The first sentence of your article:

"When Palm decided not to release its much anticipated smartphone companion Foleo, we were unquestionably deprived of a very cool toy."

It was very questionable, as many of the remarks in the forum of this very website stated. It's unmasked salesmanship such as this that plays fast and loose with the facts that makes me question the reviews given on this site.

Not only was the Foleo not a "cool toy," it was so ridiculously overpriced that it made more sense to buy a laptop to use so it would function on its own, with or without the Treo, and the laptop was almost the same price.

Stop the marketing and give us reviews we can believe and use.

Thank you.

RedFly won a coveted CES 2008 design award. Industry participants do not agree with you.

I live my life on a laptop that's about the size of a Foleo, and believe the Foleo would have been a cool product-- had it made it to market.

I will absolutely own RedFly.

Sorry you don't see the point in it.

Furthermore we're not marketing anything. It's not for sale in the store. We're not paid a dime by the company. Just reporting on something we think is cool.

Hopefully folks appreciate our uncovering cool new items... wireless charger (a year ago!), 60GB bluetooth hard disk for the Treo and Foleo replacement ... etc.

My comments were not about RedFly, they were about your spin on the Foleo.

I believe you are marketing. If you make negative remarks about any of the products you "review," the companies will be less inclined to allow you access to the "cool new stuff" in the future. Therefore, to keep your access open, you spin the facts.

You say, "I live my life on a laptop that's about the size of a Foleo."

I made no comment about its size, but about its abilities. You did exactly what I said people should have done. You bought a laptop.

A "coveted CES 2008 design award?" That sounds like it was copied directly from the press release.

Furthermore, the Foleo wasn't really "much anticipated." Palm announced that they were relwasing a "cool new device," and when that device turned out to be the Foleo, reaction was almost universally negative. Look at the comments in the forum on this site to see how well it was received.

That reaction from all corners of the smartphone user community was the reason Palm never released the Foleo to a wider audience.

Hey, some people liked the Foleo. What exactly is the problem again if the author of this post happened to as well?

foleo ran, linux this runs Windoze, i certainly wouldn't want a small light laptop that runs windoze of any flavour sorry

@ Chuck,

Obviously the Foleo wasn't met with wide open arms... or Palm wouldn't have canceled it.

But you are overshooting with your negativity. Prominent community writers posted favorably about the device. Treocentral wrote specifically in one article: "I'm... sad that we missed out on the Foleo."

http://www.treocentral.com/content/Stories/1476-1.htm

Also, It's totally inaccurate to say that we spin products like the Foleo or RedFly to gain favor with companies generally. We don't sell advertising. Trust me there is ZERO difficulty gaining access to companies for articles (or to buy their products for a store). Companies clamor like rabid dogs for exposure. One notable exception is Microsoft, which doesn't need to clamor, and also doesn't invite us to a very important conference that they hold.

We publish on things that interest us. We publish on things we think will interest you. We are delighted to say things controversial.

Lastly, it's very, very, very difficult to win a CES innovation award. I wish you could appreciate the size and competitiveness of CES. 150 thousand industry participants and enthusiasts attend. It's vast like the ocean. Getting an award there is meaningful industry recognition.

well, um, WTF

it does not even work with Palm

says here http://celiocorp.com/pdfs/redfly_specsheet.pdf

that is requires Windows Mobile 5.0 or 6.0

So how does this serve as a replacement for a Foleo

I spend a great deal of time on the phone and taking real time notes. My centro is a poor tool for this so I often wind up with double data entry

a tool like this would, bigger monitor, usable qwerty keyboard is a purchase I would make the minute it hit the street

if it would work with palm

which it apparently does not

so this thing has as much to do with the Foleo and Palm as a new motor from a Ford has to do with a Chevrolet

According to the Company web site (It's CELIO, by the ay, not Helio as indicated in the last sentence of the article) there are NO Palm devices listed as supported at launch. Only Windows Mobile devices are listed.
I'll be surprised if Palm users ever see a RedFly that works for their platform

Get an Asus eeePC - runs full blown Windows or Linux, has built in WiFi and its tiny. I love mine!

