Google Phone Rumors Continue to Gain Steam

[MacRumors]

Earlier this month, reports surfaced reviving claims that Google is in the process of developing its own smart phone based on its Android operating system. Gizmodo today follows up with new claims of Google phone prototypes running a new version of Android beginning to appear on Google's campus. The existence of the device is called a "certainty" by the report's source.

Over the next few weeks, Google Phones (most probably in early, prototype form) will flood the Mountain View campus. They'll don large LCDs while running a new version of Android -- either Flan or the version of Android beyond it -- which our source spotted running on Google's handset as well as a laptop. (Whatever the software was, it most certainly wasn't Chrome OS, we were assured.)

In another interesting tidbit, the "trusted source" claims that the Android operating system seen so far in such devices as the original T-Mobile G1 through to the new Motorola Droid is not the "real" Android. Exactly what, however, the "real" Android offers is unknown at this time.

Article Link: Google Phone Rumors Continue to Gain Steam

 

[Big Alsie]

i think google is spreading themselves too thin

 

[dieburnbot]

i think google is spreading themselves too thin

I think Google is an incredibily rich company it'll take more than one phone to spread themselves thin.

 

[MacFly123]

I agree. Google is like the new Microsoft but free haha.

They are making a lot of the same mistakes with their mobile platform that Microsoft made and it is becoming very fragmented and a game between them and 3rd party manufacturers! They may be working on future versions of Android obviously, but it will not be anything drastically different from the current. They can't even really keep up as it is.

There are a lot of parallels between them and Microsoft. The big difference is that Google isn't trying to protect an OEM lock-in monopoly with everything else they do, they are just trying to infiltrate any and everything they can to make ad money and gain data. But that is the only reason they are entering all these new areas, and guess what? They don't have experience in ANY of these areas! Also, their motivation is strictly ad and data money, not the end user, or the 3rd parties.

Google is turning into a mess!

Let them and Microsoft fight over trying to do everything to protect their monopolistic revenue while Apple begins to dominate all markets with their vastly superior products, decades of experience and knowledge, and one complete end to end package of hardware and software coupled with a seamless ecosystem!

When will Microsoft learn that their license the software and don't make the hardware model success was a fluke that they have been trying to keep from falling apart ever since. The fact that they are imitating Apple in virtually every way including their software/hardware business model is proof that they realize what is going on. And now Google is making the same mistakes. You'd think they would research or know a bit about the history of the computer industry and how things really went down.

 

[vant]

Great! Another phone to confuse app dev teams with.

 

[wonderbread57]

I don't believe in a public option.. er I mean in a gPhone. What's so special about "google branded hardware"? They are not a fab company and they are not a hardware design company so the idea that it will only have google branding doesn't lend any credibility to the phone or make it any more compelling than other android devices on the market. HTC Sense is compelling.

 

[Small White Car]

I still have a hard time believing that Google will stab their phone partners in the back the way Microsoft did to their Play-for-sure partners when they came out with the Zune.

Yes, I know it's not exactly the same (this wouldn't be quite as bad, actually) but it's pretty close and I just can't see Google doing it.

 

[macshill]

i think google is spreading themselves too thin

Perhaps. But one could say the same thing about Apple getting into the tablet market. It's all subjective.

Ah, but if Apple is trying to get in on the ground floor for a possible emerging tablet market, couldn't Google be trying to get in -- albeit late -- on a hardware smart phone device? Perhaps it's worth a shot and Google has the resources and goodness knows the money to do so.

 

[Speedy2]

Yeah right, the "real" Android.
Who believes that nonsense?

 

[wonderbread57]

Yeah right, the "real" Android.
Who believes that nonsense?

Plus it was a quote from someone who was talking to the source not the source it self and it was labelled as offhanded. I mean really, who prints that kind of thing?

 

[Unspeaked]

I think OJ is using the "real" Android to find the "real" killer...

 

[macduke]

Hmmm...this is the real Android? What does that even mean? Is this why Google and Apple have been splitting apart? I wonder if this does everything the iPhone does and then some. It will be a cold day in hell when I exchange my iPhone for something else, but I hear that there have been some chilly nights in the netherworld as of late.

