Google Phone rumors have been floating around the web for a while, and as expected, have caused quite the buzz. Last we knew, the image to the right was said to be the Google phone. This image has been plastered all over the web and really hasn’t provided many details on what to expect.
The phone is said to be much like a Blackberry device, “running C++ at the core with an operating system bootstrap and optimized Java and that it will offer voice over Internet Protocol.” It has also been rumored to be a joint effort between Google and Samsung, and code-named Switch.
Now here’s what we know now: additional rumors are floating around that the image below is actually the Google Phone. Garett Rogers over at ZDNet posted this and found it from someone on the MobileBurn Forum who participates in paid surveys. One of the surveys he took was reportedly over a Google Phone.
As Garett points out, the image is most certainly Photoshopped, and whether or not it’s legit is a whole other issue. It does look pretty slick however with the concealed keyboard. It’s simple, and slim, and the screen appears to be able to change from the portrait view to landscape view.According to details provided by the Forum poster, it will incorporate a variety of Google services like Gmail, Maps, and Blogger.
Keep in mind that these are all rumors, and nothing has been confirmed. If I had to choose, the latest reported image has a better look than the previous image that was plastered all over the web.
Almost every venture Google has tried, with the exception of it’s primary search engine, has failed or failed to attract a large number of followers. It surprises me that that would jump into the crowded cellphone market.
I was actually just reading something that was talking about how it’s interesting that Google has morphed itself into a verb. It’s because they’re so well known for their search engine that this happened.
The cellphone market is definitely crowded, but they might stand a chance if they find a way to set themselves apart from others. One idea Ryan and I were just talking about was what if Google placed a small text ad at the top of the phone, but in return for that offered free Internet? I’d be all for that.
I think that the primary reason that Google hasn’t attracted a lot of people with their services is because they aren’t really targeting the everyday user. Not many people I know use an online calendar, online notebook, or online document/spreadsheet editor. While some tech-savvy people may venture to use those services a lot of casual users aren’t to the point of placing everything on the Internet yet. People are, however, looking for an online email solution which is one reason why Gmail is doing well.
I think Google is looking more to the future, and they realize that nearly everything will be done online. They want to be the one that people first turn to when they are looking for a solution to do something.
Google entering the phone market does seem a little bit risky, but I’m convinced that they have an ace up their sleeve. Google isn’t stupid (well, I think they are sometimes) and they will do something that can be done with no other cellphone at this point.
The first thing that popped into my head was free unlimited access to Google services. No matter where people are they could search the Web, pull up maps, check Gmail, blog with Blogger, schedule events on a calendar, and make quick notes in the Google Notebook. We have been asking Google for a long time to bring all of their services together into one easy location…and my gut says that location is going to be a cellphone.