Celio REDFLY drops to $400, still not useful

We just don't see the Celio REDFLY Windows Mobile "companion" appealing to a lot of people as full-featured netbooks continue to flood onto the market, and it looks like the ol' invisible hand agrees with us: the REDFLY's price just dropped 20% to $400. That's a solid $100 lower than when it went on sale just a few days ago, but we're not convinced it's enough to sway people from an Eee or Wind -- anyone planning on buying one of these now?

[kyle allen @ Aug 13th 2008 2:37PM]

i might get one if i see it at goodwill

[imacmatt09 @ Aug 13th 2008 3:10PM]

Why did they even come out with this after seeing what happened to the palm foleo?

[Chuck @ Aug 13th 2008 3:57PM]

The {alm Foleo that was never released?

Excellent comparison

[Phoenix @ Aug 13th 2008 8:34PM]

@chuck

Precisely

[Chuck @ Aug 14th 2008 7:16AM]

The failure of the Palm Foleo had nothing to do with sales because it was never released. It being canceled had nothing to do with demand.

It was simply a financial issue for Palm. So comparing the failure of the REDFLY to the cancellation of the Foleo because Celio jacked the price up way to high is, well, wrong.

[Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Aug 13th 2008 2:37PM]

Yeah, if your going to drop the price by 20% when its been on sale for only a few days, NOT a good sign. See you in hell Redfly. : )

[cranium @ Aug 13th 2008 2:37PM]

omg this post is biased towards teh iphone

[Adam @ Aug 13th 2008 3:01PM]

AHAHAHAHA iPhone FTW!!!!!

[whatishalo? @ Aug 13th 2008 5:06PM]

I want my $100 early-adopter refund!!

[turn_self_off @ Aug 15th 2008 2:50AM]

this is engadget, what did you expect?

[Its.A.tarp @ Aug 13th 2008 2:38PM]

Theyre like 2-3 years late on this, nobody with common sense will purchase this

[Nodspy @ Aug 13th 2008 2:41PM]

Then it has a pretty large market to cater too.

[SFO Kevin @ Aug 13th 2008 2:50PM]

2-3 three years too late!... Try about 30 years... That is design is sooooo 1980

[Dan Halen @ Aug 13th 2008 3:24PM]

30 years ago it was the 70s.

[kris @ Aug 13th 2008 9:11PM]

It is not behind its time, it is before its time, and too expensive. This type of product will hit its stride once they can get the cost down to around a hundred dollars and cell phones sport processors faster than the atom.

[rony @ Aug 13th 2008 2:38PM]

naah still not worth it.....BIll Gates would agree....and so would those who come after and low-rank me.
MICROSOFT FOREVERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kyle allen @ Aug 13th 2008 2:50PM]

i gave you a + if only kuz linux is confusing

[~~Tito~~ @ Aug 13th 2008 10:28PM]

Use grammar right and you will look like you have credibility.

[kyle allen @ Aug 14th 2008 1:15AM]

"use grammar CORRECTLY"

[Syntax Error @ Aug 13th 2008 2:42PM]

Something tells me that demand curve should be much, much lower than it's depicted as.

[From My Cube @ Aug 13th 2008 2:49PM]

Im confused as to why there is a demand curve at all?

[Nilay Patel @ Aug 13th 2008 2:59PM]

Because indicating an inwards d1-d2 shift wouldn't let me use egregious motion blur down the slope? :)

[Khris @ Aug 13th 2008 3:25PM]

Love the motion blur as the RedFly plummets to the ground!

[jupiterthunder @ Aug 13th 2008 3:57PM]

Funny.

General thought: No scales = no way to tell how low or high the supply, demand, or quantity is.

[r3loaded @ Aug 13th 2008 5:36PM]

I'd also say that price elasticity of demand should be higher. Much higher.

[Loren Sonnenberg @ Aug 13th 2008 2:48PM]

The product is very cool, but it's just too limited in its use. I think having one less device to sync is infinitely valuable so if you can use your phone where your laptop would normally be needed then fantastic.

Problem is SOTI pocket controller allows you to do 'almost' exactly the same thing as the redfly with your existing laptop / netbook. I like the redfly, but I can get most of the same functionality with any notebook and when I DO want to edit a full word document syncing the file up to a $400 netbook makes a lot more sense then trying to edit it with pocket word.

[farfisa @ Aug 13th 2008 2:52PM]

But with the Foleo out of the picture these guys have the whole market!!!

[CraigJ @ Aug 13th 2008 2:56PM]

100% of 0, is... 0.

[Adam @ Aug 13th 2008 3:02PM]

LOL engadget has some funny people around!!!!!!

[kjb434 @ Aug 13th 2008 3:05PM]

Putting the Tyne II next to it is a good representation. Everything this device could give you is available in a smaller and still efficient to use WinMo package.

And the Touch Pro will just take it much further!

[Khris @ Aug 13th 2008 3:26PM]

It's TyTN II, not Tyne II.

[Sarig @ Aug 13th 2008 3:26PM]

Whuh? The whole point of this device is to connect *with* said smaller device, when you want a larger screen/keyboard. This is not a stand-alone computer.

[Stevo @ Aug 13th 2008 3:11PM]

Looks like an 'total drag' graph to me.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/Drag_Curve_2.jpg

[RK @ Aug 13th 2008 3:33PM]

Wake me up when it hits $200, also please make sure you got XP loaded.

[NHAnimator @ Aug 13th 2008 3:38PM]

"That's an solid $100 lower"

Can we please, please, please have at least TWO people read a post before it goes live, Engadget? I like the site, but this lack of proofing is just unprofessional.

