The rumor of the day has been a possible iPod Touch 3G model may. be. coming soon, perhaps as early as this fall, if you believe that we are on the cusp of an iPhone 5.

The iPod Touch 3G would be like an iPad 3G — lots of data, but not “actually” a phone. Plug in Skype or the incredible Line2 app, and you’re “almost” a real cell phone.

In real life, this product doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, and that’s not just because an obscure Dutch website “broke” the story.

A “lite” iPhone, which is what a 3G iPod Touch would be, doesn’t make sense for these reasons:

• Manufacturers have essentially stopped making accessories for the iTouch. It’s a dying product. It was amazing. It is amazing, but…
• The iPhone 3GS is just about free if you sign a contract. Why pay for a lite iPhone, when you can get a real one?
• As ZDNet’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes writes: “Do you really think that just after announcing the iPhone 5 (or whatever it ends up being called) Steve Jobs is going to pause, then turn back to the audience and say “oh, and one more thing … here’s a crappier, cheaper version of the new iPhone we just announced!”? I don’t think so!”

But hey, it’s an Apple rumor!

Sometimes even executives have a bad day at the office. Skype, the video chat service that allows you to talk to anyone around the world with a computer, a camera and a microphone, is closing in on a deal with Microsoft and fired several executives to make a sweeter deal with the company this past Monday.

Why? Well according to Bloomberg, firing them now, before the deal is final will actually reduce the actual value of their payouts. Ouch. Talk about company sincerity.

Skype even let go Allyson Campa who just started with the company when they acquired Qik to boost their already popular video chat service.

If the execs had stayed around until after the deal closed with Microsoft, then their stock options would be worth more, so Skype and Microsoft save money by firing them now, Bloomberg reported.

The acquisition was approved on Thursday, by the Department of Justice $8.5 billion.

In its largest purchase ever, Microsoft said Tuesday that it will purchase Skype SA for $8.5 billion.

Skype, the mega-popular Internet telephone and video chat service, gives Microsoft 170 million people in its user database, with users spending 207 billion minutes of voice and video airtime in 2010, Microsoft said in a statement.

“Skype has been a pioneer in creating rich, meaningful connections among friends, families and business colleagues globally,” the statement said. “Microsoft has a long-standing focus and investment in real-time communications across its various platforms, including Lync (which saw 30 percent revenue growth in Q3), Outlook, Messenger, Hotmail and Xbox LIVE.”

Skype will become a new business division of Microsoft, while bringing its services to Xbox, Kinect, Windows Phone and a variety of other Microsoft devices and services.

“Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, in the statement. “Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world.”

Skype CEO Tony Bates will become president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Ballmer.

“Microsoft and Skype share the vision of bringing software innovation and products to our customers,” said Bates. “Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype’s plans to extend our global community and introduce new ways for everyone to communicate and collaborate.”

Skype was founded in 2003 and purchased by eBay in 2005 and then by another investment group in 2009. The majority of its users are in Europe, and country-to-country calling is its most popular service.

Microsoft announced the new LifeCam Cinema, a 16:9, 720p high-definition webcam.

It’s the first home webcam to offer widescreen video with an onboard 720p sensor. It also auto focuses, keeping video sharp from a minimum distance of just four inches.

It’s also one of the only webcams marketed to work well in low light, and it has image stability and de-noising abilities that reduce graininess.

The LifeCam’s onboard noise canceling microphone also make it perfect for Skype.

Check out the fact sheet here.

Silver Lake investment group has agreed to pay eBay $1.9 billion cash to acquire 65 percent of Skype Technologies, valuing the communication service at $2.75 billion total.

Skype is used by millions of individuals and businesses to make video and voice calls, send instant messages, share files and make cheap calls to landlines and cell phones.

“We are extremely fortunate to have such a talented and seasoned group invest in our company,” said Josh Silverman, CEO of Skype, which will retail the final third of its own company. “This is a group of investors and industry veterans that have a strong track record of taking the technology companies they own to the next level. With their know-how helping to guide our vision, Skype is poised to enter the next phase of its growth and development.”

