Redfly - makes your PPC a laptop - Thought this deseverved its own thread
I mentioned this already in the "car PC" thread, but I think this is awesome enough to merit it's own thread:
The Redfly Mobile Companion:
"Smartphones have laptop power in a pocket-size design. But the pocket-size design has a natural limitation in the size of the keyboard and screen. Celio Corp extends the Smartphone with the most valuable features of a laptop.
The REDFLY Mobile Companion is a sleek clamshell design that includes an 8" display, a full function keyboard, and a touchpad mouse. Measuring just 1x6x9 inches and only 2 pounds, the REDFLY Mobile Companion offers over 8 hours of battery life and boots instantly! It also adds three new features - instant VGA output, access to USB flash drives, and the ability to charge your smartphone via USB.
CES Award
REDFLY is very unique - it changes the resolution of your smartphone display so that applications, web sites, email, and attachments all have more room to play!
Setup is simple; you load the REDFLY Interface Driver on your compatible smartphone and connect via USB or Bluetooth. No configuration required and no settings to choose. REDFLY unleashes the computer in your smartphone! "
Above propaganda directly quoted from company website.
OK, I can only follow this up with one word -- WOW
Check out this demo, and then share your thoughts on some great applications of this new tech!!
From what I've read and heard it is either being released very soon or is avaiable now as they tout a March release date and a sticker price of $499. I guess the next question is will they support our unfortunately older phone?
It will support the i760, xv6800, and 700wx at release - maybe we'll get lucky and slide in there as well.
Bro, I brought up the redfly before you decided to and then make two more threads about it. If you want to put that video everywhere, why don't you put a -link- to it?
Sorry, had been following the other thread about the "car pc" and must have missed the reference. The 2nd thread was a mistake, I think my browser (or I) accidentally sent it twice. I was hoping that a mod would knock it out for me, or if not it would just fall off.
Just trying to share something cool. I surfed this page with my phone and I use q2n and the vid didn't hurt anything. I thought with all of us playing eith embedded vid support that it would be acceptable. Sorry if it messed with your surfing.
I still stand by this as cool enough to have its own thread, if you want the "I found it 1st" cred then its yours.
cost - $499
standalone functionality- no
BIG ADVANTAGE - 8hr battery life, will charge phone, adds usb support to phone (indirectly)
Still not sure if it is worth the money, but still pretty neat. I think it would take the place of one of those ultralight laptops out there with a much smaller price tag (I think the cheapest one that competes in that arena is in the neighborhood of about $1500)
Sounds similar to what the Folio was supposed to be. It is certainly interesting.
• Any word on the price? Be hard to convince me to get this in place of a EEE PC tbh unless it was under $150
• Does it do anything on it's own or is it simply a monitor and keyboard for your PPC? (sans PPC does can it do anything?)
$499? That's ridiculous ergo it will fail. As I mentioned there is no way this could compete with any of the Ultra-mobile laptops coming out nowadays like the EEE PC (a laptop I very much want to get) They start at like $300 and are fully functional. They are sold with XP or Linux (my preference) and I don't see how a screen/keyboard with a battery can compete for more $. ASUS Eee PC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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I think that this is an awesome idea with a ridiculous price. I really, really want one of these as I see it as somewhat fool-proof. Preset connections and all my programs on a bigger screen with less components to eat battery and also to break. I guess the more I look at it at this price it is just not a viable product. Maybe I can pick one up used here in a while.
I have been beta testing this for a few weeks now with my i760. This is a sweet device. It is meant for Enterprise users. I came to the i730 forum tonight to tell you I got my old i730 to work with it also.
Yes you can buy a laptop same price or maybe less, check out my blog for some of the reasons why this is better than a laptop for an enterprise situation. Link 1 Link 2
LOL.... Your arguments for this device being better than a laptop are basically that:
1 - It stores no information that might get into other's hands
2 - It doesn't do enough to have accessories so it works out cheaper
3 - It is simply to use (because it doesn't do anything)
This thing is cool. Who wouldn't want one? But with the $500 pricetag, the above guy is right, it'd be better spent on a eee pc. This would be worth it for $125-150, which isn't too unreasonable...can't you get a portable dvd player for like $50? The other guy mentioned something - is there a way to use your eee pc (or equivalent) to do something like this?
I am not sure that "it doesn't do anything" is a fair judgment. I understand the niche- heck I'm in it.
