i'm not sure how redfly's terminal would be very useful to the average person, but even less do I understand how it would make sense to be able to run your G1 smartphone from a windows XP or vista PC. Wouldn't it make quite a bit more sense just to tether the phone to the PC, for the sake of its internet connection (should that be necessary for those like me who have no alternatives like cable or dsl internet to help us)?
Well, first of all, since they're planning Linux and Mac versions of the software, lets generalize that to "from a personal computer".
Why would I choose a Redfly+G1 over Laptop+G1 (via tethering)?
1) right now, there is no real tethering option for the G1 (and, as far as I know, the one pseudo-tethering option was closed by an update that closed off root access). And, even if there was, there isn't a fully baked OS for netbooks right now (Ubuntu is getting there, but it's not there yet; Apple doesn't have a device in that category yet; Windows isn't worth discussing), so why NOT prefer an Android-Netbook type experience?
2) The G1 only has 6* application shortcomings that keep me from being able to think of it as a fully general purpose device. From there, the only other shortcoming is "small interface" (small screen and thumb keyboard). That's why I'd want to use Redfly (their dumb "netbook", or a laptop/desktop/netbook/umpc): the G1 becomes my persistent point of communication for all situations. I don't need to disconnect my IM sessions from the G1 and then login to Pidgin or AdiumX, thereby creating two separate streams of IM logs. Instead:
a) when I get to my desk, I fireup the Redfly software there so that I can continue my email/IM/etc. sessions as they currently exist on the G1, only using Redfly to control those interactions via my fully size keyboard and display on the desktop (and run them alongside my desktop apps, so that I don't have to switch back and forth between PC keyboard/screen and phone keyboard/screen to continue my conversations)
b) for those situations where I'm mobile, but need to type faster (or with more intensity) than thumb typing, and/or I need a bigger display, then I have a choice between using the Redfly hardware ... or the Redfly software on a laptop or netbook. And, again, I can do so without interrupting my workflow. I'm changing modality of control, not my train of thought.
(* those 6 things are: more complete Gmail interface (label creation/editing, filter creation/editing, send-as my other registered email addresses), more complete Google Reader interface (keyboard shortcuts, add/edit tags), read/write Google Docs, better integration between Android's VNC Viewer and ConnectBot (ssh), tethering, more complete IM interface (multiple simultaneiously active IM accounts for every protocol, including multiple Google Talk accounts))
Redfly software on my macs, and on a convertible tablet netbook (pref. running Xandros or Ubuntu) would be quite a bonus IMO.