Hot Gphone news

This comes from a highly reliable source:

• 1. The Gphone will be announced sometime between 9/27 and 10/5.
• 2. Google has formed a consortium of about 30 companies to create it. The consortium includes chip makers, OEM manufacturers, software providers, and carriers. The Gphone will be open source, using the Apache license. The phone will in fact not be a product — it’s really a reference design.

• 3. This reference design will be an unlocked, neutral environment. It’ll be GSM everywhere except Japan, where it will be TDMA.
• 4. While the Gphone is open, the secret sauce is a heavy server-side component that will be handled solely by Google’s data centers. So the phone will be open while some services rely on the server side, which you’ll pay for.
• 5. One of Nokia, Samsung, or Moto is in the consortium. The tipster didn’t know which one.
• 6. The reference phone will role out simultaneously in the US, Japan, China, and Europe. They have a carrier ready to go in every region.
• 7. The thrust of the reference phone is that it is “the anti-iPhone”. It will be an inexpensive, open design, vs. Apple’s closed, expensive design.”

Audio & Multimedia
Business
Communications
Desktop
Development
Education
Games & Entertainment
Graphic Apps
Home & Hobby
Network & Internet
Security & Privacy
Servers
System Utilities
Web Development

Google?s Gphone Draws a Crowd

Businessweek.com mention the name Google (Gphone) in cell-phone software circles these days and you’re likely to get a lot of blank stares and awkward silence. It’s not that these Silicon Valley startups have nothing to say about the world’s largest Web search engine. The problem is, they can’t. Many mobile-software developers in the Bay Area and beyond are hard at work cobbling together services and tools they hope will be packaged with a wireless operating system under wraps at Googleplex—and they’ve been sworn to secrecy.

Word’s getting out. Among the companies jockeying for a place on Google’s platform, BusinessWeek.com has learned, are Plusmo, a Santa Clara (Calif.) company that pulls together blogs and news items and sends them to cell phones, and Nuance Communications (NUAN), a Burlington (Mass.) maker of speech-recognition software used in mobile directory assistance services. Plusmo is owned by Reify Software, and its services are already available on phones made by Motorola (MOT), Research In Motion (RIM), and devices that use the Microsoft (MSFT) mobile operating system. Nuance technology, on devices such as Palm’s (PALM) Treo 755p, lets users dial, dictate, and search using voice commands. Neither company would comment for this story.

Code Unlocked

Another startup said to be working with Google is 3Jam, a software maker in Menlo Park, Calif., that lets users send text messages to groups of friends. Representatives of 3Jam declined to comment.

Google also is mum on its plans, but the ongoing work with developers may give further evidence the company is moving ahead with a platform, possibly named gPhone, that brings together a range of services—from news to instant messaging to social-networking features to Web browsing—for mobile phones. “If they are evangelizing to mobile developers, they probably have a product coming soon,” says Toni Schneider, chief executive of Web publisher Automattic, who created Yahoo!’s (YHOO) developer program. For developers, the Google platform could open a wide range of opportunities, including changing the way programmers use and build Google applications for mobile devices. And the interplay between Google and software developers is likely to leave an indelible mark on how wireless services are built and distributed—and who gets to share in the spoils.

Google’s platform is expected to consist of an operating system, mobile versions of Google’s existing software, and built-in tools that make it easier for developers to dive in. Google is expected to open up much of its gPhone programming code, known in industry parlance as the application programming interface (API), enabling mobile developers to easily integrate Google’s applications with their own software and to distribute those applications to all users of the gPhone platform (BusinessWeek.com, 9/6/07), whatever phone model or carrier they happen to use.

Cooler Apps

The idea of unlocking software code to outside developers is gathering currency across the tech landscape. Case in point: Thousands of companies have embedded Google Maps into their Web sites to help customers and clients find offices. At the same time, Google offers a range of third-party applications, such as the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, on its customizable home page iGoogle.

Still, that same cross-pollination has yet to take off in wireless circles, where carriers and handset makers control which applications are available to users. Earlier this year, Google had to strike a special agreement with handset manufacturer LG to get its YouTube video application onto an upcoming mobile device. Carrier AT&T (T) and handset maker Apple (AAPL) handpicked the Google applications—Google Maps, search, and YouTube—that would be available on the iPhone, introduced in June.

The relatively closed system gives service providers and cell-phone manufacturers tight control over what users get—and pay for—on their handsets, but it keeps the makers of cool applications on the sidelines. On a typical smartphone running the Symbian operating system, fewer than 40% of the applications came from third-party developers, according to Symbian data.

Not only would the Google model mean more cool new apps and open sales avenues for developers, but it’s also likely to influence how the industry deals with other mobile operating systems. Says Thomas Howe, head of communications software consultancy the Thomas Howe Co.: “The world will break open.”

More Ad Revenue

Since talk of the gPhone emerged, developers whisper that other companies, including Apple, may open their mobile-software platforms to programmers. “Mobile platforms will become very common in the next year,” believes developer Craig Hockenberry. “We are on the cusp of a major shift in mobile technology.”

Part of that shift will involve greater organization on the part of open-source developers creating applications in mobile Linux, which comes in many different flavors. “There are a lot of fragmented initiatives,” says Jerry Panagrossi, vice-president of U.S. operations at Symbian. “A developer has to overhaul their code for every application they target.” By designing for gPhone’s particular flavor of Linux, open-source developers may be able to present a unified front—and reduce development costs. Consultancy ABI Research forecasts that Linux will be the fastest-growing smartphone operating system in the next five years. “Google has a lot of muscle to distribute things and to get [developers] excited,” says Automattic’s Schneider.

Part of that excitement stems from the possibility for developers to tap a new revenue source: mobile advertising, instead of user subscription fees. Developers may be able to share in revenues from ads displayed in the applications. Three weeks ago, Handmark, which sells applications and content for personal digital assistants, began displaying banner and search ads in its applications. It’s seeing a 9% click-through rate on its display ads and a 10% conversion rate on users who use the click-to-call service from its local paid-search feature. By contrast, PC Web banner ads often generate click-through rates of less than 1%.

“Openness would pay off for everybody,” says Mike Phillips, co-founder of vlingo, a maker of software that lets users type using voice. Google’s lips are sealed, but the buzz among mobile developers is well under way. Says John SanGiovanni, co-founder of ZenZui, a maker of tools used by mobile-widget makers. “We certainly hope Google will give us an honest-to-goodness mobile platform, so that we can party on it.”

Video news including information about Gphone

Funny Gphone commercial

Funny Gphone commercial Enjoy

New Gphone pictures added

Some new Gphone (fake?) pictures added. Enjoy

Gphone is coming, again

Some great news for Gphone. DigiTimes has information that Google will definitely launch its own-brand handset (Gphone) but has yet to finalize the handset’s specifications, OS, production contractor and operating partners, according to sources at Taiwan handset makers.

Although market rumors previously stated that Google is likely to use an EDGE solution developed by Texas Instruments (TI) for its planned handset, recent developments indicate that Google is also evaluating the possibility of launching a 3G handset initially.

TI’s handset chipsets will find their way into the Google phone should the company decide to roll out an EDGE-compliant handset, but Qualcomm could turn out to be the winner if Google decides to bet on a 3G model, the sources noted.

However, the choice of a 3G platform might force Google to postpone the launch of the so-called Gphone to the first half of 2008 instead of the latter half of this year as expected due to the change of platform and problems related to licensing of patented technologies, the sources indicated.

High Tech Computer (HTC), meanwhile, is being marked as the manufacturing contractor for the Gphone due to the company’s expertise in ODM and brand business and its mutual cooperation with a number of telecom carriers worldwide, said the sources.

Google may also try to launch a handset running on a self-developed OS, to compete with Windows Mobile and Symbian platforms, the sources speculated

So is Google planning a Gphone?

Google is unlikely to launch a 'Gphone' mobile device because it doesn't fit in with its business model, according to industry watchers.

The rumour mill went into overdrive after it was revealed Google had submitted a patent in the US for a mobile payment system - dubbed 'GPay'.

But Vincent Poulbere, principal analyst at Ovum, warned against making assumptions about a direct link between the two. "I do not see a direct relationship between mobile payment and the Google phone. For me there is no link between GPhone and GPay," he told silicon.com.

Google is really a platform company.

Poulbere said the mobile payment patent submission is more likely to be an extension of Google's online payment service, Google Checkout, than a mobile phone.

He added: "I think it's a tough move for Google to go into the device market."

Thomas Husson, analyst at JupiterResearch, agreed. "I don't think the two issues [GPay and GPhone] are directly related," he said.

Husson said because Google is essentially an advertising company, the extent to which a mobile phone would fit into this business model is questionable. "[Google's] interest today is to have its applications embedded on as many phones as possible. Google is really a platform company," he said.

But he suggested "it wouldn't be much of a surprise" if a Google phone emerged, particularly as the company has expressed interest in acquiring radio spectrum in the US which could be used for a mobile network.

In a statement regarding the 'Gpay' mobile payment patent, Google said: "We file patent applications on a variety of ideas that our employees come up with. Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don't. Prospective product announcements should not necessarily be inferred from our patent applications."

Google declined to comment on the speculation around the Gphone.

Is Google creating a Gphone?

The mobile industry likes nothing more than a good piece of gossip. One particularly juicy nugget of whisper that has refused to die is the Google phone, a piece of mobile kit the search giant is supposed to be working on.

Rumour hounds have been hard at it in recent weeks. Among the evidence used to back up the theory are patents the company has filed on predictive mobile location-based search tech; the blog of one venture capitalist, saying he has been told by sources of a BlackBerry-like gadget in the offing that may be Google-made or run a Google OS; and The Observer's recent report of a partnership struck between operator Orange and Google with a view to producing a branded device made by HTC.

I think it's more something nice to have, a box to tick rather than for a specific business reason. It would be an exercise in branding.

Google, of course, has made no public statement about moving into mobile hardware - aside from 'no comment' - but it certainly has seemed to be upping its activity in the area. It has signed deals with Vodafone to offer Google Maps and YouTube on mobile, worked on mobile advertising, gotten involved with far eastern operators and put its software on a number of devices, not least Nokia's Linux tablet range.

Every web giant worth its salt from MySpace to Yahoo! is getting in on the mobile act but are Google's ambitions running a little deeper?

Google has made no secret of its ambitions in the wireless world, telling journalists at the opening of its London GooglePlex that it intended to use Europe's mobile knowledge to make more of an impact in the space.

It's also gone on to strike deals across the world with operators such as Vodafone in the UK and KDDI in Japan which see Google services bundled onto devices. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has even said mobile subscriptions should be given away for free if users are willing to accept ads on their phones - a statement some believe is a sign of the search giant's attempt to capitalise on its search success with a mobile handset.

Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi told silicon.com a handset from Google shouldn't be discounted but added it isn't immediately obvious where the value would be for the Mountain View, California company.

Milanesi said: "Google has so many relationships with different carriers - what more would a phone do for them? What would the difference be?

"I think it's more something nice to have, a box to tick rather than for a specific business reason. It would be an exercise in branding."

Andrew Brown, programme manager of European mobile computing and mobile devices at analyst IDC, believes Google is unlikely to release its own mobile hardware. Instead, the search company is more likely to concentrate on content deals such as those announced last month and tighter integration with open platforms, such as S60 which runs on Symbian devices.

He said: "They've got the richest experience there. People will be knocking on their door anyway, without all this unnecessary R&D spend."

Ben Wood of Collins Consulting agreed a Google mobile does not sound likely. "Making a handset is really, really hard and making one profitably is also tough. I'm struggling to see why at this juncture Google would make a handset. It would be better to get consumers more and more involved with the Google brand on a mobile."

The idea that Google would partner with HTC for the device itself has raised eyebrows. HTC is almost synonymous with Windows Mobile devices, while Google has often shown itself to be more partial to open source - by using Linux servers to power its search, for instance. HTC is also attempting to move away from the OEM model - where its handsets bear the marque of another company - and build its own brand.

Commentators have questioned why Google would create an own-brand handset, which would be likely to end up in the hands of customers of only a few mobile carriers, as opposed to trying to get Google links on all mobiles. Operators have by and large abandoned the walled garden approach for content in favour of a PC-like open model, which favours Google. The question becomes especially pertinent given mobile is set to overtake the desktop as consumers' favoured way of getting on the web.

That's not to say Google couldn't yet make some, as yet undreamed of overtures in mobile.

IDC's Brown added the continuing diversification of mobile hardware types might yet prompt such a move from the search company. "There's the Nokia 6110, a plethora of navigation devices starting to emerge, Linux tablets, different types [of mobile hardware] so I would never completely rule it out - we are often surprised," he said.

Collins Consulting's Wood also suggested if Google were to get into the device game, it would be more likely to concentrate on the wi-fi side of things - perhaps a single-mode VoIP phone optimised for Google services such as Gmail. "When you think about areas like San Francisco where they have metropolitan wi-fi, it starts to make more sense," he said.

More gPhone rumours emerge

Bản tóm tắt này không có sẵn. Vui lòng nhấp vào đây để xem bài đăng.

Google quashes mobile phone talk

The search giant said it was more logical to form partnerships with existing handset makers instead.

Google's South-East Asia managing director of sales and operations, Richard Kimber, yesterday echoed statements made by Google's chief internet evangelist, Vinton Cerf, that building hardware would be a dramatic shift in the company's business model.

"At this point in time, we are very focused on the software, not the phone," The Australian Financial Review today quoted Kimber as saying during his speech at the Search Engine Room conference in Sydney.

Kimber said Google was keen on porting its search and other technologies to mobile devices, but it was not interested in entering the crowded handset market, as Apple has recently done with its iPhone.

This is highlighted by recent deals Google has made with manufacturers such as Samsung, resulting in its search software coming preloaded on certain handsets.

Extending Google's search technology to mobile phones would allow it to serve advertising to a far wider audience - particularly those in developing countries who do not have access to a computer.

Kimber said mobile ads posed unique challenges but described them as being "extremely effective".

Google has poured cold water on claims it is developing a mobile phone. In a telephone interview earlier this month, Dr Cerf, who is credited with being one of the founders of the internet, said "becoming an equipment manufacturer is pretty far from our business model".

"On the other hand, we're very interested in the platforms that other people are building. We are quite eager to be part of the mobile revolution."

A Google Australia spokesman said the company was focused on developing partnerships with existing industry players but did not confirm or deny that Google was developing a handset.

"Mobile is an important area for Google and we remain focused on creating applications and establishing and growing partnerships with industry leaders to develop innovative services for users worldwide," he said.

Google's latest comments are at odds with the slew of recent reports that suggested it was shopping a phone design to potential mobile phone manufacturing partners in Asia.

In a note to clients, sighted by Reuters, London-based phone analyst Richard Windsor wrote: "Google has come out of the closet at the CeBIT trade fair admitting that it is working on a mobile phone of its own.

"This is not going to be a high-end device but a mass-market device aimed at bringing Google to users who don't have a PC."

A US venture capitalist, Simeon Simeonov, wrote in a blog post earlier this month that there was "a team of about 100 people at Google working on the Google Phone".

A photo purporting to be a prototype of a rumoured Google phone published on the Engadget blog.
Photo: Courtesy Engadget

Simeonov said his "inside source close to the company" described the device as being a "BlackBerry-like, slick device". He added a number of recent mobile-related acquisitions made by Google backed up the rumours.

