If you are like many mobile computing enthusiasts,  you always have your Windows Mobile cell phone with you at all times. I know I do! So I was very interested to hear that Celio Corporation was releasing a "mobile companion" for Windows Mobile devices. Think of it as an external monitor and keyboard for your cell phone. There is a lot of power in that little phone I carry around - more computing power than my first mobile computer, probably. But that little screen and the thumb board keep me from doing anything real on it.

Enter the Celio Redfly. With the capability to connect to your phone via Bluetooth or USB, the Redfly gives you the ability to extend the usability of the device you already have. Plus, the Redfly, with its 8 hour battery life, can even be used to recharge your phone if you connect via USB.

Technical Specifications:

• Product Name and Model Number REDFLY Mobile Companion C8
• Size 1 x 6 x 9 inches
• Weight 2.0 lbs.
• Battery Life 8 Hours under normal use via USB
• Display Size 8 inch diagonal wide screen
• Display Resolution 800 x 480
• VGA Display Output 800 x 480
• Keyboard 8.3 inch 80-key QWERTY keyboard
• Touchpad 1.0 x 2.9 inches
• Special Fn keys Fn buttons are hot-keys for phone control (i.e. send, end, OK, esc, left menu, right menu, etc)
• Operating System Compatibility
  • Windows Mobile 5.0 (Pocket PC and Smartphone editions)
  • Windows Mobile 6.0 (Professional and Standard editions)
• More operating system compatibility to be announced. See tested smartphone list at www.celiocorp.com/smartphone
• Application Compatibility: Applications and data from the smartphone appear on the REDFLY enabled display
• Ports and Connectors VGA port, 2 high speed USB 2.0 ports, AC power connector
• Smartphone Connection via Bluetooth Bluetooth 2.0 EDR (compatible with Bluetooth 1.0, 2.0)
• Smartphone Connection via USB Use USB cable included with smartphone
• Smartphone Charger via USB Able to charge smartphones via USB (as supported by phone)
• USB Flash Drive Compatibility Standard USB Flash Drives (Drives appear on smartphone file system)
• USB Keyboard Compatibility Standard USB Keyboards
• USB Mouse Compatibility Standard USB Mice
• AC Power Charger AC Power Adapter Input: 90 – 264VAC, 47 – 63 Hz, Output: 9VDC, 2.5A

I hope to visit the Celio booth at the main convention tomorrow and check out the Redfly and possibly get some video of it. I got to play with this briefly at Digital Experience and it seems like a really interesting device. Kind of like a UMPC, but totally different at the same time. According to the rep, this should be releasing in North America very soon and hit the rest of the world later in the year.