Cisco/Linksys picks a fine time to introduce an "iWhatever" product. Ripping off Apple's marketing 11 years ago has finally paid off! Gizmodo opens the Giz-kimono on their "iPhone on Monday" tease:
It's not what any of us expected. The iPhone is a voip phone made by Linksys. Cisco, their parent company, has owned that trademark since 1996. And they're announcing their product in a few hours.
So the iPhone is a VOIP handset, and not by Apple. Now, the bigger story presents itself: What will Apple call its cellphone?
I guess the "i" in Cisco's "iPhone" stands for "instant letdown." As for what Apple might call their own iPhone, now that the name is taken, my guess is they'll call it an iPod, since one way to sell a $300 handset is to sell a $250 iPod with a $50 phone attached. If you call it a phone, people start comparing it to the thing from Samsung that Cingular is giving away for "free."