligan announced today on the company's blog. Colligan said the move would cost the company $10 million in earnings, but allow it to focus on a single Linux smartphone development platform going forward.

Independent programmers in the community recently achieved Palm’s goal of running Linux on Palm devices. Linux is an alternative interface to Palm and Windows Mobile operating systems, which allows you to control and navigate basic Palm device functions. The thrust of their efforts have been with Lifedrive and TX.

With the Foleo, Palm is clearly hoping to leverage the open-source community as well as third-party developers. The companion's synchronization architecture is open, the company said, and it uses a Linux-based operating system. Web access is via the Opera browser.

Ahh, poor Palm. Sure, they have their fancy new WebOS toys -- but it wasn't that long ago they were banking on the Foleo changing the mobile world as we knew it. Sadly, they were just a little too early.

Independent programmers in the community recently achieved Palm's goal of running Linux on Palm devices. Linux is an alternative interface to Palm and Windows Mobile operating systems, which allows you to control and navigate basic Palm device functions.

Palm announced its WebOS Linux platform yesterday, along with a smartphone to run it. To be sold by Sprint in the first half of 2009, the 3G-enabled Palm Pre features a slide-out keyboard, WiFi, GPS, 3-megapixel camera, 3.1-inch touchscreen, and Palm's homegrown "WebOS" Linux phone stack.

My Palm Tungsten E had gone totally dead. I had to restore everything with a sync, and by some kind of magic, my Palm infrared keyboard suddenly started working again. So it was time to get the Palm and Linux talking to each other.

Verizon Wireless announced Jan. 25 availability of two modified versions of Palm's WebOS-based smartphones, the Palm Pre Plus and the newly WiFi-enabled Palm Pixi Plus. Meanwhile, Palm announced that its WebOS developer program is now open to all developers, and plans to launch a WebOS plugin development kit, says eWEEK.