Skype Technologies showed $551 million in revenue in 2008, up 44 percent from 2007. There were 405 million registered users at teh end of 2008. eBay previously projected Skype revenues to exceed $1 billion by 2011.

Skype service is also available on the iPhone as an app and on new models of the Sony PSP.

Wireless carriers consistently rank low in customer satisfaction rankings. One only need troll the pages of sites like Consumerist to understand why. Expensive, spotty service couples with poor customer service makes for quite a set of disgruntled customers.

One of my big beefs with carriers (or even phone makers-I’m looking at you Apple) are carriers that cripple their phones because they’re worried that missing income could erode their bottom lines. Early on, Verizon crippled the RAZR so that uploaded mp3′s couldn’t be used as ringtones, forcing people to purchase expensive twenty second clips of songs that they already purchased for $0.99 from iTunes. Even still, most Verizon phones do not allow personalized mp3 ringtones, and customers must purchase them. On the flip side, Cingular customers, who have access to many of the same phones, are free to use their phones as they see fit.

Of course, this lead the grassroots efforts that lead to consumers hacking their phones. Apple routinely blocks apps from the App store that they find threatening. Such was the case with Podcaster which Apple blocked for “duplicating functionality.” Nevermind the clock apps, and calculator apps, and stock watching apps, and … Need I really continue? On a similar vein, AT&T forced Apple to remove NetShare because tethering your iPhone as a modem violated their contract. Of course, solutions to both of these missing apps are available to users who jailbreak their phones, leaving AT&T and Apple without any income.

While AT&T has allowed VoIP apps to run on iPhones, they have to restrict data to Wi-Fi networks only, eliminating the possibility of using data networks for free minutes. However, not all carriers are so generous. Nokia wants to bundle Skype on their upcoming flagship device, the N97 in Europe. Clearly, this would make the phone quite attractive to consumers already strapped for cash. However, O2 and Orange have refused to even stock the device unless Nokia strips the software out.

Businesses need to stop treating their customers like shoddy criminals and realize that it’s our nature to try and save money any way we can. If the technology exists, why can’t we use it? Carriers should realize that by allowing the software with a small surchange would sell more phones, bringing in more customers and more money. What about that situation isn’t attractive? Could this be why the US and Europe have some of the most underdeveloped wireless networks when compared to Asian countries?

Change may be scary, but it’s time for carriers to embrace new technologies and move forward. People are paying good money for devices-they’re going to want to use them to their fullest extent.

The fleeting band of Skype and PSP users will finally get their wish in October when Sony finally releases the PSP-3000.

The 3000 will actually be pretty sweet if you swing that way in the portable world. It has an amazing high-res display and maintains the thin profile and light weight from the current PSP generation. The 3000 adds a microphone for voice input in games and chat over the Skype network without an external mic, which we’ve been waiting for for a long time.

“Offering the highest-level contrast ratio, response time, and wider color gamut possible on a portable LCD screen, the new PSP is capable of displaying movies and photos in more natural and vibrant colors on its high resolution 4.3 inch wide screen,” Sony said in a statement Wednesday. “The new LCD screen adopts an anti-reflection technology, which enables users to see the screen more clearly in well-lit places, even when used outdoors.:

The PSP 3000 also has standard definition video-out port that allows users to output gameplay content and videos to a non HD TV. I’m not sure why this is useful, but if you have an old TV, this is good news for you because current PSP units can only be displayed on progressive TVs.

The PSP 3000 comes in traditional piano black and new pearl white and mystic silver colors.

Sony did not mention the price, but Engadget says $291 on October 15.

Begin technical dump:

External dimensions: Approx. 169.4 x 18.6 x 71.4 mm / 6 3/4 x 3/4 x 2 3/4  in (width — height — depth) (excludes largest projection)

Weight: Approx. 189g / 6.7 oz (including battery pack)

CPU: PSP CPU (System clock frequency 1-333MHz)

Main memory: 64MB

Display: 4.3 inches (16:9) full-transparent type, TFT drive, 480 x 272 pixel, Approximately 16,770,000 colors displayed

Sound: Built-in stereo speakers

Main input/output: Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b)(Wi-Fi), High Speed USB (USB2.0) (mini-B), Memory Stick PRO Duo, Analog Video Out, Microphone