I think the instant on and battery life along with charging my phone (as it eats batteries) are in themselves enough to let this beat out eeePC (I am also not well versed in linux and don't really wanna learn at this time - 3 different OS are enough in my brain).
I also love that with no settings or setup for tethering I can be on the net ASAP - all without paying Verizon the extra $15 a month (I think - might be wrong) for tethering. This will let me leverage my constant internet connection that my phone has much more effectively and makes that $45 not sting so much.
Also, I really don't want or need another PC to keep clean, running and up to date. Plus, I acknowledge the idea of saving minutes in set up - this is why 9 times out of 10 I'll fight the small screen on my phone rather than drag out the laptop.
I really think the killer on this great piece of tech is price. I think that the lucky beta holder (how'd u get in on that by the way - PM me) is being optimistic at best on the whole no release price thing - cnet and a few other sites all tout the $499. I am guessing this is accurate although I hope I am wrong.
Basically, I put this thing where I put PPC phones when they first came out - great idea, seemingly very nice item (not sure haven't touched one), but too rich for my blood at release. I am definitely keeping my eye on this one tho. I really think this is the future of mobile computing. We are moving slowly toward the day of a WM phone with a built-in LCD projector display and projected IR keyboard (I can dream can't I)
I agree with most of the posters above; $499 is well out of my price range. But I still love this thing for so many reasons:
1. Full QWERTY keyboard. That alone will cost you at least $100 these days, and usually more like $200. That's HALF the cost of this device.
2. Bluetooth. Sure, you wouldn't get the benefit of charging your phone at the same time, but how could you beat pulling this thing out of a satchel, opening it up and using the full screen, touchpad and keyboard with your phone still in your pocket, and no configuration necessary?
3. CHARGING PHONE. I'm a little skeptical that the battery lasts 8 hours WHILE charging a phone battery, but the fact that it's possible is a major benefit, especially for those of us who USE i730s still. You know how neither phone battery makes it through a single day? Yeah, this is definitely in the "pluses" category.
4. Battery life. Every single laptop I've ever used has less than acceptable battery life, to the point where I'm certain that if it hadn't been accepted by consumers as the norm, laptops would never have caught on in the mass market. Two hours? Really? I thought this was a PORTABLE computer. Oh, wait, if I turn all wireless and everything off, make the screen as dim as possible, and don't use the touchpad or the keyboard, it gets 3 hours? Why is this a commercially viable product?
And sure, you can get about 4-6 hours from some of the $3000 micro laptops with 12-inch screens, but that means YOU SPENT $3000 ON A LAPTOP WITH A 12-INCH SCREEN. This is a much bigger screen for your smartphone, a full QWERTY keyboard, and a touchpad mouse all in one.
5. Big screen. Like, super big. Mondo big. To the max big. I'm sure this won't work with certain applications that have hard-coded screen resolutions, but you shouldn't really code those in anyway unless you absolutely have to, since you never know what kind of WM5 or WM6 device your app is going to need to run on. Sure, it's not laptop resolutions, but I HAVE a laptop, and it has a nice, big 15-inch widescreen display. When I want the weight of it (and the TWO HOUR battery life, can't stress that enough; also notable is the fact that I bought it this year, this isn't some dinosaur made before the advent of good battery technology), I'll throw it in my bag. Meanwhile, this thing weighs two pounds.
So basically, if it were $200, I'd buy one tomorrow. If it were $250 I'd still consider it (after all, I have my wife to convince!). But at $499, I'm worried only business users with nigh unlimited budgets and expense reports will get one, and the super-rich, of course. How else do you justify the expense?
I had two points here. One, this device is awesome, and is a clear answer for any PPC user needing more from their device, I think. Two, laptops are NOT the answer, at least not any laptop I've ever used. Two hours? Really?
OK, now has anyone seen this actually for sale yet? I might be blind or not too smart (most likely) but I haven't found a solid release date and everything I read says March. Well, its the 26th. Just wondering?
I keep seeing the 'buy a used or Eee laptop" response and I see where you are all coming from. But, I would like to see any laptop that has 8 hr or even 6 hr battery life. If you show me one, I am guessing it is not this portable. Also, you are forgetting the time-saving value here. I really think this product properly marketed and well-priced could surprise some people.
