What if you took the
REDFLY -- you know, that
Foleo-like thing for Windows Mobile phones -- and cheapened it up a bit? Maybe knock the luxurious 8.3-inch display down to a more reasonable 7 inches, lose three hours of battery life, and add $30 to the asking price, for starters? That's the indecent proposal Celio has put together with its new C7 model, trading endurance and screen size for an eight-ounce drop in the original's two-pound frame. Not what you had in mind, you say? Okay, okay, try this, then: the C8N carries over the 8.3-inch display and adds a "REDFLY Media Port" for connecting an iPod, iPhone, Zune, digicam, or pretty much anything else with a composite TV-out for viewing on the 800 x 480 screen -- but the catch is that you'll also need the $20 "REDFLY Media Cable" (sorry, but that really does belong in quotes) to complete the package on top of the cost of the C8N itself. Either way, the new models are still dumb terminals that need juice from a WinMo-based device to function -- so yeah, if your Treo 750's looking a little lonely over there in the corner, the C7 and C8N should fill the bill nicely when they hit in the first week of December for $229 and $299, respectively.
posted Nov 18th 2008 11:00AM
i wonder if they ever once thought "What is our market?" when they decided to make these things...
Celio: Don't call it a netbook... wait a minute...
> Celio's new REDFLY C7 and C8N answer questions no one is asking
The question businesses are asking is "How can I give employees laptops without paying thousands a year in support costs?"
The answer is, "Give them Redflys."
The support cost for a laptop used in the enterprise dwarfs the selling price of the device itself. There's applications, virus protection, and software updates, all of which aren't installed by the users, but have to be handled by IT.
If you have a group of mobile employees who have already been outfitted with Windows Mobile smartphones, then the cost of adding Redflys to the mix is negligible. And a group of employees with smartphones can share the same Redfly, as all files, contacts, etc. are stored on the smartphone, not the Redfly.
If you're a consumer who has a laptop and enjoy the time you spend tinkering with it, then of course you don't need a Redfly. But if you're an IT manager looking for a cost-effective way of making your smartphone investment go farther, then the Redfly is something you should look into.
Ed Hardy
Editor
http://www.brighthand.com
I saw someone demo a Redfly shortly before they were released, and was very surprised, to put it mildly, that the MSRP was $500. These things have always struck me as, at best, a $29.95 accessory. Their price is way above what's reasonable for what they're offering.
The $500 price is a thing of the past. The two new models are debuting at $230 for the 7-inch version and $300 for the 8-inch version.
Someone put the price into perspective for me. A decent Bluetooth travel keyboard costs $110. A good external battery rechargeable runs about $50. There aren't any accessories aside from the Redfly that will add USB ports to a Windows Mobile smartphone, but let's say that's worth $20. Add another $50 for an external screen and you have the price for a Redfly.
Ed Hardy
Editor
http://www.brighthand.com