Until Feb. 16, 2008, you can get an instant $30 rebate on the REDFLY model C7. Also, if you buy the C8N model at its regular price of $299, you can get two free accessories - a REDFLY Media Cable and your choice of a car charger, spare wall charger or neoprene sleeve. That’s up to a $45 value on free accessories. Check out the details here.
We’ve received a lot of requests from the media and customers for more information about Celio Corp’s new products and CES announcements so here’s a summary of everything new condensed down into one blog post.
New Product:
REDFLY PC Software
The REDFLY PC Software was highly requested by customers and is all about giving people options. It gives you many of the benefits of a REDFLY Smartphone Terminal on your existing Windows-based hardware.
Concepts:
REDFLY Smartphone Dock
Think of the Smartphone Dock as box about the size of a pack of cards with the guts from the REDFLY Smartphone Terminal stuffed inside. There’s no battery, screen, touchpad or keyboard like a REDFLY Smartphone Terminal, but it works just like a Smartphone Terminal allowing you to work on your smartphone at higher resolutions so you can see and do more vs. your phone’s native screen resolution. You connect your phone to the dock via USB or Bluetooth. Plug any USB keyboard and mouse into any of the dock’s 3 powered USB ports. Plug any monitor into the dock’s VGA out port and you are set to go. The idea is that when on the road, you can connect to a REDFLY Smartphone Terminal for portability, and/or use the Smartphone Dock when home or in the office using any old monitor, a mouse and a full-size USB keyboard.
Android Proof-of-Concept
Here is a proof-of-concept video showing the Android operating system on a REDFLY Smartphone Terminal. Speed and stability will increase as the concept is developed. The Android device’s output resolution is changed to 800×480 then video output is routed to the REDFLYs 8-inch screen. REDFLY also allows the use of its built-in keyboard and touchpad to control the Android device. We’ll have more info about Android on a regular basis so stay tuned.
It’s been an incredible 12 months since we launched the original REDFLY Smartphone Terminal C8 at CES 2008. We’ve come a long way in just one year and can’t wait to unveil all we have planned in the months to come during 2009. Thank you to all of our current customers for your great support and valuable feedback.
Rob Jackson over at phandroid.com has some insightful comments about our Android proof-of-concept. In the title of his article he asks, “REDFLY - the First Android Netbook?“
Rob goes on to say, “The REDFLY team argues that if your phone already has that stuff, why duplicate it? In the end, it only creates more problems, like the need to sync. Connect your smartphone to the REDFLY terminal via Bluetooth and BAM - you can operate your phone directly on the device. If you were to do this with your T-Mobile G1, you could say that REDFLY is virtually the first Android Netbook.”
Here is a proof-of-concept video showing the Android operating system on a REDFLY Smartphone Terminal. Speed and stability will increase as the concept is developed. The Android device’s output resolution is changed to 800×480 then video output is routed to the REDFLYs 8-inch screen. REDFLY also allows the use of its built-in keyboard and touchpad to control the Android device.
If you are going to be at CES, this proof-of-concept will be on display in our booth (#3934).
We posted this video on YouTube about 12 hours ago and at the time of this blog post, it’s been viewed over 3,000 times!
News hit the wire late last night about the new products and concepts that we’ll show at CES. The news is getting good traction and the reaction has been favorable - notably from Engadget who hasn’t shown us much love in the past, but seems to be getting behind Celio’s long-term vision a bit more. Here are a few reactions in case you missed them.
CrunchGear has a good post about the new offerings:
From that posting: “Celio is now going to be offering software that can be run on a suitably-sized laptop or netbook that will allow you to dual-boot your hardware, so you’ve got the best of both worlds. I can’t imagine the Redfly stuff takes up more than a gig at the very most. That alone is a solid product in a limited connectivity situation, tethering may be difficult or not useful, but using your smartphone to the maximum of its capabilities may be a great idea.”
Matt Miller gave some great comments on his Mobile Gadgeteer blog:
“One of the proof-of-concept demos they are giving at CES is for the REDFLY Smartphone Dock and this is something I could see really being quite functional at airport, hotel, or other public kiosks. The REDFLY Smartphone Dock concept device is a box with VGA port, USB ports, Bluetooth radio, and power supply. You could connect to this type of device that could be plugged into a dedicated large keyboard and monitor or take it on the road to use for giving presentations from a Windows Mobile device. I think the airport or other public place would be perfect for plugging in your Windows Mobile phone to write a quick email on a large keyboard or check your email and then leave without ever worrying about leaving behind any private information.”
And from MobileCrunch:
“That said, this newest bit of news did manage to convince me, a long time skeptic. According to a concept-only video released today, the folks behind the Redfly have managed to coax the G1 to play friendly with the mobile-to-psuedo-netbook. They”ve tweaked it to run at 800×480 and have pushed in basic mouse cursor support and, well, I want it.”
Celio Corp was mentioned in this Salt Lake Tribune article on Utah companies attending the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
If you’re planning to attend CES next week stop by booth No. 3934 and say hi.
Our theme during CES this year revolves around the company’s long-term vision someday, your smartphone will be your only computer. Celio plans to offer a wide variety of devices in the future giving you better access to your smartphone during those times when a small screen and keyboard just won’t do.
We’ll be showing off some concept devices including this automotive in-dash touchscreen prototype (photo from the article) and a fully functional smartphone dock.
We also just might have a new announcement or two.
Stay tuned next week.