Analyst: Flaws have delayed Palm Foleo

Serious bugs have delayed the launch of Palm's smartphone companion - the Foleo

The launch of the anticipated Palm Foleo smartphone companion notebook has been delayed, according to a new investor research note from Deutsche Bank.

Outlined in the announcement, analyst Jonathan Goldberg claims that the Palm Foleo has been delayed to late September or early October due to serious concerns with the device. It had originally been scheduled to hit store shelves this week. According to Goldberg, the delay is needed to address serious bugs.

Trouble with the Treo 680

In a statement released today, Goldberg had the following to say about the Foleo's delay: "In a round of checks yesterday we learned that the Palm Foleo will be delayed. The product was supposed to hit Palm stores this week, but was delayed when software bugs were detected.

"These apparently included an inability to synchronise the Foleo with most models of the Treo, in particular the nominally high-volume Treo 680. Our contacts indicate Palm now expects the device will ship in late September/early October."

Regardless of the bad news for Palm fans, Goldberg didn't sound too affected by the delay, given the fact that the Foleo has no effect on Palm's financial situation.

Regarding the financials, Goldberg maintained Palm's "sell" rating. He explained that the new Treos and form factors may "at best keep Palm in the game".

Similar assessments were made by Oppenheimer analyst Lawrence Harris who noted that reviews for Palm's new device, the Centro, have been mixed and the keyboard is apparently too small.

We originally wrote about the Palm Foleo here.