Will the Redfly benefit a writer? A real-world test
As a writer I am always looking for tools that let me practice my craft without having to carry such a wide range of bulky tools with me. It is fortunate that as a writer the tools can be a lot more basic than those needed for a lot of other tasks that people use mobile gadgets for. A good keyboard, screen, word processor and internet connection will pretty much do it as far as most writing projects are concerned.
Since spending a bit of time with the Celio CEO, Kirt Bailey, and seeing first-hand what their Redfly device can do, I have been giving a lot of thought as to how the Redfly could be a great tool for the writer. The Redfly basically is just a screen and keyboard in a mini-laptop form that can connect to a Windows Mobile smartphone. The Redfly has no storage, memory nor processor, it uses the phone for all of that. It simply adds a bigger keyboard and screen to make interacting with the Windows Moble device easier to do. It seems to me that this could be a perfect solution for the writer, allowing him/ her to carry just the phone and the Redfly which is smaller than the Asus EEE PC.
While giving this a lot of thought I realized that I had a pretty good setup to test this with the HTC Advantage. I often use the Advantage, a Windows Mobile 6 running device, with the Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard, and HTC has also included a VGA monitor dongle to connect a PC screen to the Advantage. I figured that I could do a test using the Advantage, the wireless keyboard and a PC monitor to duplicate the functionality of the Redfly. This wouldn’t be anywhere near as elegant as the Redfly solution since it is a self-contained device with both the screen and keyboard but it would give me a feel for what it would be like to work on the Advantage with a bigger keyboard and screen. So that is what I did and this article is the result. It was created solely on the Advantage running with an external keyboard and display.
Word Mobile on the big screen
I just noticed that Jenn of Pocketables posted a tutorial for connecting a monitor to the Advantage, good timing. 
Note that in the photos I have included in this article that I am using a 19 inch monitor displaying a VGA screen so of course everything looks large and garish. This won’t be the case with the Redfly as that screen looks to be a little less than 7 inches which should display VGA pretty well. What we’ll have to wait until the Redfly is released to see is how big that keyboard is. It looked about the same size of the keyboard on the EEE PC which is right on the edge of usability for touch typing. I’m thinking the Redfly keyboard will work but we’ll see.
The end result of this test proves to me that the concept of the Redfly as a phone extender could be very beneficial to those who do a lot of writing or document work. Road warriors who work with a lot of email could also find the Redfly to be pretty darn useful without taking up much room in the travel kit. I found in my test that Windows Mobile worked well with a larger screen and I had no issues at all. I can’t wait to get my hands on a Redfly to really test this out. It could be the ultimate in portability for the type of work that I do.
Working with email
Web work is a breeze
James, thanks for this article, it mirrors my thoughts exactly. I am waiting for Redfly with increasing impatience!
If I well recall, Redfly is supposed to work at 800×600 (or was it 800×480?) so it should give even more screen real estate than Advantage does (and I do love the Advantage!).
Bruno
Interesting to think that the Palm Foleo failed to even make it to market, whereas the Redfly seems more sensible by keeping everything on the phone, and really being a keyboard and screen extender.
Of course, it will need to be well price considering that is all it is. I’m thinking more like $300, rather than the hinted $500 which will get you a Eee
I can def see the benefit for the road warrior, or my case train warrior, to cut out the laptop when it’s not really needed but you take it anyway.
But looking forward to hopefully seeing it in the UK!
Hi James,
I seem have a similar preoccupation! I am constantly trying to find a workable solution to write on the go! I have tried various options and it would seem that the best device for me would have the following features:
1. It would be small enough to fit into a backpack (without weighing too much) so that it could be a ‘carry everywhere’ device. This would allow me to write (or edit) when have just a few moments to spare.
2. It must have a regular ‘clamshell’ type design. I already own a Sony UX 180 P. It is a great machine to travel with, but the lack of a built in keyboard that I can touch type on is a major drawback.
3. On the note of keyboards, I need to have a fairly decent keyboard! I typed most of my doctoral thesis on a Toshiba Libretto 100CT! It worked just fine. The form factor and the size were perfect. Sadly, the little Libby is just to underpowered to be of any use these days.
4. Whatever device I carry should be able to do some, or most, of what my Macbook does… A tall order I know. But, I should at least be able to browse the web, use Skype, check my email etc.
5. The ‘writing’ device must have Openoffice or MS Office compatibility.
So, what is the perfect device for me? Well from what I read on your site it would be either an Asus Eeepc, or P1610… Sadly, neither are available in South Africa!
So, I make do with carting my HUGE 15″ macbook with me most places. Sometimes I take my UX 180 with the new smaller Apple Wireless keyboard…
Thanks for the great posts. Your health remains in my prayers.