Samsung was widely rumoured to be Google's manufacturing partner; a photo published on the Engadget blog, which purported to be a prototype, showed a sparse touchscreen design similar to the iPhone.

But all of these rumours now appear to be quashed, bringing back memories from a year ago when Google was said to be building its own line of computers. Those reports were soon proved false, and the product Google was working on turned out to be a free software pack

LG locates Google phone in Europe

It's here, it's the Google phone. Yes, LG's KU-580 handset, which incorporates Google Search, Google Mail and Google Maps - watch out, iPhone - has come to Europe.

LG's KU-580: Google'n'Chocolate

The device sports a red-on-black color scheme not unlike LG's popular Chocolate phone, but it's larger, sporting a 2in widescreen LCD, the better to view Google's web properties, accessed through a fast 3G connection.

The KU-580 has an FM radio and an MP3 player - controlled with dedicated playback keys - along with Bluetooth stereo and 3D sound enhancement. LG even said it has a song-writing app for budding musos. There's a two-megapixel camera on the back and a smaller snapper on the front for video calls.

LG's KU-580: 3G-speed searching

The Google phone is now available in Italy and France, LG indicated, with Germany and other European countries to follow shortly. From the pics, the KU-580 is going to be available on the Vodafone network.

Google phone rumors shot down -- for the moment

We were afraid the fun couldn't last long, and indeed a Google bossman has come forward in an attempt to quell rumors of a Google phone. Richard Kimber, Google's South-East Asia managing director of sales and operations, says that Google is obviously investing in the software side of things, but that it has no interest in entertering the crowded handset market. "At this point in time, we are very focused on the software, not the phone." This echoes Vint Cerf's statments from earlier this month, who said "becoming an equipment manufacturer is pretty far from our business model." Of course, while both of these guys are confirming that mobile software, services and ads are in the works, neither one has come straight out and denied an actual device, or taken steps to contradict Isabel Aguilera's statements about a low-end phone in the works -- but it's pretty clear that these guys are at least implying we won't be seeing such a device for a while yet.

New Google Phone rumors get real specific

As any avid Engadget reader knows, the persistent Google Phone rumor -- begun so many eons ago (er, last year) -- has been on the fast track as of late, with varying reports coming in concerning specific information such as launch date, OS, and the existence of prototypes. Well, now it looks like we've got another handful of data to add to the veritable mini-mountain of specs / info we've ascertained about the presently-vaporous device. According to "reliable sources," specific aspects of the GPhone are coming to light -- the first suggesting that the phone will run on a Linux variant (which is nothing new), and will be Java Virtual Machine-capable. Additionally, the OS of the phone will be Java-based (as well as the all phone apps itself), and performance is said to be "very responsive." The browser for the phone will be new (though some say it's based on the WebKit core, which Safari is built atop) and will tout "pan-and-browse" capabilities. Finally, the word is that HTC is manufacturing the handsets, and instead of a single form-factor for the prototype, there are a variety of phones, all with QWERTY keyboards (one article suggests the phone will be "simpler" and less "flashy" than the iPhone, with less screen space, and a BlackBerry / Treo form-factor). Certainly a lot of information, though -- just as certainly -- speculation and rumor right now, and if the past year has taught any lesson, it's to proceed with extreme skepticism.

Survey gives more Google phone clues?

Yes, this would be pretty easy to fake -- and even if it's real, it's just a survey, which means it's sorta fake by design -- but a questionnaire allegedly received by a Mobileburn forum member hints at specs and a rather fascinating concept design for Google's probably-in-the-works cellphone. Everything seems believable enough, though it seems like they flip-open QWERTY keypad could be a bit tricky to access from the right side thanks to the permanently-affixed nav buttons; features are said to include 3G data, WiFi, and a 2 megapixel camera, not to mention a rather striking Samsung-penned chassis. Typical test-marketing survey mumbo jumbo suggests that the phone would offer "all the exciting Google services from the PC" and -- thanks largely to targeted advertising -- affordable (as it's been suggested) flat-rate data service and a three-month trial. Could it be that Apple's going to see a legitimate competitor in the "pretty, giant-screened cellphone with tight Google integration" market right out of the gate (and with 3G, no less)?

