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Targus USB mouse doubles as VoIP phone, $17.95 (today only)

Deal-of-the-day site Yugster has this dual-purpose mouse for $17.95 plus shipping. It originally sold for around $45.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
Yugster

It's a mouse. No, it's a phone. It's two, two, two products in one! The Targus Portable USB Notebook Mouse and Internet Phone Combo (whew--exhausted from typing all that) is $17.95 (plus 5 bucks shipping) today only from Yugster, a deal-of-the-day site much like Woot.

On the surface, the TPUNMAIPC looks like a fairly typical USB-powered travel mouse--and $17.95 is not a bad price for such a rodent. But it also doubles as a voice-over-IP handset and speakerphone, meaning you can use it to take and make calls over Skype, Google Talk, Gizmo5, or whatever is your voice-over-IP service of choice.

Crazy-cool, or just plain crazy? I haven't been able to dig up a single review of this product, so I can't say for sure if it works well as a mouse or phone. But if you travel a lot and rely heavily on VoIP for cheap/free calls, this could be a swell companion. Plus, you can indulge all your Star Trek IV Scotty fantasies: "Hello, computer." (You know, the scene where he talks into the mouse... Do I have to explain everything?)