11 of the Best from CES

9. REDFLY Cures Smartphone Size Anxiety

Celio Corporation’s REDFLY connects to a Smartphone and provides a full sized keyboard, mouse, larger display and other features.

If you’ve had size anxiety (aka notebook envy) because your Windows Mobile-based Smartphone is too small for real work, the REDFLY Mobile Companion from Celio Corporation may be the answer to your problems. The REDFLY connects to your Smartphone via Bluetooth or USB, and provides a larger screen, larger keyboard, mouse and other features for your Smartphone. The REDFLY resembles a slightly scaled down notebook computer. Its 8-inch diagonal screen provides 800x480 resolution. The larger screen makes it much more comfortable to run such Windows Mobile applications as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and any application loaded on the Smartphone can be viewed and modified by the REDFLY. A touchpad mouse deliver PC-like functionality.

A VGA port can be connected to a projector or larger monitor, and the Smartphone’s contents can be protected or viewed on another monitor. Data can be input into the Smartphone using REDFLY’s larger keyboard. The REDFLY has 8 hours battery life, and can charge a Smartphone over USB.

No data is stored on the REDFLY. All changes made are made by the attached Smartphone.

The REDFLY is compatible with Windows Mobile 5.0 PocketPC and Smartphone editions and with Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional and Standard editions. The company plans to develop versions that support other mobile operating systems. The REDFLY has a list price of $499. According to the company, shipping is scheduled to begin in March.