LG announces phones with Google, not Google phone

LG just announced their plan to pre-install Google services on "millions" of LG cellphones in North America and beyond. So the headline over at Telecoms Korea which reads, "LG to launch Google Phone in Q2" is in fact just Google software and not the magical Google phone touted by the rumor mill. At least this clarifies the comments made by Google's South-East Asia managing director when he stated that Google was "very focused on the software, not the phone." At least 10 new "LG-Google handsets" will start shipping globally in 2007, each with a preload of Google Maps, Gmail, and Blogger mobile applications. The first of these handsets are expected to hit in Q2. So yeah, it's not the Google phone we've all been expecting hoping for, but with 18 R&D projects in the Google labs, we don't expect this to be the final word on the subject.

More details emerge on the mythical Google phone?

Now that the iPhone has moved from rumor limbo into the land of the living (at least we think so -- how many people have actually touched one?), we obviously need another mythical mobile to drool over and speculate about -- and the natural candidate is, of course, the so-called Google phone. While the big G has been making inroads on your handset with mobile versions of its search, email, and mapping software for some time, there has been growing speculation that the company is working on its own hardware -- speculation that only intensified when we published that pic of a supposed Google / Samsung collaboration called the Switch (pictured above, as a refresher). Well the latest juicy G-phone morsels to hit our plate come courtesy of Simeon Simeonov (no relation to the deceased Bulgarian soccer player, we think) and his HighContrast blog, whose always-reliable "inside source" broke down some of the anticipated specs. According to Simeonov's tipster, we can expect a "Blackberry-like, slick device" (QWERTY?) running Java on a C++ core with perhaps a Linux bootstrap. For graphics, Google is said to be leveraging the 2005 purchase of little known company name Skia that developed a 2D engine capable of rendering "state-of-the-art" images on low-power devices. Finally, Google is said to be offering carriers a deal wherein the search giant will sell and market the phone online, relying on the carriers for their networks only and subsequently driving down their costs. Combined with Google's tradition of offering almost everything for free, there's a good chance that you'll be able to pick up your G-phone for much less than your precious iPhone -- although lets hope the tradeoff isn't being forced to listen to ads every time we want to make a damn call.

Google getting more serious about the Gphone?

Rumors about about a possible Google phone have run so hot and cold recently that it's hard to keep up, but AppleInsider is reporting that the big G is making a big push in developing their own handset. AI says that investment guidance firm Anian has issued a report quoting a development budget in the "hundreds of millions" of dollars and that HTC is being tapped to build a Linux-based Gphone to be launched on T-Mobile in the US in early 2008, with Orange getting the exclusive in France and other countries. Anian also says Google has been in talks with Verizon and AT&T, and that Verizon has already shot the big G down -- much like it did with Apple and the iPhone. As always, rumors are just rumors, so we'll wait and see, but it's hard to ignore the amount of buzz that the Gphone's been getting.

Google is working on a mobile OS, and it's due out shortly

an it be true? Is the Googlephone nigh at hand? Not that we haven't been hearing this time after time (after time after time, etc.), but we've actually got some hot news from a number of very trustworthy sources about Google's plans for the mobile space. Namely, Google's mobile device platform is well on its way, and will be announced in the very near future.

We understand that the "Gphone OS" (our name for it, not theirs) began development after Google's very quiet 2005 acquisition of mobile software company Android, started by Danger cofounder and former-prez / CEO Andy Rubin. At Google, Andy's team has developed a Linux-based mobile device OS (no surprise) which they're currently shopping around to handset makers and carriers on the premise of providing a flexible, customizable system -- with really great Google integration, of course.

