Rumored 'Google Phone' said to be coming in 2010

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Google is rumored to release its own custom-built Android phone in early 2010, allowing the company to control all of the facets of the software and hardware, much like with Apple and the iPhone.



According to Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, the Google-branded phone has been "confirmed" through reliable, anonymous sources, and will be sold directly through retailers very soon. Though the handset was originally planned to release this holiday, it has slipped to early 2010. Though the device will be created by a major manufacturer, much like Microsoft did with the first Zunes from Toshiba, it will only have the Google brand on it.



"There won?t be any negotiation or compromise over the phone?s design of features -- Google is dictating every last piece of it," Arrington said. "No splintering of the Android OS that makes some applications unusable. Like the iPhone for Apple, this phone will be Google?s pure vision of what a phone should be."



While the report claims the preceding information is from reliable sources, Arrington also provides a number of rumors in which he is less confident. He said the handset is likely to be manufactured by Korean companies LG or Samsung, though because Samsung makes a number of parts found in the iPhone, Apple could pressure the company to not accept a deal.



The report also said that Google is set to plan a "big advertising push" in January for the new hardware.



"We don't know what the device will look like, how big it will be, or even if it has a physical keyboard," Arrington said. "But we do know that Google is getting into the phone building business directly, and doesn't seem too concerned about competing with all the other device manufacturers building Android phones."



Until now, the Android platform has been included in devices created by third-party manufacturers, in much the same business model employed by Microsoft with Windows. The new Motorola Droid has been equipped with version 2.0 of the mobile operating system, which sports the company's free turn-by-turn directions application, Google Maps Navigation.



Though Android took a small share of the market in its first year with essentially one handset available, some believe its presence will grow significantly in the coming years, as the operating system expands to new hardware and carriers.



For more on the software side of Android vs. the iPhone, see AppleInsider's ongoing series:



Inside Google's Android and Apple's iPhone OS as core platforms

Inside Google's Android and Apple's iPhone OS as business models

Inside Google's Android and Apple's iPhone OS as advancing technology
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 72
    And the battle officially begins...
  • Reply 2 of 72
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Just because Apple can do it doesn't mean Google can. Apple's historical expertise has been in user interfaces whereas Google's has been in back end services.
  • Reply 3 of 72
    And that is why Apple should never have allowed Google on their board. Having said that?competition is a good thing for Apple, it keeps em on their toes.
  • Reply 4 of 72
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member
    As Gruber has already pointed out, Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering for Android at Google said just two weeks ago:



    “We’re not making hardware. We’re enabling other people to build hardware.”



    So either Michael Arrington is full of crap or Google is about to have a very Microsoftian moment and violate the whole system of ethics the company is built on.
  • Reply 5 of 72
    Jon Gruber:



    Filed Away for Future Claim Chowder: Mike Arrington Says Google Is Making Its Own Android Phone



    Mike Arrington says Google is definitely making its own phone, coming in “early 2010”:




    Way more interesting are the rumors we’ve been hearing for months about a pure Google-branded phone. Most of our sources have unconfirmed information, which we describe below. But there are a few things we have absolutely confirmed: Google is building their own branded phone that they’ll sell directly and through retailers. They were long planning to have the phone be available by the holidays, but it has now slipped to early 2010. The phone will be produced by a major phone manufacturer but will only have Google branding (Microsoft did the same thing with their first Zunes, which were built by Toshiba).



    That puts Arrington on the same side as the almost-always-full-of-shit Scott Moritz. On the other side: Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering for Android at Google, who just two weeks ago said Google would not “compete with its customers” and “We’re not making hardware. We’re enabling other people to build hardware.”



    So either Mike Arrington is totally wrong or Andy Rubin is a liar.



    At the outset of Google’s Android initiative, I was a proponent of their creating a Google-branded, Google-designed reference handset. But at this point, after promising their hardware partners for 18 months that they wouldn’t do that, I don’t see how Google could do it without infuriating their partners and spoiling their trust. It’d be like what Microsoft did to its PlaysForSure partners when it introduced the Zune.



