New Google Phone rumors get real specific

As any avid Engadget reader knows, the persistent Google Phone rumor -- begun so many eons ago (er, last year) -- has been on the fast track as of late, with varying reports coming in concerning specific information such as launch date, OS, and the existence of prototypes. Well, now it looks like we've got another handful of data to add to the veritable mini-mountain of specs / info we've ascertained about the presently-vaporous device. According to "reliable sources," specific aspects of the GPhone are coming to light -- the first suggesting that the phone will run on a Linux variant (which is nothing new), and will be Java Virtual Machine-capable. Additionally, the OS of the phone will be Java-based (as well as the all phone apps itself), and performance is said to be "very responsive." The browser for the phone will be new (though some say it's based on the WebKit core, which Safari is built atop) and will tout "pan-and-browse" capabilities. Finally, the word is that HTC is manufacturing the handsets, and instead of a single form-factor for the prototype, there are a variety of phones, all with QWERTY keyboards (one article suggests the phone will be "simpler" and less "flashy" than the iPhone, with less screen space, and a BlackBerry / Treo form-factor). Certainly a lot of information, though -- just as certainly -- speculation and rumor right now, and if the past year has taught any lesson, it's to proceed with extreme skepticism.

Read -- Five Facts About Google Phone
Read -- Introducing the Google Phone

[shimp81 @ Sep 4th 2007 9:34AM]

I'd get a google phone for sure! As long as it works on my carrier...

[Zach @ Sep 4th 2007 9:35AM]

Why doesn't Google just make a phone that is a solid block of acrylic with a transparent OLED display? That would look awesome.

[bl0nde @ Sep 4th 2007 11:10AM]

Yes, because solid blocks of acrylics are a GREAT substitute for all of a phone's internals.

[enjoi @ Sep 4th 2007 9:36AM]

iphone > googlephone

[Ben @ Sep 4th 2007 9:39AM]

I'm amazed that comparisons can even start on a device that doesn't exist/hasn't been released yet.... Let's just wait and see :)

[Homeboy @ Sep 4th 2007 9:49AM]

Wanker! So every phone without a touch screen covering the screen is worthless now?

It's funny that you even brought up the iPhone because it is far from the best phone on the market. You can't even send files over bluetooth on it, you can't receive or send SMS, you can't use mp3 files as ringtones, the phone has to be on in order for the alarm to ring, no games or Java support and lastly you can't buy it unlocked.

In terms of functionality is beaten by a good majority of phones on the market.

[enjoi @ Sep 4th 2007 10:03AM]

rofl i'm an apple-fanboy so what? :D

[Nando @ Sep 4th 2007 10:20AM]

So you will get the lowest rank, wank-face. lol

[enjoi @ Sep 4th 2007 10:33AM]

ROFL does it look like i care?
hahaha get a life XD

[riggs @ Sep 4th 2007 2:44PM]

^^^Man you really need to look in a mirror when you say that

[BrotherhoodOfNod @ Sep 4th 2007 9:45AM]

Well, if they handle their carries like Apple did (IE making them their bitch), this can be the start of a beautiful new telecom age in the US, one where the hardware manufacturers dictate what specs you get out of the box, the way it is in the rest of the world. Instead of having them cripple what features they don't like.

But I digress. Too early to say anything now, but I don't think Google would hire HTC if they wanted to go all-out with the GPhone, their usual style when undertaking a project they're really serious about is to cut the middle man and buy out the necessary company. They did it when Google Earth came to be.

[Leo @ Sep 4th 2007 10:05AM]

"Well, if they handle their carries like Apple did (IE making them their bitch), this can be the start of a beautiful new telecom age in the US, one where the hardware manufacturers dictate what specs you get out of the box, the way it is in the rest of the world. Instead of having them cripple what features they don't like."

I agree -- nothing is more annoying than Verizon crippling my bluetooth phone. I'd love to see Google take Verizon back behind the woodshed and give them a thrashing.

[Leonardo DiCrapio @ Sep 4th 2007 10:05AM]

"Well, if they handle their carries like Apple did (IE making them their bitch), this can be the start of a beautiful new telecom age in the US, one where the hardware manufacturers dictate what specs you get out of the box, the way it is in the rest of the world. Instead of having them cripple what features they don't like."