[Khris @ Aug 13th 2008 3:48PM]

To err is human, to moo.....bovine!

[Noiro @ Aug 13th 2008 4:03PM]

At $200-$250 I'd be sold. I mean really its just an accessory to the phone, not a PC so there is noooooo way they can fly with that price.

I warned them last year that they'd be fighting the low-cost (at the time people were stil saying OLPC class) laptops left and right.

Without an OS I wonder how much it cost to produce? Com'on Celio, lower L-o-w-e-r.

[robothouse @ Aug 13th 2008 4:04PM]

Ah, good ol' 9th grade economics.

[Dave @ Aug 13th 2008 4:15PM]

I'll take it for $99.

[The_Steven @ Aug 13th 2008 4:29PM]

So I'm looking at my Tilt, saying this might be a good idea, perhaps instead of a "carputer"...

But at its' current price-point, I would still get an eeePC, add a touch screen and then run "MyMobilier" on it.

If the RedFly was "Under $200.00" then I would consider it.

[Chris @ Aug 13th 2008 4:56PM]

If it was $100 I'd get it. The main benefit I see is being able to surf the web/write in word on a "normal" screen and keyboard anywhere without paying more than your current data plan (tethering is so damn expensive...)

And in the end, isn't the purpose of netbooks to be able to surf the web/word processing in more places? This could do all that plus more (I think this would also be lighter than most netbooks, but I'm too lazy to check the specs...)

If only it was cheaper

[Sheila @ Aug 13th 2008 5:00PM]

I just purchased the Redfly at $400. I was going to purchase it at $500. If you just look at the price of the hardware, it is over priced. But, it you consider what have to be added to make a notebook/netbook functional, $400 is a good price.

To make a notebook/netbook functional you have to add a PAM plan or a data card and it's plan. These two options will limit your data to 5g a month.

Cost of a PAM plan over 24 months:
Cost of notebook/netbook + $360 ($15 a month for plan x 24)

Cost of data card plan over 24 months:
Cost of notebook/netbook + cost of data card (maybe free) + $1440 ($60 a month for plan x 24)

Cost of Redfly over 24 months:
$400

I like to stay legal, so I will not use PDANet.

All I need to do is access the internet, and manage my PIM data and email. When Live Mesh is fully operational, I can manage files between devices and files. With Redfly, I can do all this using my phone and I would not limited to 5g of data per month.

[Khris @ Aug 13th 2008 5:07PM]

Proof there's a sucker born every minute.

Market horse shit right and people will flock to it!

[Sheila @ Aug 13th 2008 5:07PM]

I just purchased the Redfly at $400. I was going to purchase it at $500. If you just look at the price of the hardware, it is over priced. But, it you consider what have to be added to make a notebook/netbook functional, $400 is a good price.

To make a notebook/netbook functional you have to add a PAM plan or a data card and it's plan. These two options will limit your data to 5g a month.

Cost of a PAM plan over 24 months:
Cost of notebook/netbook + $360 ($15 a month for plan x 24)

Cost of data card plan over 24 months:
Cost of notebook/netbook + cost of data card (maybe free) + $1440 ($60 a month for plan x 24)

Cost of Redfly over 24 months:
$400

I like to stay legal, so I will not use PDANet.

All I need to do is access the internet, and manage my PIM data and email. When Live Mesh is fully operational, I can manage files between devices and files. With Redfly, I can do all this using my phone and I would not limited to 5g of data per month.

[Montevale @ Aug 13th 2008 5:44PM]

You can't help but to compare it with a netbook.
This is a problem for Celio is that peope dont get what they get.
Celio should have a marketing campaign maybe even call Palm to do it together.
Redfly is not for everyone and should not be perceived as such device by everyone, this would be an educational part that must be done by Celio.
Redfly is a specific device with productivity in mind and you do have to own a Win Mobile phone to begin with.
However the benefits of such relationship are aplenty. For work that is, for surfing the net... well get yourself a netbook.

[joe blow @ Aug 14th 2008 4:13AM]

You bought ANOTHER one?

[whatishalo? @ Aug 13th 2008 5:08PM]

Or a "totally sucks" graph...

[zoom30 @ Aug 13th 2008 5:28PM]

I bought one. 9 hours of battery life. Instant on. Flash card support for my smart phone. I have a special discounted $30 a month unlimited data plan with Sprint but for some reason connected via bluetooth to a laptop it will disconnect on me sometimes and can cause me to have to do a reset of both devices to get working again. Using the smart phone's browser and email software to connect has never been a problem and should fully maintain the connection through this device. I also have invested in Phojo software for fast picture transmission through my phone and I should be able to better take advantage of this capability. Another point, the vendor is offering a full 30 days money back. I can try and if it still doesn't fit all my needs I can return it for a full refund. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

[horizontaleight @ Aug 13th 2008 6:24PM]

Macroeconomics flashback.

[Joe Markert @ Aug 13th 2008 9:45PM]

I think the problem here is this device would be amazing at say $149 or $199 - then it might be seen as useful. But the issue is that it's performance is wholly dependant on the phone it's linked to - and right now - most Windows Mobile Phones are just painfully slow.

That said - since most of my tools are web-based - I could see chucking my laptop while out and about and using something like the RedFly - but then the second problem crops up - the browser on most WIndows Mobile phones is just not compatible with most current sites so I wouldn't be able to do my work anyway.

Nice try but just don't see this moving at anything over $200.