James Kendrick and Kevin Tofel are currently giggling like saucy schoolgirls over at jkOnTheRun, because they’ve both managed to score review samples of Celio’s Redfly smartphone companion device.  Similar to Palm’s ill-fated Foleo, the Redfly acts in effect as a remote keyboard and 8-inch display for your Windows Mobile smartphone; while it may look like one of the new breeds of supercompact cheap laptops (such as ASUS’ Eee), it actually lacks any onboard storage or even its own OS.  Instead, it replicates the smartphone experience only with larger peripherals, aimed at road warriors for whom their cellphone is powerful enough but its interface too small. 

The Redfly also has two USB ports, meaning flash drives can be plugged in and used as external storage or the files opened (assuming Windows Mobile is compatible with them), and a VGA output that can drive external displays or projectors up to 800 x 480.  It can tether to the smartphone either via USB or Bluetooth, and Celio claim eight hours battery life when physically wired together; in this setup the Redfly simultaneously recharges the handset.

Like the Foleo, this certainly won’t be for everyone, but James and Kevin are getting plenty of interest in the device and have promised video and first-impressions culminating in a conclusive review.  Personally, considering the price has been estimated at $499, it’s all a bit niche for my tastes – I’d rather have an Eee! – but it’ll be interesting to see if Celio can succeed where Palm obviously decided they’d fail.