14 DAY TRIAL // One of the most popular pieces of hardware today is the mouse and one of the most popular ways to communicate is the World Wide Web, so it was just a matter of time before the two faced each other. As the Skype protocol and program are widely used for making voice over IP, VoIP for short, calls, why not combine the traditional computer mouse and the talking mood into a single piece of hardware?
In fact, such combination of mouse and Skype enabled phone already exists as the news site geekalerts is eager to point out. The Skype phone and computer mouse combo is made by taking a mouse with two buttons and a scroll wheel and adapting it in order to transform itself into a phone easily. To do this the combo is using a sliding cover which can be pushed to activate the inside phone system. The combination between a phone and a mouse is certainly something new and the integrated backlit LCD display offers a host of information like contact details, time and call duration. A nice and useful feature is that the phone hardware is able to detect the language settings used in the Skype program and change the displayed information accordingly.
The mouse part of the combo is simply that: a mouse. Coming with two standard buttons and a scroll wheel as well as 800 dots per inch, DPI for short, optical sensor. The phone part of the combo is equipped with a handsfree function and the system is compatible with multiple VoIP platforms and the whole system is supported by Microsoft's Windows 98, XP and 2000. The combo system also features an auto detection function as well as a manual switch button between the mouse and the phone. Output speakers include one large 1.5W speaker for high quality sound as well as a smaller one of only 20mW for privacy. Apart from the phone functions the speakers can be used in order to play music from the host computer system as the combo is connected via a high speed USB version 2.0 port. Because of the connecting solution chosen by its manufacturer, the Skype mouse does not need any external power source like batteries as it is powered via the USB port.