<<<... A Limitation Not Celio's Fault

There's actually a second limitation to this device, but it's one that Celio can do little about. This product would be a much better laptop alternative if Internet Explorer Mobile was a better web browser. These days I often find myself turning to devices other than my smartphone accessing the Web, not because of the small screen or keyboard, but because the default Windows Mobile browser is so weak; no support for Flash and barely adequate rendering of pages makes it my browser of last resort. I'm happy to be able to report that Celio is in talks with Opera. Exactly what will come of this is not yet known, but at the very least I'd suggest every Celio customer give Opera Mobile a try.

Thinking Out of the Box

There's a class of applications I'm eager to try on the Mobile Companion: remote desktop software. Something like LogMeIn could overcome virtually all the limitations in Celio's product. If you're not familiar with these applications/services, they let one device act as if it was the keyboard and monitor for a second. All the portable unit needs to be able to do is run a single remote-control application to have full access to all the software and files that are on the host PC. There's a version of LogMeIn for Windows Mobile that works fine, but its usefulness is limited by the small screen and display of a smartphone. If the Redfly device can successfully enlarge the display then you could do virtually anything on it you could on your desktop back at the office or home.

The Elephant in the Room

Celio has announced that the first Redfly Mobile Companion will cost $500. Not surprisingly, this has caused many people to point out that you can get a Windows laptop for about that price. While this is a compelling argument for individuals, it is less so for companies that are considering giving computers to a sizable group of employees, and these are Celio's target market. In most situations, individuals handle their own technical support so they don't factor this into the Total Cost of Ownership. They also generally don't factor in the cost of software, time spent learning to use the device, and so on. Big companies have to take all this into account, and when calculating TCO, the cost of support (training, software, upgrades, repairs, etc.) dwarfs the purchase price of the device. According to analysts, the average TCO of a laptop is $3,900 every single year for each and every user. ...