New Celio REDFLY's: C7 and C8N on the Way

[Paul Martin]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blogs.zdnet.com/cell-phones/?p=269' target='_blank'>http://blogs.zdnet.com/cell-phones/?p=269</a><br /><br /></div><p>"<em>The REDFLY Mobile Companion (now marketed as the REDFLY Smartphone Terminal) has served me well for a few months as I have stated in my first and second impressions. In October the price on the original C8 model was dropped to US$199 and then extended until mid-November. With today's announcement we now know that this model will be replaced by the C8N with the new C7 also available for those looking for a lower cost and smaller device. I've been using a beta version of the C8N for several days now and am posting my review below along with an image gallery and video of it in action</em>."</p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//ppct/auto/1227369736.usr251.png" /></p><p>In September, the Celio REDFLY <a href="http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/f352/redfly-mobile-companion-199-a-90758-3.html" target="_blank">dropped in price</a> by 50% to $199.&nbsp; Though described as temporary, it made this smartphone terminal more accessible to those outside the enterprise market.&nbsp; Now, Celio is offering 2 new products.&nbsp; The original C8 is being replaced by the C8N and will be available December 1st.&nbsp; While sharing the same screen and unit size, it does offer a media port and a lower initial starting price of $299. The media option will require an extra $19.95 cable to connect to your device. Check out <a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/cell-phones/?p=269" target="_blank">Matthew Miller's review of a beta version here</a>, which includes an in-depth explaination of the differences between the C8 and the new C8N.&nbsp; The C7 will offer a smaller screen size, shorter battery capacity and no media port but for a lower price at $229 and will be available this coming Monday, November 24th.&nbsp; Before you take the plunge, it might be a good idea to <a href="http://www.celiocorp.com/install/" target="_blank">see if your device is currently supported</a>.</p><p>You can pre-order these through our Expansys affiliate store: the <a href="http://www.expansys-usa.com/p.aspx?i=176404&amp;partner=pthoughts" target="_blank">REDFLY C7 is $229 USD</a>, and the <a href="http://www.expansys-usa.com/p.aspx?i=176403&amp;partner=pthoughts" target="_blank">REDFLY C8N is $299 USD</a>.</p>

[SomeAudioGuy]

I totally get why this is useful, but why wouldn't I just go buy a netbook. I can get an older Eee for $199, and have a pretty decent computing experience. This just seems to be a crippled netbook dependent on your winmo device.

I guess for the price I was hoping for something a little more innovative. Say the front panel could be adapted to your device so it not only acted as a cradle, but turned your device into the trackpad. That way the redfly was a bit more of an extension of the device itself, and would act like a big back up battery to help you make it through the day.

You could turn any device into an HTC Advantage.

[Pony99CA]

I totally get why this is useful, but why wouldn't I just go buy a netbook. I can get an older Eee for $199, and have a pretty decent computing experience. This just seems to be a crippled netbook dependent on your winmo device.
How well would that Netbook work when you weren't near WiFi? Instead of listing a bunch of reasons, just check out another Redfly thread (http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/f352/redfly-mobile-companion-199-a-90758.html).

I guess for the price I was hoping for something a little more innovative.
A little more innovative? Who else makes a device like this? I suppose you can argue it was just inspired by the Palm Foleo, but Palm didn't end up making those.

And, with the C8N, you get a media port to allow viewing video from other devices on the larger screen (although I wonder how well that will work -- to fill the 800x600 screen, QVGA video will have to be blown up by 2.5 times, VGA video by 1.25 times, not exactly your ideal scaling factors).

Say the front panel could be adapted to your device so it not only acted as a cradle, but turned your device into the trackpad. That way the redfly was a bit more of an extension of the device itself, and would act like a big back up battery to help you make it through the day.
There's supposedly an iPhone Redfly-like device that uses the iPhone as a trackpad, but that wouldn't work well with the Redfly for several reasons.


That would only work with touchscreen devices. Windows Mobile Standard users wouldn't have a trackpad at all.
There are too many devices to support. You'd have to make the slot large enough for the biggest device supported and probably provide spacers for the rest. You'd also have to provide power connectors for the various devices because you couldn't really run a USB cable into the device very well.
The Redfly would likely be much larger. The current one has a small trackpad and two buttons, but that area is smaller than any Windows Mobile device I've seen, and having to support larger devices (see the above point) would make it bigger still. (The iPhone device will probably have this same problem; the iPhone is bigger than any trackpad I've seen.)

Besides, with a USB cable, the Redfly does act like a big battery. Or you can do what I do -- keep your device connected to AC and use the Redfly over Bluetooth. I can sit on my bed watching TV, browse the Web on my laptop and use the Redfly to check E-mail while my Motorola Q9m charges off to the side.

Steve

[eugarps]

Hi,

I like the idea that the Redfly has no memory. When I travel with my notebook, especially overseas; I'm always concerned about the security of my data. If my Treo Pro is in its case on my belt and someone takes my Redfly, while I'd be out a couple of hundred dollars; my data would still be safe. I really like the idea that the Redfly can charge my Treo Pro and that I don't have to hunt place to plug my notebook in during long layovers.

My $0.02 (USD)

Bill