Among the flurry of news coming out of Google this morning, one announcement was conspicuously absent. A Google-branded device, the so-called gPhone, was no where to be seen. Speculation had been that Google would pair with a manufacturer to create a phone. LG and HTC had been favorites, and we asked Samsung directly about a gPhone while we toured their headquarters, but got no real response. Now, it seems that all three will be making gPhone-like devices. As Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, reiterated in a conference call this afternoon, instead of one Google phone there are now thousands.
There is no gPhone, there is only Zuul
Well, that's not exactly true. Certainly, there are plenty of phones that run Windows Mobile, but we wouldn't say there is a Microsoft phone. And, conversely, there is definitely an Apple phone. So, why no Google phone, even with the help of a third-party manufacturer? Google reps weren't willing to answer explicitly, but also wouldn't deny the existence of a Google-branded device. In fact, the answer we got on the conference call was: "We have no announcements to make at this time."
Pressed for details, Google execs simply repeated the same phrase, but of course this is telling. In our opinion, there probably is a Google phone. In fact, there is probably a Google car, a Google DVR and a Google toaster. Google is well known for encouraging their employees to nurture side projects, and it would be foolish to think that some Google designer hasn't mocked up a mobile phone, perhaps even loaded it with an OS and a SIM card. But will Google bring their phone to market? That will depend on outside condition.
Carriers are king
Foremost, it will depend on the carriers. We think Google will bring their phone to market if they are frustrated by the carriers. Carriers could easily embarrass Google by locking up the so-called "open source" phone, turning it into another drone. Also, if there is no clear runaway hit among the thousands of Google phones that Schmidt claims will hit the market, Google might want to step in and create a dominating, flagship phone that demonstrates the full capabilities of the Android OS. That phone will depend upon some open networking standards, which Google may win if they participate in the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction, as they are expected to do.
Call us skeptical, but we're not excited about a Google phone. Google is known for their simplicity and openness, not their hardware design. Certainly a Google OS could be interesting, but we're more curious about the next offering from Apple, a company with both OS experience, and a history of properly pairing their operating systems with their devices. Of course, competition is always fun, from the consumer's perspective, so we welcome any high-profile addition to the marketplace. Still, we're not willing to give up our iPhone, or even our Treo, just yet.
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