Linksys releases new iPhone-branded Skype handsets

Putting to rest the speculation, Gizmodo today revealed that Linksys, not Apple, is launching handsets with the iPhone model name. The networking company this morning announced the WIP320 iPhone, a Wi-Fi Skype handset that replicates all the core functions of Skype's VoIP software on the device itself, including paid SkypeOut calls and an address book. The phone is unique for its quick access to Internet connections, Linksys says: the Wi-Fi receiver can locate hotspots even before the phone has completely initialized, connecting by the time the phone is ready for use. The WIP320 is available today for $200.

Click through for details of the company's additional dual-mode iPhone and photos of both products.

Also receiving the iPhone name is the CIT400 Internet telephony kit. A dual-mode device, the kit pairs a cordless phone with a receiving base station. The latter can plug into both an Internet connection and a conventional telephone line, allowing the choice of using one service or the other for outbound calls as well as the option of receiving incoming calls from both sources. It too is available today for $180.

Linksys' parent company Cisco currently owns the US trademark for iPhone, ruling out the possibility of Apple's future handheld device using the name within the US.