I agree -- nothing is more annoying than Verizon crippling my bluetooth phone. I'd love to see Google take Verizon back behind the woodshed and give them a thrashing.

[enemes @ Sep 4th 2007 10:16AM]

I'd so much rather my phone is crippled by Apple or Google... It'd be crippled but will still have glitz!

[randy @ Sep 4th 2007 9:50AM]

If it's as described, with a keyboard and a blackberry form factor, then what's with this picture all these blogs keep using to promote their gPHONE stories?

[neodorian @ Sep 4th 2007 4:20PM]

They've even said that picture is not one of the candidates for the Google Phone form factor.

[Tristan @ Sep 4th 2007 9:59AM]

i want one NOW.

[Michael @ Sep 4th 2007 10:05AM]

Looks more like an e-book reader than a phone

[Terrell @ Sep 4th 2007 10:12AM]

=-0

[Jason @ Sep 4th 2007 10:14AM]

Yeah... cause thats what the world needs... another black berry type phone... that runs on linux... you know... before too long Google is going to start to lose their following. If they are getting into the phone business it should be to do something new and different... NOT JUST TO FORK OUT ANOTHER PLATFORM TO PUSH THEIR BORING TEXT ADS ON!

So basically the phone will just be a new ad medium for Google... I'm sure it will have google maps on it and all the Google heads will RUN out to get one... PLEASE... Lets hope the rumors are NOT TRUE and the phone will actually be something new and different than a BB/Treo rip with ads on it.

[frank gruger @ Sep 4th 2007 10:28AM]

A cheap to free phone supported by ad revenue WOULD BE an innovation and a revolution, and WOULD REALLY make the carriers "your bitch"... IN the end Apple largely played ball... Google may do an actual end run around the carriers here. Say what you want, but Google is the real company that "thinks different" nowadays...

[shaun @ Sep 4th 2007 11:49AM]

There are google heads?

[jd @ Sep 4th 2007 10:24AM]

ok. Here are my ideas:

plan 1) free phone, no month fee, with text ad.

plan 2) $ for the phone, monthly fee, no text ad

according to sept 1's The Economist, google gets 50cent for every click on the text ad.

[MS @ Sep 4th 2007 10:26AM]

'Java' and 'responsive' - Not two words that are normally seen close to each other, unless there's a 'not' nearby... The fact that the responsivness is even being mentioned in these rumours suggests that it isn't.

[Paris K @ Sep 4th 2007 10:42AM]

My blackberry has a java based operating system and is as responsive as any other phone.

[Samuel A. Falvo II @ Sep 4th 2007 2:13PM]

In fact, MOST phones have a Java-based operating system on them.

[Dave @ Sep 4th 2007 10:29AM]

I heard a rumor that each GPhone comes with a unicorn..

[MT @ Sep 4th 2007 10:39AM]

This would rock so much, and give the Iphone something to think about. Competition is always good for consumers.
More competition = More choices

[Christopher Wetmore @ Sep 4th 2007 10:41AM]

Someday, there'll be a cool phone for those who use pre-paid.

[Jason @ Sep 4th 2007 10:45AM]

I hope you don't mean "free" service... that isn't going to happen... there is WAY too much money to be made on phone service fees... And besides ALL carries have pretty much free phones right now... you can get a decent phone for free from any carrier these days.

If they make the service free and have it totally supported by ads that will fail miserably... try to convince the advertisers its worth their ad dollars... did we go around this block with internet service a couple of years ago?? How did that work out??? If anything Apple just showed us that if you make something cool people will pay for it.

Besides... I don't think the demographic advertisers are looking to sell their products to are 10 - 14 year old kids who get this "free for all" phone from their parents to keep their phone bill down... If I were an adsense advertiser I would want to make sure my ad dollars were not heading to these free phones... thats like trying to sell stuff to the open source fans out there... they like open source because its free... not because they like to buy stuff...

[jonthedog @ Sep 4th 2007 11:10AM]

I've been waiting for Palm to make a new Treo that was a little thinner and had wifi. Maybe google will beat them to it.

