Looks like it wasn’t just the jkOnTheRun boys who got Celio Redfly demo units; Matthew Miller has been playing with the Smartphone Companion too, including putting together a video of it in action (which you can watch after the cut).  We’re also starting to see better images of the device, which is a relief because Celio’s own pictures make it look toy-like and cheap – something which, at an estimated release price of $499, it’s anything but.  One thing you can’t accuse the Redfly of being is tricky to set up; going by Kevin’s description, it truly is a case of connecting via Bluetooth or USB and then, within seconds of opening the lid, you’ll be looking at a blown-up version of your Windows Mobile smartphone’s Today screen. 

Ergonomically the Redfly seems a success: Matthew praises the grippy, soft-touch casing, James reserves some praise for the trackpad, and everyone appears impressed by a keyboard you can actually touchtype on.

“The keyboard is the same size as the EEE PC keyboard and I have no trouble touch typing on it.  It couldn’t be smaller and work but it’s the perfect size to capitalize on portability and still be functional.  The top row of keys are Function keys that are also preassigned to perform a lot of the Windows Mobile functions like go to the Today screen, fire up Email, hit the browser, etc.  It is all very well thought-out and functions intuitively with the phone” James Kendrick, jkOnTheRun

Despite being pre-production hardware, the test Redfly seem to be holding up well.  It’s really the improved email and web browsing experience that you seem to be paying for here: the thought of using Pocket Word for any length of time fills me with despair, but as several people have noted your carrier won’t demand a premium for tethering your smartphone, unlike if you plugged it into an Eee, say.

“I have received via email several Word docs, a spreadsheet and several PDFs and they open and display well on the Redfly.  This could easily be a good travel device for professionals who live in email. You can also send text messages, remember the phone is the core device here.  The Redfly email experience really shines with the push email and the Exchange Server … With the Redfly, since it’s using the WM phone, I turn on the Redfly and connect in a couple of seconds and already find my email waiting for me due to push email.  I can start processing my email right away.  It doesn’t sound like much but if you do that numerous times a day it can add up to a lot of saved time” James Kendrick, jkOnTheRun

What’s still contentious is the price, of course.  Celio are yet to announce their final decision on pricing, but despite this positive initial feedback I’ll stick with my original view; anything near the $500 figure getting waved around and the Redfly will take some serious marketing to make it anything other than a niche product whose minimal sales will threaten the project’s future.  My favourite misery, Mike Cane, thinks the same, though he’s looking forward to picking a Redfly up for $99 on eBay.

“If this device was available now for under US$300 then I would probably plunk down my cash right now, but if the US$500 price is what it launches at (this was the price I heard at CES) then I think it is going to be a tough sell for a large market. The Palm Foleo was a Palm Treo companion device, yet it also had a Linux OS so it could actually function alone without a mobile phone and it was to be priced at US$500. With the ASUS EeePC and other MIDs launching in the US$500 range this device may have a tough time in the mobile market” Matthew Miller, The Mobile Gadgeteer

I’ll be looking forward to longer-term opinions after the guys have lived the the Redfly for a while.  I’m also interested in PHONE Mag readers’ opinions: is there a market for this sort of Smartphone Companion?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments.