Do you ever get the feeling that you're looking at the future before it happens?  It could be a new technology.  It could just be a theory.  Sometimes, if we're lucky, it's a new toy.  Ahem… I mean tool.

Such is the case with the new Linksys Dual-Mode Cordless Phone for Yahoo! Messenger with Voice.  It's a phone… it's Yahoo! Messenger… it's both?  Tom Keating has an in-depth review of the new Linksys phone over at TMCnet.  In a nutshell, this new tool from Linksys & Yahoo! allows users of Yahoo! Messenger with Voice to make VoIP phone calls from an actual phone.  No more sitting in front of the computer to make those voice calls!  The phone is pretty cool and, judging from Keating's review, does its job well.

I'm curious about how this will affect Yahoo's marketing efforts.  Yahoo markets a lot of it's products and services through the Messenger interface.  In addition, Yahoo! recently announced it was beginning a mobile advertising campaign in the very near future.  Will they incorporate similar advertisements into phones like the new Linksys phone?

What do you think?  Share your thoughts below.