The founder of Celio indicated at the conference that RedFly will work at launch with Palm's Windows Mobile devices.

In fact, it says on the Celio website that they are supporting the Palm Treo 700w and w/x at launch:

http://www.celiocorp.com/smartphone/

after I followed some of the links above, it has interview where it says:

"Redfly is the best accessory for Windows Mobile phones"

this is about as much Palm related as is the snow report

"In fact, it says on the Celio website that they are supporting the Palm Treo 700w and w/x at launch:"

Again, the point is missed. Palm OS devices have a "p" at the end of their model numbers. The Treo 700w and the 700w/x do not run the Palm operating system, they run Windows.

Thus, the comments that the device has nothing to do with Palm devices, other than the trademark. davemag is correct, there are NO Palm devices supported at launch.

Thanks for clarifying, Chuck.

It works only with the Windows Mobile platform.

Although more than half of Palm's sales are Windows Mobile, Palm OS users will be left out.

RedFly supports WinMo 5 as well as 6.

Good grief, you'd think Palm didn't sell Windows Mobile devices. Just saying "Palm" is pretty inclusive these days. Nobody said the device would operate with Palm os, just Palm. Which, apparently, it will.

Maybe someone favorable to the Redfly (or the Folio) can clarify the product and its appeal.

The review states RedFly "does not have a computer processor, substantial memory and operating system." This seems unlikely in the extreme - are you certain the RedFly uses *only* the Treo OS to drive the display and manage the keyboard? Or are you just saying that the RedFly is locked down and not programmable by end users (probably running embedded Linux or FreeDOS)?

Also, the price seems completely out of bed with the functionality. For $400 I can get an EeePC, or *two* XOs. For $300 I can get a Nokia N800 with a portable keyboard. My daughter's Windows Vista laptop was even under $500. All of these alternatives are independently useful, and quite a bit more powerful than a Treo. I don't see why a keyboard and small flat panel display should cost as much as a real laptop or two?

What am I missing here?

I don't know why I feel compelled to defend this product but I do....so here goes....

It's true that early adopters pay a premium for being first. It's likely we'll see this offered less expensively after launch. That's a safe assumption IMHO. When a company tells me something will sell for less than $500, that means to me $249 or $299.

The idea is that, for a couple hundred bucks, I can have a full computer experience without carrying around an expensive laptop is awesome. It's lighter than most laptops, has an eight hour battery (meaning it lasts longer than most laptops with the exception of Sony's Vaio TX line, which I swear by), yet it can be abused.

There's no hard disk to fail. If someone swipes it, oh well. All they are getting is a monitor and keyboard.

I think it's a great idea.

In other words, sometimes less is more. :-)

I'm not saying it's for everyone. Some people will want a full laptop or ultra mobile PC and say about it: "extra expense, shorter battery life, and security risks be damned."

@rosenft: "When a company tells me something will sell for less than $500, that means to me $249 or $299."

At $249, it's probably a reasonable price for a portable flat panel monitor and keyboard. In the USA, "less than $500" usually means "$499", and that's too much for me to pay for a CPU-less laptop.

But if you find value, please don't take my question as criticism. Buy enough, and the price will drop, and THEN I'll join you! :-)

@ ricegf,

LOL - will do.

I want the Foleo. I wonder if redfly will work with the treo. I would rather get an Asus EEE rather than the redfly.

Oh, and I will never in my life buy a windows mobile device.

i'm confused. i would like to consider something. the celio is cool, but for a "dummy" box, it seems overpriced. i looked at the asus eee pc. that seems to be the ticket. i will hold off til the 10" version is released. my only concern is syncing my 700p with it and doing my spreadsheet and email work simultaneously. for the size, it's perfect. concerned about my beefy fingers and a small keyboard.

yes, ridiculously overpriced...u can get a new dualcore laptop for that.
i'm thinking around $130 would be about right pricepoint for such a device as this.