As for the timeframe on this thing, we keep hearing Google will announce its mobile plans some time post-Labor Day (September 3rd); from what we've heard Google isn't necessarily working on hardware of its own, but is definitely working with OEMs and ODMs to get them to put the Gphone OS on upcoming devices. Think of it more in terms of Windows Mobile or Palm OS (in the early days) -- Google wants to supply the platform, but we don't think they want to sell hardware. Still, don't entirely rule out the idea. Andy Rubin knows how to make a device and put it in peoples' hands, so nothing is impossible on the hardware side. Either way, we're totally stoked to peep the software, we've been waiting for the Googlephone for years on years.

Still, we can't help wondering what El Jobso thinks about all this. Apple has been so buddy-buddy with Google lately, especially on the iPhone -- and now Apple's mobile team is on the verge of outright competition with one of its closest partners. We know that's how the industry works, but it's got to sting a little, you know?

Google Talk VoIP phone in development... again?

One can't help but wonder if the recent decisions regarding the FCC's 700MHz frequency auction aren't having an effect on Google's desire to bring a WiFi phone to market as quickly as possible. What better way to use the new "open" frequency than to put Google Talk on a device and get it into the hands of customers about to get "choices" for what they're using to ride the celestial-wavelengths? According to sources, a Taiwanese ODM called Wistron NeWeb has entered "design-in development" for phones with Google Talk compatibility. Of course, we've heard similar rumors before, but the company already makes Skype phones, so moving the technology to Google's implementation of VoIP would be easy as pie -- and who doesn't like pie?

Google doesn't deny GPhone rumors, has prototype ready?

We all know that when rumors start to heat up, well, it just means there's more to speculate about. Nevertheless, new reports from both the BBC and The Wall Street Journal do a fine job of getting our hopes up, as it's noted that Google refused to outrightly deny handset rumors; rather, it simply reiterated that its users and partners are saying that "they want Google search and Google applications on mobile, and it is working hard every day to deliver that." Furthermore, it's now believed that the search giant is "showing the prototype to cellphone manufacturers and network operators as it continues to hone the technical specifications." Make of that what you will, but it sounds pretty enticing over here.

Google and Orange teaming up on Googlephone?

Are Google and Orange pairing up to make our secret mobile nerd dreams come true by introducing a Googlephone? There's nothing official yet, but the Observer reports that the two companies are in talks about producing a Google-branded cellphone that would come pre-loaded with mobile versions of Google apps like Google Earth, Gmail, etc. (The phone itself would be manufactured by our old friends HTC, which implies -- but doesn't guarantee -- that this thing might run Windows Mobile.) It's not totally far-fetched; Google's been moving headlong into the mobile space for a while now. There are already handsets that come pre-loaded with Google software, and in recent months they've also offered mobile versions of Google Maps and Gmail for download. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has even waxed rhapsodic about the possibilities of free handsets subsidized by (Google) ads. Even so, releasing a Googlephone would be a HUGE step for them, since ultimately Google's goal shouldn't be to have its own phone, but rather to be on every phone, right?

Five Facts About Google Phone

Is Google (GOOG) Phone fact or fiction? Engadget says Google’s entry into mobile phone business is for real, and the company is going to announce it soon. Scott Kirsner talked to a bunch of folks over who are intimately familiar with the effort and outlined his findings in an article for The Boston Globe.

The story talks about a handful of Boston entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who have seen the phone, but are under NDA and can’t talk about it. Rich Miner, a co-founder of Android, a mobile software company he started with Andy Rubin (formerly of Danger) is based in Boston.

Google bought Android in August 2005. Later Google snapped up Reqwireless and Skia, two tiny start-ups with mobile expertise, and since then has been hiring mobile-focused folks at a pretty steady clip.