    EDIT:



    Gazobee beat me to it!
  • Reply 6 of 72
    Supposing it's REALLY good and competes TOO well, won't that then drive the other Android phone manufacturers back to Windows Mobile?
  • Reply 7 of 72
    Android Handset Makers Are At Google's Mercy



    Irate Android Devs Aim To Replace Google's Proprietary Bits



    Bad Google, bad.



    Closed open software? Manufacturer favoritism? And now unfairly competing with your licensees?







  • Reply 8 of 72
    As many have stated before...this will only be good for us!



    I, personally, will stick with Apple products because of the complete 'Apple eco-system' which extends well beyond just the smart phone experience. Ie., syncing with my other macs via MobileMe, software integration which is improving all the time and of course, AppleTV.



    I know many posters know this, but it is amazing how the eco-system is not included in the conversation when discussing the Pre's, Droid's of the world.



    Anyone who has had to transfer video from a windows phone and then do video editing using a windows third party SW knows how frustrating a non-Apple solution can be!



    I love Google Search in Safari, but as far as their other SW it's still a bit 'clunky' compared to Apple!



    Thoughts?
  • Reply 9 of 72
    Let's hope the UI is better than Picasa for OSX. Google can't make a decent interface.
  • Reply 10 of 72
    GOOG??? Who never soldered one single transistor to a board???

    It's the End of Time.
  • Reply 11 of 72
    Make an Android Phone that has more than 256MB of Application Capacity. I can see the Droid Users now...."which Apps do I install?....I only have about 20MB left."
  • Reply 12 of 72
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    It would have made the rumor more fun if it included which carrier(s) the Google phone would operate on. In terms of Android application developers, I can just imagine them slapping their foreheads each time a potential new flavor of Android phone is announced. Maybe Google hopes that by producing a completely vanilla Android phone, it will keep other companies from customizing too much and alienating the app developer community.
  • Reply 13 of 72
  • Reply 14 of 72
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    I love Google Search in Safari, but as far as their other SW it's still a bit 'clunky' compared to Apple!



    Thoughts?



    Completely agree. Over the years, I have actually backed away from many of the google apps and gone back to the Apple versions. I like them much more. Plus, I don't like the thought of all my info in the google clouds They get plenty of it just through search alone. It is my opinion that all corps that reach a certain size will do evil (that includes apple). So there will come a time when having willingly fed all your private info to google will not seem such a good idea after all.
  • Reply 15 of 72
    Have Google's "licensees" paid any licensing fees?

    A true Google phone seems simultaneously to be the only way to real success for Android and also the sure way to a number of Microsoftian stye disasters.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jz1492 View Post


    Android Handset Makers Are At Google's Mercy



    Irate Android Devs Aim To Replace Google's Proprietary Bits



    Bad Google, bad.



    Closed open software? Manufacturer favoritism? And now unfairly competing with your licensees?











  • Reply 16 of 72
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    This will really make Android partners happy ... NOT! It is as if M$ started making PCs.
  • Reply 17 of 72
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ivan.rnn01 View Post


    GOOG??? Who never soldered one single transistor to a board???

    It's the End of Time.



    And whose only real business was built without ever doing any meaningful UI ???



    2012 is near
  • Reply 18 of 72
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ivan.rnn01 View Post


    GOOG??? Who never soldered one single transistor to a board???

    It's the End of Time.



    They probably have hardware engineers who design their enterprise search appliances.



    However, this brings up the point that Google has not done any active hiring of cellphone hardware engineers. Even to build a reference device, they would need to staff up and such job openings have not made the news.



    I can see a Google-branded phone, but not one designed by Google. In the company's current form, they have much more value as a brand rather than hardware engineering prowess.
  • Reply 19 of 72
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    This will really make Android partners happy ... NOT! It is as if M$ started making PCs.



    Exactly! Goodbye, Motorola, HTC, et al.
  • Reply 20 of 72
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jz1492 View Post


    And whose only real business was built without ever doing any meaningful UI ???

    2012 is near



    Presumably, not every business on earth needs UI. But how about cellular phone without hardware???

    That's fresh idea, though. It will indeed be able to finally kill iPhone.
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