Business building gadgets: three Utah companies on the mobility fast track.

• Author: Koritz, Alex
• Position: Techknowledge

In today's mobile world, business is rarely conducted strictly within the office. As businesses become mobile, Utah's companies remain at the forefront, providing solutions that enable other businesses to run regardless of location. Here's a look at three Utah-based companies providing business building gadgets that keep your company moving.

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A Smart Idea

When Celio Corp realized that the smartphone was quickly becoming a standard computing option for the mobile workforce, it launched REDFLY, a display terminal for smartphones. The device has a full keyboard, a 7 - to 8-inch screen and multimedia ports for mp3 players. Users plug their phone into the device via USB or Bluetooth technology, and the REDFLY displays whatever is on the smartphone.

The REDFLY's large screen and keyboard includes a touch pad to fully utilize a smartphones capability. For example, on a smartphone, a standard Excel spreadsheet only displays three columns. By connecting the phone to the REDFLY, users can see and work on 12 to 15 columns on the same Excel spreadsheet, making editing documents much easier. The REDFLY also has an eight-hour battery life and can charge the phone while connected over USB cable.

Users have a laptop-like experience with the REDFLY, yet since the device is smaller than a laptop, weighing only two pounds, e-mail and other word-processing can be easier. And, when Celio compared the ownership costs of buying laptops for mobile workers versus a REDFLY, it found the company's device costs one-tenth to one-sixth the cost of a laptop, UMPC or Netbook.

"With smartphones becoming more and more feature rich, many professionals are turning to them as a powerful business tool," says Kirt Bailey, president and CEO of Celio Corp. "By extending the smartphone to a larger screen and keyboard, mobile professionals now have a laptop-like experience and are able to be more productive."

The Memphis, Tennessee police department is already utilizing 1,200 of the REDFLY devices. Previously, officers complained that their smartphone's small keyboards were preventing them from effectively using key databases and applications. The REDFLY's larger screen and keyboard now gives the officers the ability to access necessary information, as well as implement a new paperless reporting program.

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The Golden Ticket

"Microsoft and other forward-looking companies are looking for ways to optimize the mobile workforce," says Steve...