The news (or rumors) were enough to get me dialing-for-dirt over the big holiday weekend. These are the tidbits I picked up from a reliable source:

1. Google Phone is based on a mobile variant of Linux, and is able to run Java virtual machines.
2. All applications that are supposed to run on the Google Phone are java apps. The OS has ability to run multimedia files, including video clips.
3. The user interface is similar to a UI typical of mobile phones, and the image (with red background) floating around isn’t representative of the Google Phone UI. The entire UI is said to be done in Java and is very responsive. The UI, of course has a “search box.”
4. There is a special browser which has pan-and-browse features that are common to modern browsers such as browsers for iPhone and Symbian phones. The entire browser is apparently written in Java. But then others have told us that the browser is based on the WebKit core, the same engine in Safari and in iPhone, and Google has been making optimizations to speed it up. This is one aspect of the Google Phone I am not sure about.
5. Initially there was one prototype, but over past few months Google has the mobile OS running on 3-to-5 devices, most of them likely made by HTC, a mobile phone maker, and all have Qwerty apps. The model that folks have seen is very similar to the T-Mobile Dash. Around 3GSM, there were rumors that Google, Orange and HTC were working together on mobile devices.

These tiny-bits of information are pretty close to what Simeon Simenov, a VC with Polaris Venture Partners had very clearly outlined on his blog eons ago. I can’t seem to find that post, so here is is an alternate link. Simenov also wrote a pretty good post on what should be an ideal mobile stack. Google is pretty close to what Simenov had outlined.

We will post more details as they come our way. I had initially thought that it could be a more viable option to the $100 PC. While that argument still remains true, I think this is a strategic move by Google to keep Windows Mobile’s growing influence in check. Microsoft has spent billions on its mobile efforts including buying companies such as Tell Me Networks.

Forget iPhone, Think Google Phone

The Observer of London is reporting that Google might be working with HTC and mobile/telecom giant Orange to build a Google Mobile Phone, which could possibly have Google software inside the device, and would be able to do many of the web tasks smartly. The device, article speculates, could go on sale in 2008. (Of course, we would all have forgotten by then… if it doesn’t happen.) Orange and Google, both declined to comment.

Their plans centre on a branded Google phone, which would probably also carry Orange’s logo. The device would not be revolutionary: manufactured by HTC, a Taiwanese firm specialising in smart phones and Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), it might have a screen similar to a video iPod. But it would have built-in Google software which would dramatically improve on the slow and cumbersome experience of surfing the web from a mobile handset.

It would be interesting to see if this comes to fruition. Google, in recent months has become increasingly aggressive about its mobile ambitions, and is pushing into the carrier space, though there have been some snags.

Google Phone, if you think about it is a reasonable speculation. Google has been aggressive in developing location based services, has amp-ed up its local search and mapping services. In addition, it has also been mobilizing its applications such as GTalk and GMail. YouTube, the video arm of Google, is beginning to embrace the mobile ecosystem.

Normally, one would not spend too much energy on this bit of news. However, presence of Andy Rubin on Google campus gives us a reason to pause.

Who is Rubin? He was one of the co-founders of Danger, the company that makes the Sidekick devices. He sold his last company, Android to Google for an undisclosed amount of money, and he has been holed up in Mountain View, California campus of Google, doing something.

No one knows what, but since Android was focusing on mobile, it is safe to assume that he just might be involved in Android. Danger, as you might know has become a multimillion dollar business based off the “compress web and take it mobile” technology developed by Rubin and others. Businessweek had reported that Android was working on a cell phone operating system.

One source familiar with the company says Android had at one point been working on a software operating system for cell phones. … In a 2003 interview with BusinessWeek, just two months before incorporating Android, Rubin said there was tremendous potential in developing smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner’s location and preferences. “If people are smart, that information starts getting aggregated into consumer products,” said Rubin.

For Orange, this could be a valuable asset in its triple play ambitions. The company owns broadband businesses across Europe, and has access to 3G networks, and is owned by France Telecom. It could use Google’s web expertise to take on its rivals, by offering web-mobile hybrid phones, and at the same time get a slice of mobile advertising revenues. I know, sounds far fetched, but not out of the real of possiblity.

Your thoughts?