Read all the above posts and then read the ones about issues and charges for tethering (yes we all know there are supposedly ways around that, but they are definfitely not legit) and compatibility with Vista and the deplorable battery life on every laptop I've ever touched and then tell me another laptop is the answer. Not to mention the fact that another PC has that many more pieces of tech to break insde I currently use the another laptop approach and I am tired of another machine to keep synced and secure. I guess this will be another one of those personal preference things.
I am like all of you, I want the most for my money and I have gone back and forth on this one and I think it wins on the intangibles - ease of use, setup time, battery life. I think the Redfly paired with a good 3rd party office software would be a as capable as any utlra-portable. It would also have a comparable (or larger) hard drive to utilize. The Eee's start out with 4gb and you know whatever type of lame duck version of XP is on it eats at least 1/3 of it. I would also be interested to see how fast the OS runs as we all know XP is a memory hog a lot of the time. I wonder if a well-equipped and properly configured WM Phone might keep up or even out-pace it for a lot of everyday uses.
I am guessing that we will be seeing some forthcoming comps on these solutions. I guess we'll have to wait and see. OK, now that I have reached rant stage, that was my 2 cents and change on this one.
you are better off buying a used laptop with extra battery power in it.
That's fine if you want to lug a laptop around (along with a higher capacity batter that adds even more weight). I am sick of carrying yet another heavy bag and all the junk that goes with the laptop through airport security. My goal is not to have to carry a laptop for short trips, but still be able to get some real work done using my i730. The i730 has the computing power for most tasks, but the small screen and interface makes it usable only for simple things like a quick email or checking a number in a spreadsheet. It looks to me like the Redfly would alleviate these limitations.
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-Duncan
"If it can't be expressed in figures, it is not science, it is opinion" - R. Heinlein
Wow, when this bad bay first came out as you can see above I was in love with it. I still love the idea and now the price is catching up with it. You can now buy one of these bad boys for $199 a whopping $300 price drop that is supposedly temporary (hope temporary doesn't mean until Celio goes under). The price has been dropping about a $100 every few months. Celio states that they are doing this as a seeding attempt to drum up interest.
I add this now because so many people above, myself included, loved the idea but not the price tag. Seems to me that this thing is now placed right where it should be - just below the price of an eee pc. Man, I want one still.
Officially, it does not support our phone, but awhile back I spoke with someone from Celio. He said that it should function fairly seamlessly with any winmo device of a normal resolution (320x240) and that runs wm5 or newer. He mentioned that before they add any device to their site's "list" it has to be optimized and tested like crazy (as it should be).
I was thinking about a new handset for xmas, but maybe this instead? Thoughts?
The price drop definitely makes it more attractive. I am getting less sanguine about using the i730 in this way though because Windows Mobile can be so buggy at times. Although who knows, I may be inclined to use more of the i730s capabilities if I weren't limited to the small screen and keyboard.
One a sort-of related note, I just discovered the other day that Dell now has a "mini" notebook computer running Unbuntu starting at $350 that weighs in at 2.3 lbs. Windows XP is a bit more expensive. One of my end goals is to not lug around a bunch of different devices. A mini laptop and a cell phone with tethering might be an attractive option, especially since there is now a name brand option.
__________________
-Duncan
"If it can't be expressed in figures, it is not science, it is opinion" - R. Heinlein
The i730 has the computing power for most tasks, but the small screen and interface makes it usable only for simple things like a quick email or checking a number in a spreadsheet. It looks to me like the Redfly would alleviate these limitations.
...Aaand that's exactly why. On my laptop, I can play old ROMs on emulators, check my email, web browse, word process & do spreadsheets and play games. On my phone, I can do many of the same things. However, web browsing (which I'd love to do more) is one of the most painful things simply because the screen is so small. You can use a browser that zooms, like Opera Mini (can't save any files or copy text) or Skyfire (doesn't work with anything but EVDO or wifi, can't download files), but that's not quite enough. I can muddle through with a decent phone browser, but muddling through's exactly what I'm doing, so I only do it when I have no other choice. I also make a lot of concessions for that, like routing everything through Google first to format it for my phone, etc.
I would LOVE to whip this thing out, turn it on instantly, and do what I need to do. It would just be insane for me. I'm asking my wife for one for Christmas, I think. And to think, I didn't have anything to ask for.
Also, I'll say this RIGHT now--having an actual QWERTY keyboard for my phone would instantly alleviate any reason I'd have for trying to find and buy some other device. I mean, instantly. I hope this thing's small enough to fit in a cargo pocket, so I can really take it everywhere.
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