CricketMX.com

IRVINE, Calif. - December 18, 2006 - Linksys®, a Division of Cisco Systems, Inc., and the recognized leading global manufacturer of voice, wireless, and networking hardware for home, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) and small business user, today unveiled its iPhone® family of Voice over IP (VoIP) solutions. The iPhone family of handheld devices harnesses the power of the Internet to enhance voice communications, integrate compelling information services, and deliver access to multimedia. In short, Linksys iPhones voice solutions and products give consumers the ability to do more with their phone than talk.

The news will disappoint folk hoping for an Apple announcement, but that was always unlikely given CEO Steve Jobs' annual launchathon at Macworld Expo is just around the corner. Plenty of analysts - let alone rumour watchers' sources - reckon an Apple phone is on the cards. And while iPhone was a handy way to name the as yet unannounced product, we're sure Apple can come up with a better name than one already trademarked by a handful of companies throughout the years.

Talk about hype. In the last six months, Apple's iPhone has been the subject of 11,000 print articles, and it turns up about 69 million hits on Google. Cultists are camping out in front of Apple stores; bloggers call it the "Jesus phone." All of this before a single consumer has even touched the thing.