[neodorian @ Sep 4th 2007 4:22PM]

Me too. Then I got tired of waiting. I was about to pick up Sprint's new HTC phone but I think I'll wait for the Google offering to see if it's any better.

[LJKelley @ Sep 4th 2007 11:29AM]

I'm kinda doubting HTC would be involved in this since they are one of the primary Windows Mobile manufactures and in fact launched the first ever Windows Smartphone (The Orange SPV and variants) which I happily own (but don't use anymore).

[shaun @ Sep 4th 2007 11:51AM]

Orange SPV! I had one of those, it took longer to turn on than my computer, and it took hours to upgrade the firmware but it rocked!

[2timer @ Sep 4th 2007 11:37AM]

I wish they would just come out with the dang thing already! or at the very least show us a new photo

[Craig @ Sep 4th 2007 11:55AM]

I second your request for a new fake Google phone photo. I'm about to puke from seeing that stupid red screen device over and over.

[Harry Heng @ Sep 4th 2007 12:02PM]

I think that its about time we got another player in the market with some real foresight to make moves against the other big players and really take into consideration what the consumer has in mind especially when it comes to a strong and viable os like this one.

[Big Brother @ Sep 4th 2007 12:18PM]

gPhone vs iPhone vs Yphone (Yahoo Phone)...check the battles here:

http://gphone.corank.com
http://iphone.corank.com

[Zzephyr @ Sep 4th 2007 12:31PM]

Man, if that is the phone, count me in, BABY! I don't give a tinker's cuss if it even holds a signal for the time to order a Papa John's pizza, that is one cool piece of kitty cat!

[Andrew Crisp @ Sep 4th 2007 12:55PM]

I'm really looking forward to this.

[hresult @ Sep 4th 2007 1:17PM]

Another shit from google?

[LWATCDR @ Sep 4th 2007 3:18PM]

There isn't a Java version of webkit that I know of. So it seems unlikely that all the applications are written in Java.
So I wonder if they added a browser object to Java using webkit as the base?
Or is it all just fantasy?

[Alex @ Sep 4th 2007 4:44PM]

@BrotherhoodOfNod,

Thing is, that in all their previous acquisitions, the buyouts were of software companies, be they AJAX applications or desktop apps relying on the web (except sketchup, and that was tied directly to Google Earth) whereas this is outside their area of expertise. I'm sure they have more network engineers and programmers and whatnot than you can poke a stick at, but a GPhone wouldn't fit into any of their core competencies (except of course the software side) and it would make sense for them to hire a contractor to do the actual hardware design for them, or assist them heavily and give them feedback on the doability of the device.

@Zach,
Are you thinking of those purple Sony walkmen they had out back when PMP screens were still monochromatic? There was a problem with those, well two actually: glare, lots of it (a friend of mine had one, it was a mirror in the sunlight), and the whole 'monochromatic else it looks like crap ' thing.

PS: Sorry if this double-posts

[Coleman Foley @ Sep 4th 2007 7:03PM]

If they make it look exactly like in that picture it would be perfect.

[Novice SEO @ Sep 4th 2007 8:59PM]

GPhoneLife.com has obtained an unofficial "leaked" photo of the supposed GPhone.

http://gphonelife.com/2007/08/31/first-photo-of-rumored-prototype-gphone-leaked/

Total mobility and functionality abound with this model.

[brett @ Sep 4th 2007 11:35PM]

rank this if you agree its better than the bulky phone

[Rodrigo @ Sep 5th 2007 1:06AM]

mmmhh... I don't know.
The photo is not blurry enough, credibility is diminished by the sharp image :^)

[Amit Bhowmik @ Sep 5th 2007 2:30AM]

I'm thinking hard about that one KILLER feature which Gphone might possess. What's that one feature which will make all of us line up and want one??

Check my views on this at http://techtrod.wordpress.com/2007/09/04/the-gphone-whats-the-killer-feature

[Icaro @ Sep 5th 2007 3:52AM]

iPhone or GooglePhone? O,o

[Ajay M @ Sep 10th 2007 3:12PM]

I have also written a post about G-Phone at
http://blog.techiezone.in/2007/08/28/google-phone-going-to-ring-in-september/