Some magazines have reported on Google's plans for entering the cellphone business. Google has research and development resources dedicated to mobile phone technology, but the question has always been: will Google strike out on its own, or will it embrace partners in its quest to tackle the mobile world? Will it make its own phone, or just a set of applications and recommendations?
Google is believed to have spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" on its mobile phone project. Google has multiple phone prototypes and envisions a day in which mobile phones will be ad-supported thanks to services such as those Google provides.
Google has "developed prototype handsets" that feature powerful versions of its applications, and it has approached several wireless operators in the U.S. and Europe in recent months, including AT&T, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, to bring these devices to market. T-Mobile, appears to be farthest along in developing these plans.
The company is working on its own devices, but is also working on a set of technical specifications and applications to be shared by multiple mobile devices. Google will allow manufacturers to use their prototype designs or make their own. Google's chief interest, clearly, is getting its applications on phones. Mobile device versions of Google Maps, Google Talk, and even Gmail are already popular, and the company is working on a web browser as well.
At its Boston office, Google is "working on a sophisticated new Web browser for cell phones. Google has recommended that manufacturers build phones with a host of technology to support its apps - a camera, Wi-Fi, 3G networking, and GPS.
People who have seen Google's prototype devices say they aren't as revolutionary as the iPhone. One was likened to a slim Nokia Corp. phone with a keyboard that slides out. Another phone format presented by Google looked more like a Treo or a BlackBerry.
Google is believed to have spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" on its mobile phone project. Google has multiple phone prototypes and envisions a day in which mobile phones will be ad-supported thanks to services such as those Google provides.Google has "developed prototype handsets" that feature powerful versions of its applications, and it has approached several wireless operators in the U.S. and Europe in recent months, including AT&T, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, to bring these devices to market. T-Mobile, appears to be farthest along in developing these plans.
The company is working on its own devices, but is also working on a set of technical specifications and applications to be shared by multiple mobile devices. Google will allow manufacturers to use their prototype designs or make their own. Google's chief interest, clearly, is getting its applications on phones. Mobile device versions of Google Maps, Google Talk, and even Gmail are already popular, and the company is working on a web browser as well.
At its Boston office, Google is "working on a sophisticated new Web browser for cell phones. Google has recommended that manufacturers build phones with a host of technology to support its apps - a camera, Wi-Fi, 3G networking, and GPS.
People who have seen Google's prototype devices say they aren't as revolutionary as the iPhone. One was likened to a slim Nokia Corp. phone with a keyboard that slides out. Another phone format presented by Google looked more like a Treo or a BlackBerry.
It's not clear which manufacturers might build Google wireless devices, though people familiar with the project say LG Electronics Co. of South Korea is one company that has held talks with Google. Google has already lined up a series of hardware component and software partners and signaled to carriers that it's open to various degrees of cooperation on their part. The Google brand has yet to appear on a significant piece of consumer hardware.