Dion
James,
Interesting that you brought this up. Last night, I brought home a 19″ LCD and plugged in the HTC Advantage with the new 4-1 cable I just ordered. Not only could I do the things you described, but I also ran gotomypc.com to attach to a PC at the office. I’ve done this before on a small screen with next to no utility, but hooked up to a 19″ LCD, running a remote PC using GotoMyPC was pretty much the same thing as running an actual PC. I imagine the Redfly might work with such a setup too.
I used to use my HTC Advantage like this, but I found that it got quite warm when outputting through the VGA cable for a while. Has anyone else noticed this?
some details about REDFLY:
-it is 10mm smaller than Eee (on battery side), about same weight
-it has the same keyboard as Eee
-screen is 8″ 800 x 480, no touch
-phones UI is rendered/streched to 800 x 480 via software ( the good way, it is as sharp as on the phone, not only bigger but also more info on it, way better than advantage )
-REDFLY can output to vga display at 800 x 480
..it does have storage, memory and processor
would not work without..
good videos to see :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5HtetqGumU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dusozqE4ByY
not really for me but i can understand it could be ok for some..
all this makes me wonder if not microsoft is betting the farm on the wrong house by allowing their mobile platform to be a lesser relative to their desktop os.
on the other hand, linux based devices seems able to take on the desktop apps with little to no modification.
just now i have both abiword and gnumeric installed on my N800. and if it had vga out, im sure i could have used them just as well as their desktop versions.
hell, with all this “positive” talk around the redfly, and next to no talk at all on some tech “news” sites in any regard, it seems the redfly will succeed where the foleo failed. and that with less of a stand alone purpose. without a supported phone or other device to connect to, the redfly is just a expensive paper weight…
where is the mails questioning the viability of the product? whats going on here?
ok, i just had a insane moment here.
take redfly, hand it to apple, and have them give it a macbook air design and pair it with iphone…
im not sure if should be getting chills or a stained boxer…
jkkmobile, we were told by the CEO of Celio that the Redfly uses the processor, memory and storage of the smartphone, it does not have any onboard. Your point about the 800×480 display is well taken, the Redfly does display intelligently using the larger screen and doesn’t just stretch it to fit.
James, yes you are right..
but, there is no device that doest have a prosessor that can perform screen rendering etc.
so yes, compered to pc, it doesn’t have a “cpu” but it sure has signaling processor, graphics prosessor and small memory for kernel.
even desktop screens have…
but my “going way too deep” about the prosessor is pretty useless info..
And yes, the resolution point is the “BIG thing” about this device compared to other solutions (software and hardware )
You could implement something very similar to this today with any Windows PC using SOTI Pocket Controller. http://www.soti.net/default.asp?Cmd=Products&SubCmd=PCPro
I think what is more interesting are the protocols and connectivity that would allow you to use a small device with any KVM combo. I envision the ability to simply bring a device into the room and have it be automatically detected for use with a KVM wirelessly whether that be Bluetooth or wireless USB.
All the buzz seems to be about the notebook like device that you are referencing, but didn’t Celio also announce another device that would do what I describe above?
I think the $400 price tag is going to be a barrier for these devices having success. The price is going to have be no higher than $200 to have a chance.
Frank, one of the biggest innovations with the Redfly is that it changes the resolution of the WM device to match the Redfly’s which is much bigger. That means that the WM device doesn’t have to support any resolution bigger than its own screen, the Redfly handles that.
And then you WONDER WHY your MBP is back at the Apple Store. Keep wracking up those anti-Karma points by tormenting me like this, James!
Hello , I think using the mobile in addition to talking must be developed for those FIVE essentials :
1* Fax machine MOBILE FAXING DIRECTLY using any photo or text .
2* Sending and receiving files CELL TO CELL OR CELL TO LAND Computer or LAND Computer TO CELL .
3* Supporting External Keyboard the same one of Computers by USB Port For or bluetooth.
4* Supporting External Screen the same one of Computers by Junction or Joiner ( so there must be Built in VGA In the Mobile )
5*Adding a Projector for mobiles ( plus to the fixed small LCD screen so you can resize your screen as you like ) .
If All the Last Feature Were Found In Any Mobile which is Supports Installing Software , It will be Be Better than Any Mobile and Laptop In this World .
I got some photos showing me new generation from laptop pc , it had 3d projector screen which creating the view in the volume of air , it was like colored ghosted pyramid its head coming from the projector and its base against it and the vision was from its base and the vision size was various depending on the strength of the projector also it had 3d projector for keyboard I wish to find those features in mobiles
You should be able use fax function. ANY CELL PHONE CAN BE USED TO FAX IN A 3-WAY CALLING MODE.