Hmm… this is sort of cool, I think. Sysgration is the first company ever to release a Skype USB phone and a mouse. Honestly, I don’t know what to think of this. It’s a pretty odd invention.

The device has a built-in microphone and speaker, independent sound chip to handle VoIP voice quality, one USB port that handles both mouse and phone, 1.3” LCD display with backlight support, dot matrix caller ID, volume control, 800dpi optical laser, auto detection (or manual switch) between mouse and phone, USB 1.1 interface, handy, stylish and patent pending.

Clearly, it’s not the brightest bulb of the bunch either way, but if you are looking for a mainstream device, maybe this might of be interest to you.

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Admittedly, Zune sharing details were a bit iffy, but thanks to this Microsoft fellow, they are all taken care of.

Here we go:

“Zunes have wireless built in. Zunes can thus set up "ad-hoc" (Zune to Zune) connections to one another. This enables the following scenarios:

• You can search for nearby Zune owners to interact with.
• You can send them a song, album, etc... for a 3-day/3-play trial listen. Songs come over with metadata and album art (neat). After the 3 days or 3 plays are up, the song gets deleted from the Zune on the next sync, but the info on the song stays in a "journal" on your PC for later purchase or acquisition.
• You can send them photos for unlimited viewing (and these can sync back onto the recipient's PC).

The wireless happens to be wifi (802.11 b/g) but Zunes will not (at launch) connect to the internet via your home base station network. Zunes can not download songs over the air from the internet service. Zunes cannot act as telephones or personal teleporters.”

I bet it wouldn’t have taken Apple this long to explain everything. I wonder why. Oh, I know. Apple is just good at articulating technical specifications of its products. Microsoft has so much to learn, it’s a miracle they are still alive and kicking, let alone a monopoly.

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T-Mobile has rebranded to give the company a fresh new look. I can’t say I disliked the previous one, but that could just be me. Sometimes (um, actually all the time) companies have to make decisions that make absolutely no sense, and those decisions are more of a “we made the change because we could” scenario than “our brand value has diluted, it’s time to freshen up.” And to be honest, I’m not too much of a fan of the new bubbly look of the T-Mobile promotional campaign and a new tagline.

T-Mobile now stands for “Stick Together.” Yeah, with a tagline like that, I definitely want to stick together with T-Mobile and sign another 2-year contract. Enough with the branding stuff, let’s get down to the more important things.

With the relaunch, T-Mobile has also debuted myFaves, which lets you call your favorite five people (regardless of carrier) free of charge. With plans starting at $39.99, T-Mobile is pretty gutsy. Then again, it also proves how minutes are so inexpensive that carriers have no problem giving them away.

And with that, here’s our farewell and welcome to T-Mobile.

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Sprint goes on launch frenzy with three new launches today: RIM BlackBerry, Pocket PC and Power Vision.

The 830W cell phone from Samsung will retail for $600 with a 2-year plan. You can always opt for the plan-less phone by paying an additional $150 to a total of $750 just for the phone. With quad-band GSM/GPRS, CDMA/EVDO, Windows Mobile 5 OS and an Intel PXA272 microprocessor, we can’t say the phone isn’t sweet.

Similarly, the Power Vision 8400 comes with tons of drooling features, such as Bluetooth, 1.3-megapixel camera, live TV, music downloads and multiplayer game action. For the gadgeter in you, this phone will run you about $100 after rebates, instant savings and a 2-year plan. That’s not a bad deal at all.

And finally, RIM’s BlackBerry 8703e goes on sale as well with EVDO speeds and GPS capability (nothing else is new from the 8700 series) for $350 after discounts and a 2-year contract.

The phones are all nice and loaded with next-generation of features that we all want and “need,” but be careful when selecting your phone carrier. Picking the right carrier is far more difficult than getting the right phone these days.

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