The Celio REDFLY has been an interesting device since we first got hold of it. There is a lot to be said for the ability to use a small laptop as an extended display and keyboard for a smartphone. Today’s smartphones are powerful enough to be used as mobile computing devices once you get past the limitations of the screen and tiny keyboard, and that’s what the folks at Celio delivered in the REDFLY. We got word from the folks at Slashgear that Celio’s new software solution, the Mobile Viewer, is entering a public beta.
Mobile Viewer takes the REDFLY concept and extends it to any netbook or notebook that you already own. Celio recognizes that you don’t need to buy a REDFLY device if you already have a netbook or equivalent and thus have developed the Mobile Viewer. The programs allows you to connect any Windows XP/ Vista notebook to a supported Windows Mobile smartphone and use the bigger screen, keyboard and trackpad to run the phone. This makes it possible to work on documents, longer emails and similar tasks that you might forgo given the phone alone.
According to the folks at Celio, the Mobile Viewer program will handle any display resolution up to 1024 x 768, making a full working environment for document handling. The connection between the phone and the notebook is handled using Activesync (WinXP) or the Mobile Device Center (Vista) and USB connection is supported. To see how useful this type of utility can be check out our video of the REDFLY from last year:
http://www.youtube.com/v/RPpa0yipgwY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1
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