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May 11, 2006

New Gadget: Optical Mouse/Skype Phone Combo

Michael Arrington

43 comments »

I only delve into gadget territory occasionally, but this one is too good to pass up.

Sony announced the launch of the MouseTalk (trying to find an English link), a new VAIO PC peripheral that acts as both an optical mouse and an Internet phone. The clamshell mouse, which will be Skype certified, flips open to become an Internet phone to make and receive calls around the world through Skype. Features include: mouse wheel controlled mute, volume and number select controls, echo-cancellation technology and a hands-free mode.

I think this is brilliant and I want one for my Mac.

  • Sphere It

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 11th, 2006 at 9:40 pm and is filed under Company & Product Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Trackbacks/Pings (Trackback URL)

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Comments

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  1. Johan Bosini

    May 11th, 2006 at 10:40 pm

    I think it is a great idea too, however what happens if you are on the phone (or on the mouse in this case) and you want to go through some emails or lookup something online while talking?

    With a laptop you have a fall back (your integrated mousepad) however if you have it on a docking station or you use a desktop then you may have a problem.

    Johan Bosini

  2. Michael Arrington

    May 11th, 2006 at 10:42 pm

    Yes, that would definitely be a problem…

  3. cristian

    May 12th, 2006 at 1:36 am

    I don’t think so! You can’t use the mouse if you are talking. (n)

  4. Alberto

    May 12th, 2006 at 1:48 am

    I’ve worked in a company (years ago) that sold this mouse-phones. It was a FAILURE. No one buy it.

  5. elwir

    May 12th, 2006 at 2:04 am

    dont think that this wil work, always talkin on the phone you are not just talking, you do some additional tings, and when the case is skype-that is free- your talks will go for many minutes, if not hours an you will want to do sth on computer instead of just talking, as Johan said, may be you will be talking about sth that you will want to look up in computer.
    you will need mouse, idea does not work
    P.S nice design Mike, but this mess of banners on the right…

  6. rajesh

    May 12th, 2006 at 3:11 am

    Totally bad design. What if, i need to interact with my browser or applications while talking? I definitely need a mouse at that time. Even though it is from SONY, I will think twice or more before buying it. :-)

  7. anon

    May 12th, 2006 at 3:24 am

    The site in english translated by google
    http://www.google.com/translat.....mp;ie=UTF8
    Nice design by the way,michael

  8. j.verhine

    May 12th, 2006 at 4:24 am

    Close, but no cigar. What it needs is an integrated speakerphone and a detachable pen to doodle with. :)

  9. David Levine

    May 12th, 2006 at 4:43 am

    Michael

    If you want a Mac Skype-certified phone, you can always try our Cyberphone W for Mac that as of yesterday, is the first Skype-certified product to be sold in Apple stores!

    Watch out for Apple’s online store and Skype store stocking it soon!

  10. Dave

    May 12th, 2006 at 5:45 am

    Now I understand why Scottie picked up the mouse and tried to talk into it in Star Trek (the movie).

  11. Razib Ahmed

    May 12th, 2006 at 5:50 am

    It is a great design but I am afraid that it is not the thing that I am looking for after all as often when phone comes and I have to check something from net- this will cause more problem then support me. I am just curious to know if you can use it as a phone and mouse at the same time.

  12. Joe W

    May 12th, 2006 at 6:15 am

    Using phone precludes using mouse - my first reaction too

    This is too obvious a problem not to have been addressed by Sony. They must have an easy solution.

    If not, we may be on the verge of the 2006 version of Irrational Exuberance and the Internet Bubble

  13. erikdel

    May 12th, 2006 at 6:40 am

    this product can be bought at dynamism.com . they also have a short description of the mouse and some pics..

  14. kenneth

    May 12th, 2006 at 8:11 am

    Really not all that practical as I almost always tend to fiddle with the mouse while on the phone to multitask. However, this might be a better step in the right direction:

    Have the mouse come with a smal device that fits snuggly into the top of the mouse as part of the design. It clips in to the palm section until a call is needed. The user can unclip it and attach it to their ear as a bluetooth headset which is automatically paired with the mouse! Now that’s thinking and will look really cool. When it’s back in the mouse it automatically gets charged via the usb connection. C’mon Sony!

  15. pwb

    May 12th, 2006 at 10:35 am

    People: yes, this is a dumb product for desktop users but notebook users should like it fine!

  16. Mick

    May 12th, 2006 at 12:50 pm

    great idea. too bad it isn’t wireless. :(

  17. Thierry Thelliez

    May 12th, 2006 at 1:58 pm

    I am right now starring at my 2 year old mouse… Not exactly dust free. I would not want to use that as a phone without a regular clean-up!

  18. Cody

    May 12th, 2006 at 3:50 pm

    Terrible idea. It solves no problems, but creates a few new ones. It’s completely pointless. waste of time, and investments.

  19. Wasim

    May 12th, 2006 at 4:28 pm

    I liked this device so much I got two - you can get them from Sony Style Europe - it also has an integrated speaker phone - but its only practical for laptops. Love the fact I don’t have to lug around headsets anymore. Now if they only offered a wireless version too

  20. Dynamism

    May 12th, 2006 at 8:31 pm

    Hi,
    If anyone needs this, please see http://dynamism.com/skype-mouse/main.shtml

    Thank you,
    Dynamism.com Team

  21. Ray J

    May 13th, 2006 at 1:23 pm

    Free LCD Monitor
    http://www.giftfiesta.com/?rid=1116073

  22. anonymous

    May 13th, 2006 at 2:05 pm

    There is a similar product out by YapperNut, only $25.

    http://www.yappernut.com/def/en/yapperMouse.htm

  23. Search Engines Web

    May 13th, 2006 at 5:46 pm

    They should consider adding a plug on the mouse/phone to connect a headset as an option….

    even a tiny earplug with a tiny mic - might be more convenient than nothing at all…

    But, they are beautiful.

    BTW:
    your newest Blog design is also interesting

  24. Phil Wolff

    May 14th, 2006 at 4:29 pm

    I’m a fan of the YapperMouse. Let’s me leave a headset behind when packing my notebook. Better precision than any of my other mice, and a strangely interesting vibration when the phone rings; kind of a programmable vibra-tone vs. ring tone.

  25. Patrick

    May 16th, 2006 at 1:36 am

    dumb idea!!
    Next step is probably the Fax-mouse, the modem-mouse and the gsm-mouse. I proposed the coffee machine-mouse (still have to solve some heat problem though!) and the dildo-mouse (for desperate housewives only)…

  26. bizwiki

    May 19th, 2006 at 6:44 am

    It’s really a Cool combo!!
    Patrick, what u’r talking about is a PDA all right ? :-)

  27. Ben

    May 19th, 2006 at 8:53 am

    An amazingly horrible idea.

  28. Dave

    December 24th, 2006 at 9:46 pm

    I have many mouse Skype products ,I will sale them with good price ,
    If you need it ,tell me please!

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