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| User Ratings & Opinions |
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Why dont you own one yet? | ||||
| User: Gabe Bennett, Oct 21, 2008 | |||||
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| For years Ive been carrying a laptop around. Its an older one as Ive refused to buy a new laptop for primarily business use, and relatively little of it. Most of my work is done on my desktop, and when Im away from that most of its done on my Palm (700wx previously, and currently the 800w). But there have always been a few functions that my Palm cant handle well. Word and Excel, browsing certain internet sites, reading PDFs, etc. Dont get me wrong, I *CAN* do all the above on my Palm, I just prefer to be able to read/edit more than one line at a time. So when Im on the road or away from home out comes my 10 lb laptop (if you count the bag, second battery, charger, and all the other goodies I need). Of course neither of my batteries last more than 15 minutes (one of which I purchased as a replacement, only to see its 45 minute life drop to less than 15 minutes in 3 months), so Im essentially always tethered to the nearest power outlet, despite all that Ive invested into making my laptop "wireless". Enter the Redfly. Fate smiled on me, and I was one of the lucky ones to pick up a beta unit. I honestly wasnt sure what exactly I was getting, but I was envisioning something a lot like a typical laptop, only with the added hassle of connecting your PPC/Smartphone. And having gone through all sorts of hoops when connecting other devices (such as my bluetooth GPS puck) I really wasnt looking forward to it. When I received my Redfly package in the mail, I thought at first that it was either an intro package, or perhaps some accessories. Upon opening it up, I realized that everything I had expected was wrong. First off was the size. The Redfly isnt any bigger than a typical hardback book, and much thinner than most. The weight was another surprise, its not a whole lot heavier than said hardback book. Itll comfortably fit into my cargo pants pocket, though it is a bit too big for my jackets pockets. Its quite easy to tote around, making it a very nice change from my beast of a laptop. And unlike my laptop, it really is wireless. Celio claims an 8 hour life for it, Ive found that my use far exceeds 8 hours, though I use far stricter settings than default to help extend power life. Ive taken my Redfly with me on 3 day trips, and not needed to charge it once. Thats not to say that you wont ever need to charge it, but if youve ever used a laptop like mine (where you might have enough power to check your e-mail before it dies) then its huge change. It took me several months before I realized that I was carrying around the Redflys charger....and never using it! The Redfly allows me to use my Palm in the same way I used my laptop, for word documents, surfing, e-mail, and reading books (yup, Im an e-book addict!). Only now I can do it all through my Palm, which means as long as I have service Im connected (no more hunting for WiFi hotspots). Plus I now can keep everything in one spot. No more having to dig through my laptop to see if I saved a document there. Everything goes onto my micro SD card, and its extremely easy to either plug my 800w into my desktop or pop in the micro SD card if I need to pull something off my Palm. Unfortunately everything isnt all sugar and spice with the Redfly, it does have its failings. The biggest is, in my opinion, the keyboard. While I can forgive the small size (there is only so much room to play with, and Celio did a good job of making use of the room they had) the layout leaves much to be desired. The Send, End, Left Menu, Right Menu, and OK buttons are all buried onto the same row as the function keys. This means that anytime I want to use one of those I have to hunt for it. It would have been relatively easy to add those keys around the touchpad, similar to the current right/left mouse buttons. The Redfly settings button is another disappointment to me. Its prominently displayed, which is great for initial setup. But once youve set up the Redfly, you never need to touch it again. That spot would have been much more useful as another button (perhaps the OK button) thats used far more often. Speaking of buttons, the center button (the one found in the middle of the directional pad on Palms) is completely missing. THis means that when I connect my Redfly via bluetooth, if my screen is locked (which it is most of the time) I have to dig my Palm out to unlock the screen. A minor inconvenience, but there none-the-less. My beta unit also had some issues with the mounts used to attach the screen to the body. First, the screws backed out making the screen feel lose and wobbly. Then (at a later date) one of the inserts that provides tension for the screen (what keeps it from falling shut after you opened it) worked its way loose. Both were extremely easy to fix, but it was still a slight annoyance. Ive been informed that the whole area back there was redesigned, so its likely that the issue has been addressed on the production units. Some final thoughts. The Redfly feels slightly cheap when using it. Its got some heft to it, but the amount of plastics used means it just doesnt have that solid feeling I prefer. The Redfly has held up extremely well to my abuse (including dropping it), and I dont have any concerns that its overly fragile. I still think that the use of some metal instead of plastic would make the device feel more solid. All that aside, the Redfly is a device that does exactly what it claims to do, and does it exceedingly well. Most people when I tell them about it dont get why its useful. I understand, I didnt either....until I used it. Try it out. I doubt youll be disappointed. | |||||
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Satisfied Customer! | ||||
| User: RedFly User, Aug 12, 2008 | |||||
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| Excellent device! I could have purchased an "Eee PC", but whats the point??? I didnt want ANOTHER place to store all my data... I already own a laptop and a smartphone. With the RedFly I can now leave my laptop at the office and can "truly" be mobile. I have all my data at my fingertips, and can even get access to my office computer while on the road. Not to mention the security aspect of this device. I can also charge my WinMo smartphone from this while using it AND while its in the overhead of the plane! I land and I have a full charge on my cell phone with plenty of battery left on the RedFly. Thanks for an outstanding tool for the road warrior! Waiting to do my web based expenses and CRM till Im back at the office is a thing of the past. This has made me more productive and responsive. Great job! | |||||
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Ultra-mobility with zero hassle | ||||
| User: James Morman, Sep 10, 2008 | |||||
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| I have been using the Redfly since March of 2008. This is a sweet piece of equipment. Its a laptop form that doesnt need rebooting, defragging, spyware, anti-virus. It turns on and has internet in a matter of literally seconds. The only maintenance it needs is to be plugged in and charged every few days. I love being able to talk on the phone while taking notes with my phone and also while charging my phone. No its not for someone who needs full laptop capabilities. There are times when I need my tablet pc. Many times however I need to be on the go with something in order to answer emails, look at my RSS feeds, create documents. I spend a lot of time on the phone and have to set appointments and take notes while I am talking. The Redfly lets me do all these things quickly and efficiently and when I am done, its all on my phone. | |||||
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Does what its supposed to do | ||||
| User: Jonathan Coupal, Sep 26, 2008 | |||||
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| This is a great product and ideal for someone who is on the road a lot. I travel between cities in upstate New York and this allows me to communicate and be connected using my Windows Mobile device. It works as advertised and is a great product (especially with its great battery). Its a shame my slingbox client doesnt work, but theyre pretty clear about the up front. Other things, like remote desktop, SSH, etc. work great and allow me to do tech work while on the road, allowing me to support my clients. | |||||
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Great device! |
| User: David Telesca, Oct 6, 2008 | |
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| I love the Redfly. I didnt like lugging my laptop around to schools (Im a district administrator), but it wasnt easy to do my work just typing on my Treo. This device allows me to be truly mobile - and I can use Logmein to access my laptop while outside of the office as well. I havent taken my laptop off my desk since I got the Redfly. | |
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| See all 18 User Opinions... |