I still think the Droid is a piece. Some kid in my graphic design class has one now, and every time he gets a text his phone yells "DROID!!" It's still a tacky phone, with a less than desireable UI and an even worse keyboard. I couldn't type on the thing. Don't even get me started on apps. I think Google will get it right eventually, but not before Apple takes a nice chunk of the market.

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10_5_5; en-gb) AppleWebKit/525.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.2 Safari/525.20.1)

Oh how I love "trusted sources"....

Edit: Another thing is that as Android is open source, any newer versions of android would mean the source code would released so that point is moot.

2.0 was ported to the G1 shortly after it was released so once the source is out there the all of the open handset alliance will have access to it.

 

[simsandwhich]

One Request: 3.5mm Headphone Jack. All the good Android phones don't have 3.5mm headphone jacks. Except the HTC Hero

 

[thegoldenmackid]

One Request: 3.5mm Headphone Jack. All the good Android phones don't have 3.5mm headphone jacks. Except the HTC Hero

The HTC HD2 does, oh how I want one badly.

 

[Roessnakhan]

One Request: 3.5mm Headphone Jack. All the good Android phones don't have 3.5mm headphone jacks. Except the HTC Hero

And the Eris (basically the Hero) and the Droid.

 

[CherryJul]

This smells of Google's version of PlaysForSure. Sure stinks to me.

 

[eastcoastsurfer]

I hope Andriod and the hardware get their act together for when I finally throw my 3gs out of the window. I'm dropping at least 50% of my calls now when I have full signal. At this point I don't care whose fault it is (ATT or Apple), it is completely unacceptable on a phone and plan that cost as much as they do.

 

[cmaier]

"Real Android." LOL.

 

[Scott66]

Google should be like Mic

-rosoft and stay out of the hardware business. If I was Motorola or HTC etc, I would be very mad, since after all the efforts and development, they will soon be seen as a second class providers.

Who will want to buy their android phones with the real Google Android available?

Will the google version get the newest software first?

 

[*LTD*]

What a bunch of jokers. So Google is implying, or has tacitly admitted that current owner of a phone running Android, including those who bought them say, today, under contract, that they're not running the "real" Android. At least that's what current Android users will get from this news item.

ROFL. Smooth move, Google.

So I guess Android doesn't really exist at the moment! Whatever....

This is beginning to look like the PlaysForSure fiasco, but worse.

 

[mcmlxix]

i think google is spreading themselves too thin

Well, I don’t know if that’s the case with Google at this time, but it is certainly true of Microsoft. All of their me-too-ism led them to lose sight of their core…I hate to use the term competencies…so I’ll use product lines.

Likewise, Apple runs the risk of creating a conflict between making the best hardware/software products and protecting their new media content cash cow.

 

[cloud]

Well, I don’t know if that’s the case with Google at this time, but it is certainly true of Microsoft. All of their me-too-ism led them to lose sight of their core…I hate to use the term competencies…so I’ll use product lines.

Likewise, Apple runs the risk of creating a conflict between making the best hardware/software products and protecting their new media content cash cow.

How does Apple conflict? They can do both and it doesn't hurt them. I don't understand what you're talking about.

Explain.

 

[macFanDave]

Go for it, Google

This can only blow up in Google's face. They are going to compete against all of the other Android hardware vendors. Why would any of them think that they are competing on a level playing field with the "gPhone" makers? It's always going to seem that the "gPhone" team has special secret access to the Android team and that any third-party is going to inherently be at a disadvantage.

I'd like to see this product come out and flop (or drive some of the hardware partners out of the business), because Google has become way too smug.

 

[Padraig]

What a bunch of jokers. So Google is implying, or has tacitly admitted that current owner of a phone running Android, including those who bought them say, today, under contract, that they're not running the "real" Android. At least that's what current Android users will get from this news item.

ROFL. Smooth move, Google.

So I guess Android doesn't really exist at the moment! Whatever....

This is beginning to look like the PlaysForSure fiasco, but worse.

You're giving a lot of credence to a "trusted Source" on Gizmodo. You'd swear by your overreaction that Google just issued a press release.