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We've heard from a few of you out there asking when the Ceilo Redfly mobile companion would be compatible with the Opera Mobile 9.5 beta browser. Folks, your day has come. And, more important, Celio has heard you. The latest drivers build fixes the following:

• The Opera 9.5 beta release of the browser (which ships natively with many of the phones above) is now supported.
• USB performance and speed has been significantly enhanced.
• A potential conflict between WiFi and Bluetooth can occasionally cause connections to be dropped. There are multiple things that affect Bluetooth connectivity and signal strength. This has been partially resolved.
• Basic support for Direct Draw has been added to the REDFLY driver which now means that applications that used those interfaces will render properly on the REDFLY in most cases.
• REDFLY.exe has been re-factored now to be a service under the OS for improved stability.

And things they're still working on:

• This release does not support the HTC TouchFLO interface at this time. If this setting is enabled in the phone, REDFLY attempts to turn it off programmatically when you connect with the REDFLY, and then turn it back on when you disconnect.
• The Sony XPERIA Panels Choice menu doesn't work when connected to REDFLY -Panels themselves scale and work, but the Choose Panel window doesn't.
• The Sony XPERIA Phone Dialer window is cut off such that you can't see the number you are dialing.
• Samsung Themes 1 and 2 are not supported with the REDFLY.
• The Samsung Today and Samsung Widgets must not be checked (turned on) in the Omnia Settings menu.
• If in portrait mode when connecting to the REDFLY, the dialer application on the Omnia will not render correctly. Connect while in landscape mode and this is not a problem.

What was on Steve Ballmer's New Year's resolution list for 2009? ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley got a peek. Windows 7, netbooks, servers, enterprise, entertainment, it's all there.

As far as Windows Mobile, here's what we've got:

Windows Mobile operating systems and gaming/Zune entertainment services — not a combined hardware/software platform like the iPhone — is where Microsoft is investing, Ballmer reiterated.

Again, no Zune phone. Foley also was kind enough to dig up what Ballmer predicted for 2007 and 2008. Click through to the jump to find out what those predictions were.

Yeah, yeah, we're totally expecting "At least it's not Windows Mobile 6.5" dominating the comments, but what we have here is Windows 3.1 running on a Nokia N95. We've got Polish site FrazPC to thank for it (translated page), and Engadget Mobile for kicking it along.

Now if it'll run Kings Quest 2, I'm all over it.

If you're into the latest and greatest tech, it's safe to say you've blown a bit of cash at some point and later suffered from buyer's remorse. That's got to be the case for Motorola right now, which is set to jettison the Good Technology Group and sell it to Visto Corp. for an undisclosed sum, according to the Wall Street Journal (pay site). [via Gear Diary]

For a while, Good served as a ... um ... good alternative to Exchange and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server when it came to push e-mail. (Heck, Dieter points out that Good even dabbled in MP3 players back in the day. Way back in the day.) But Exchange 2007 and the BES have taken over the bulk of corporate e-mail (heck, again, even Google's licensed Exchange now), and so Good is being shown the door.

Now back to that buyer's remorse. Whereas you and I might have dropped a few hundred dollars on a gadget that quickly gathered dust on a shelf, Motorola in early 2007 dropped nearly a half-billion dollars on Good. That's billion with a "b." And it's probably safe to say Moto's not making that back. Oops. Well, you pay to play, and it looks like Good has become just one more nail in Motorola's coffin.

While many tech manufacturers seem to be in a race to the bottom (see netbooks), Samsung (and world leader Nokia) are looking to the top.

In a piece from the Taipei Times [via Unwired View], Sammy says it expects to ship 200 million units this year, up about 4.4 million from last year. And we're not talking basic phones here.

Samsung’s handset focus this year will be on improving user-interface, promoting high-definition (HD) quality visual and sound, and introducing touch screen technology across different feature phones, (electronics division president Smile) Kim said.

As a mere footnote in the story is mention of "a Giorgio Armani phone with Windows Mobile." Presumably it would launch later with Windows Mobile 6.5. And if you haven't yet listened to Dieter's full rundown of Mobile World Congress, putting Windows Mobile 6.5 on an Armani phone may indeed be the definition of putting a pig on lipstick.

(Note: The above pic is a mashup from Unwired View putting Windows Mobile 6.5 on the Armani P520.)

Just when we were expecting another delay in Sprint's release of the Treo Pro, we run across the phone in Best Buy's Mobile Buyer's Guide for March! The Treo Pro (listed as Palm Pro) will run you $249.99 with a two year contract. Strangely though, if you're upgrading it will run an extra $20 (activation fee?). There's no availability date listed but the Buyer's Guide is dated for February 22, 2009 through March 28. 2009.

Thanks Gabriel for the tip!

While it may not be the famous Pink Panther diamond, the HTC prototypes unveiled at Mobile World Congress were considered by many to be gems of an electronic nature. Then somebody decided to play the role of the Phantom and relieved Telstra Chief Executive Sol Trujillo of one of the new HTC devices (either a Touch Diamond 2 or Touch Pro 2) that Microsoft had loaned him. The reports are sketchy and the Australian Communications Company Exec is discounting the reports as not being true.

There is no confirmation as to what was loaded on the HTC phone, but reports are confirming that Microsoft indeed had loaned the phone to Trujillo and it was running the new Windows Mobile 6.5. We also know that Dieter was seen at the buffet line around the time of the heist trying to see how many shrimp he could stack on his plate. I wonder if we'll see a listing on eBay or Craig's List for a slightly used, Windows Mobile 6.5 phone in the near future?

[Read: News.Cnet.com]

Update: Now it appears the data and operating system on the stolen device were remotely wiped clean once the heist was reported. A Microsoft staffer told APC Mag that all sensitive data was wiped from the stolen device.

HP has issued a news release that Windows Mobile 6.5 will be used with its future devices. Quoting from the release:

"Windows Mobile 6.5 on HP smartphones will offer key enhancements to business productivity, personal messaging and mobile Internet capabilities, making it even easier for mobile customers to communicate and to manage critical business and personal information. With its new visual appeal, enhanced mobile Internet experience and greater personalization capabilities, the new operating system boosts the opportunities for Windows-based smartphones in broader market segments."

With LG pledging to make Windows Mobile its primary operating system for the foreseable future, the news release may be an effort to remind Microsoft (and the rest of us) that HP has been and still is a strong supporter. HP has a long-standing relationship with Microsoft's mobile systems dating back to the Jornada days that ran Windows CE and Pocket PC as well as the current Ipaq models running Windows Mobile.

HP didn't use this as an opportunity to announce any new devices that would be running Windows Mobile 6.5.  Does this mean that the Data and Voice Messengers will be compatible with Windows Mobile 6.5? Or delayed until WinMo 6.5 is released? Will a successor to the Ipaq 910c surface next? 

[Read: Engadget.com]

For those who feared that the HTC Touch Pro 2 might go the way of the HTC Touch HD and never see the light of day in the United States, you can breath a collective sigh of relief. Shortly after the Mobile World Congress closed its doors, the company said via its Twitter feed:

"To answer the big question on everyone's minds, the Touch Pro2 will be broadly available in all major markets, including North America. We have not announced a launch date for the Touch Pro2 in any country yet. But we did announce we will start to roll it out late Q2."

One can only hope that the same will hold true for the Touch Diamond 2 and that "late Q2" holds true. And that this isn't some prank and that we'll have to gaze longingly at our Canadian neighbors.

[Read: Engadget.com]