A few weeks ago we reported on the upcoming iPhone, and speculated on what it might include and look like.  In that time, the hype over the “ultimate music phone” has reached some scintillating heights.  However, although the recently revealed iPhone is similar to what we had imagined, many of the features are not.  That’s because it’s been announced by an entirely different company, popular router and wireless card producer Linksys.  It’s a device that uses Skype and Yahoo! Messenger with Voice – in addition to VoIP functions – to advance the way we communicate.

What does that mean?  Well, mostly that it doesn’t really look quite as cool as the much-anticipated offering from Apple.  There’s a whole lot of technical mumbo jumbo standing in the way of the device becoming next Christmas’ big gift, but that shouldn’t discourage techies like ourselves from looking into what Linksys is set to offer.

There are two very different versions set to hit retail sometime next year.  First, there’s the iPhone WIP320 (why cell phones must have the most boring model names, we don’t know).  It melds Wireless G technology with Skype portability, meaning callers can connect with someone else anywhere, so long as there’s a wireless access point.  Its design is a bit closer to something we might see Apple releasing for tweens around the world, featuring a relatively sleek white design.

The other offering from Linksys is the iPhone Dual Mode Internet Telephony Kit for Skype, model CIT400.  Although it has a laughably complicated name, the phone offers a cordless base for a home network connectable via Ethernet.  Its main draw is the ability to call other Skype users, mobiles, and regular land lines without ever turning on a PC.

Other models in the line from Linksys, including those described above, should retail from anywhere between $80 and $400. 

The greatest cost may be left for Apple.  How lame is it that they lost the name “iPhone” to Linksys?

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