Celio: REDFLY Still Has A Place, Even If Netbooks Are More Powerful and Popular

This morning Celio announced two new versions of its REDFLY, a laptop-lookalike device that links your Windows Mobile smartphone via a USB cable or wireless Bluetooth and extends the Windows Mobile interface to its 8-inch or 7-inch screen.

The age old question about devices like these has been: for $299, why would someone want a device that simply uses an underpowered smart phone with a sluggish Windows Mobile operating system to power it. Why not just snatch up a $299 Eee PC 901 or shell out some more money for a higher-powered netbook like the Samsung NC10 ($339.00) which can deliver the full Internet experience?

The makers of the REDFLY device continue to put out new products as evidenced by today’s announcement and don’t see the onslaught of netbooks as a threat. “A lot of people have their information on their smartphone – their full base of contacts, etc. The REDFLY creates a fantastic extension of that experience. From a battery life stand point here is a device that has over 8 hours of battery life at $299. Those are untouchable in terms of battery life in comparison to some of the netbooks out there,” Brad Warnock, VP of Marketing for Celio, says. We’d have to agree with Brad on the battery life but the Samsung NC10 will buy you close to 7 hours.

Perhaps the strongest point Warnock made was the use of the REDFLY by enterprise customers. “We have one company that has an international sales force and they only deploy REDFLYs. They already have smartphones in place and have chosen to send out REDFLY with their employees, because if anything gets confiscated they have lost nothing. They would rather have a REDFLY than a netbook because there is no risk of data loss protection.”