The $250 Redfly hardware is the same — it has a 8.9-inch screen, a pretty cramped keyboard compared to the 10-inch netbooks of today and a decent sized touchpad. I took issue with the touchpad, however. When it is paired with a Windows Mobile phone it works as a mouse, but with the BlackBerry it works as a four way directional pad of sorts. It is supposed to mimic the rollerball on the Berry, but it doesn't really.

Navigating the BlackBerry OS was a bit sluggish. It took at least two to three seconds to switch windows or tasks (though apparently the drivers aren't final). The lag is killer when playing BrickBreaker. If I'm going to carry around a notebook looking device in my bag, I'd much rather a $300 netbook with browsing and performance. But the Redfly isn't popular with people like me. It is primarily an enterprise solution for companies that would rather deploy smartphones than laptops. In that niche case, I assume this BlackBerry solution will be welcomed with open arms.

I am not going to lie. I'm totally surprised that this company is still kicking with the onslaught of netbooks that cost just a tad bit more (though you can find good netbooks on sale now for $250). But Redfly is still buzzing; the devices will be available at a brick and mortar retailer very soon and Android support will arrive by the end of the year. [Celio Redfly]

The dock contains a processor and storage of its own to run its OS, but its main function is to expand your smartphone. Think of it as a brawny RedFly, but without a screen or peripherals built in. Here's the predicted use: you connect a keyboard, mouse, monitor and printer to the dock as

The prospect of easy printing, streaming and file sharing between your phone and your other hardware has inherent appeal, so I won't pass judgment until the product actually starts to take shape. Assuming it ever does, that is. [Register]

• It's snappier than I thought it would be. Even though it's powered off of a Windows Mobile phone, there's a separate renderer based in the Redfly so it handles the graphics (instead of depending on the paltry one in the phone).
• Keys aren't as spaced out as a regular keyboard, but it's spacious enough to be not cramped. You can definitely two-hand type on this thing.
• The display is extended to 640x480 resolution (see bullet point one) to fit the Redfly.
• The touchpad is slightly smaller than we would like, but it's not unusable.

Is it worth $499? Only if you're really dependent on your Windows Mobile phone and don't want to carry around a UMPC with you. It also has 8 hours of battery life and charges your phone during use, which helps justify the price tag. [Gizmodo]

The good news is that this has an eight hour battery life and can power your cellphone on the go, plus has USB ports so you can store your data via USB flash drives and not have to burden your phone with it. The price: $499 directly from Celio in March. I don't know—the Palm Foleo wasn't all that bad, even if its use was limited to a very small segment of the market that relied on their smartphones instead of a full-sized laptop to send/receive email and work on documents on the go. The same segment that doesn't have an ultra-portable like an Eee PC.

We can't say whether or not it'll be successful for everyone (unlikely), but for the people whose needs are met by the Mobile Companion, it could be quite nifty. We'll check it out in person at CES. [Celio]