Redfly offers a unique way to expand capabilities

USB Connect On the outside, the 1-inch by 6-inch by 9-inch, 2-pound,clamshell-style Redfly looks like tiny laptop or a handheld PC,similar to the NEC MobilePro. But the similarity ends there. Unlikea handheld PC, the Redfly lacks an onboard processor and anypreloaded applications. Instead, it relies on the power of yoursmart phone, harnessed by an interface driver that you install onthe handset. You connect your smart phone to the Redfly via USB or Bluetooth,and then you use the Redfly's QWERTY keyboard and 8-inch display tooperate the phone. (At launch, the Redfly will work with a limitednumber of Windows Mobile-based smart phones:the AT&T Tilt; thePalm Treo 700w/wx (from Sprint and Verizon);the Palm Treo 750;theSamsung SCH-i760; the Sprint Mogul; and the Verizon XV6800. Thecompany plans to add support for more phones later this year. In my tests with a Verizon XV6800 phone, the Redfly's setup wassimple. I downloaded the drivers over the air; alternatively youcan download the files from Celio's Web site to your PC (or use theenclosed installation disc) and then transfer the needed files fromyour PC to your phone. I then ran the Setup.msi and followed theon-screen prompts on my phone, which automatically reset once theinstallation process finished. Even if you intend to connect the Redfly via Bluetooth, you mustfirst establish a USB connection between the phone and the Redflyby plugging the included USB cable into both devices. After that,setting up the Bluetooth connection went smoothly. Though theRedfly cannot connect to two smart phones simultaneously, it canaccommodate other Bluetooth connections, such as a headset. The Redfly's bright 8-inch wide, 800-by-480-pixel display isimpressive: Several times while using it I forgot that a devicesitting several feet away was powering everything. The Redfly isspecced to run for 8 hours or more on a lithium polymer battery; itcan even charge your phone when connected. The Redfly's 80-key QWERTY keyboard is coated in slick,wine-colored rubberized skin, and my medium-size hands had noproblem typing on it. If you find the keyboard too restrictive, youcan connect a full-size external keyboard to the one of theRedfly's two USB 2.0 ports (it has one VGA port as well). I easilynavigated the device using the touchpad and mouse buttons locatedbelow the keyboard. The keyboard provides 15 hot keys preprogrammedfor such tasks as displaying e-mail, launching a browser, orcontrolling screen brightness, but you can change these defaults.Some of the shortcuts didn't work with my Verizon XV6800, but allof them functioned properly when I tested the Redfly with anAT&T Tilt. (Celio says it's looking into the issue.) Using the Redfly's roomy screen is a vast improvement oversquinting at a smart phone. With the Redfly I could viewJava-intensive sites like MLB.com that I avoid when forced todepend on the small screen of a typical smart phone. All pagesloaded quickly via my phone's Wi-Fi connection, and the sitesdisplayed great detail. I especially appreciate the Redfly's larger screen when I used theproductivity apps on my phone. Office Mobile Excel, Word, andPowerPoint performed much like their Office XP counterparts: AnExcel spreadsheet laid out on the Redfly display looked much betterthan it did when squished onto a tiny handset screen. Most keyboardshortcuts--including Alt-Tab, Ctrl-C (copy), and Ctrl-V--workedwith all of the Office apps, though Ctrl-S (save) did not. The Redfly provides several phone-friendly features. For example,typing any number on the keyboard brings up the telephone dialer.Incoming calls appear on-screen, and you can answer them by usingthe touchpad or mouse. The Redfly excels as a productivity booster, but its multimediacapabilities are limited. Celio says video playback may or may notwork, depending on your phone. I couldn't get video playing oneither the Tilt or the XV6800 to display at all on the Redfly. Inaddition, Redfly disables the phone's camera functionality. (Celiois working on an update that it says will address this problem). Road warriors may appreciate the Redfly's flexibility, though. Plugin a monitor, a standard USB keyboard, and a scroll-wheel mouse andclose the Redfly's lid--and you have a smart-phone docking station.If used in this way, the Redfly could function as an all-in-onemobile workstation. It also supports USB flash drives, as well asinfrared and Bluetooth peripherals such as printers. Celio designedthe Redfly with mobile corporate users in mind--members of salesteams or other groups who need to conduct meetings orpresentations--and the device reflects this. The Redfly is small,light, and portable, and different users can pass it aroundquickly. But small-business owners and frequent travelers may findvalue in the Redfly as well.