Main connectors: DC IN 5V connector, DC OUT connector, video out/headset connector, USB connector, Memory Stick Duo slot

Key/Switches: Directional buttons (up/down/right/left), analog stick, Action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square), L/R buttons, START button, SELECT button, PS button, POWER/HOLD switch, WLAN switch, display button, sound button, volume (+/-) buttons

Power sources: Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery pack, AC adaptor, USB power supply

Internal disc drive: Read-only UMD drive

Wireless communications Infrastructure mode: Ad hoc mode (connects up to 16 consoles)

Supported codec (in Memory Stick)

Video               
– Memory Stick Video Format
- MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC LC)
- H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile (AAC LC)
– MP4 File Format
- MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC LC)
- H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile- CABAC only -
(AAC LC) / Baseline Profile (AAC LC)
– AVI
- Motion JPEG (Linear PCM or u-Lau)

Audio             
– Memory Stick Audio Format
- ATRAC3(TM)
- ATRAC3plus(TM)
- MP3
– MP3(MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer3)
– MP4(MPEG-4 AAC)
– WAVE(Linear PCM)
– WMA(Windows Media(R) Audio 9 Standard only)

Photo               
– JPEG (DCF2.0/Exif2.21compliant)
– TIFF
– BMP
– GIF
– PNG

Ok, so maybe you can’t have Skype on your PSP just yet. Are you going to let that get you down? Hell no.

Especially when you can easily make free Skype calls from the privacy, security and solitude of your own computer keyboard.

Japan-based Buffalo has a product in their inventory that does just that.

The BKBU-SKJ109/SV keyboard/Skype phone juxtaposition is a full 109-key input device with a fully compatible phone. Just plug it in.

DVICE says it’s coming out in October, but Buffalo’s roughly and loosely translated website says the product has been available since 2006 in Japan for 6,600 yen, or about $61.50.

Sony Japan has announced that they are indefinitely postponing the release of microphones (and thus Skype) in the PSP.

Citing technical problems with the new PSP’s microphone not meeting Skype’s specifications, the new features had been scheduled to hit shelves in Japan Thursday.

Tokyo, January 23 — Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (SCEJ), a division of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) responsible for business operations in Japan, today announced that it would postpone the release of two microphone products for PSP (PlayStation Portable), SINGLE PACK (with one microphone, PSPJ-15010) and TWIN PACK (with two microphones, PSPJ-15011), scheduled to be released in Japan on Thursday, January 24.

SCEJ planned to release the microphone along with the introduction of Skype features for the new slim and light PSP (PSP-2000). However, it was found that the microphone did not meet the Skype specifications in part to obtain certification and SCEJ has determined to postpone the release of the microphone. New release date will be announced as soon as decided.

With this, SCEJ has also reached a decision to postpone the introduction of the Skype features and services in Japan, scheduled in late January as part of the system software update for PSP. Solutions to enable users to start using Skype features and services on their PSP are being sought for and will be announced in due course.

As Engadget said all last week, Sony confirmed Sunday that a firmware update for the PSP handheld gaming system will include free telephone calls via Skype.

“PSP users worldwide will be able to start using Skype features and services through a simple system software update scheduled in late January,” Sony Computer Entertainment said Sunday. “After updating the PSP system software, a Skype icon will be added to the Network category in the home menu. PSP users who do not yet have a Skype username can register by clicking the icon and following the instructions. PSP users who already have a Skype username can immediately sign in by clicking the Skype icon and entering their username and password.”

Full list of features:

• Free voice calls between Skype users
• Skype contact list management (view existing contacts, add new ones)
• Skype presence (see which friends are online and available to talk)
• SkypeOutcalls to make calls to landlines and mobile phones anywhere in the world (requires the purchase of Skype credit)
• Optional SkypeIn number that lets users receive calls on Skype from landlines and mobiles anywhere in the world (requires the purchase of Skype credit)
• View and modify Skype settings and account details (including username creation, SkypeOut settings, voicemail settings and call forwarding)

Skype allows users to make voice calls among other users free of charge over the Internet. There are more than 246 million members.