I signed up for Skype a couple of months ago, and part of the set involves having some sort of microphone to use so you can be heard by the person on the other end. Also, some headphones if you don’t want everyone around you to listen in. And so there has been quite a market for headsets (which can also be used for chatter in video games, which increases their utility immensely), as well as actual telephone sets you can use either plugged into your computer or via WiFi. In fact, the reason I signed up for Skype in the first place was because there’s an app in iTunes that was supposed to let you use Skype with your iTouch via WiFi…although I contented myself with a cheapo pair of cellphone earbuds/mic.
Sadly, the promise of making Skype calls with my iTouch has yet to become real (though I keep hoping). Meanwhile, a company called Dream Cheeky is supposed to be coming out with this: a Star Trek communicator Skype phone that uses a USB connection to charge and/or connect to your computer. That website says the product is coming in April, though there’s nothing on Dream Cheeky’s own website about it, and I found that link through the usual tech blog echo chamber, so nobody has any better information as to the price or specs. If you look closely at the picture, though, you’ll see what looks like a USB cable coming out of the back of the communicator, so I’m going to guess that it ISN’T WiFi enabled (though I hope I’m wrong). It will, however, make several different authentic Trek sound effects, and you can answer the phone by flipping the lid, just like James Tiberius Kirk himself.
I’ll just go get a mop and clean up all this drool.
