HTC shipping out 50000 mobiles with Google OS?

Another day, another Gphone rumor. This go 'round, a UBS analyst is reportedly confirming that HTC "will ship about 50,000 cellphones running on a mobile operating system made by the Mountain View, California-based search giant by the end of this year." If you'll recall, this definitely isn't the first time we've heard these two names mentioned in the same sentence, but interestingly enough, analyst Benjamin Schachter actually suggested that the first batch wouldn't "be for sale" -- rather, they'd be used exclusively by developers "to understand how the software works." These reports also help substantiate the belief that Google will likely be focusing on software, and furthermore, Mr. Schachter insinuated that he wouldn't be too awfully shocked if another handset maker (such as LG, imagine that) also jumped in to provide hardware. Whatever the case, we'll be waiting in tense anticipation for a developer-led unboxing -- if this hubbub proves legitimate, of course.

[Thanks, Jeff]

[insertAlias @ Oct 16th 2007 5:51PM]

Hell, I'm a developer...when do I get mine?

[rzlmlchm009 @ Oct 16th 2007 5:52PM]

Imagine actually being able to put software on it. This is gonna blow the iPhone out of the water!!!

[Todd @ Oct 16th 2007 6:02PM]

Gphone OS zipped up in a tar ball, so I can monkey it to my hardware of choice ( like Open Moko ) - DO WANT
Gphone OS stuck inside HTC ( or worse LG ) hardware - DO NOT WANT!

[smartmlp @ Oct 16th 2007 6:39PM]

Jeez, what are you 5? Cant you properly formulate a sentence without caps lock at the end?

[bombastinator @ Oct 16th 2007 9:21PM]

*sigh* Grammer zealots make me tired.

Even assuming english is not a second language for the poster and he is even aware of the over enforced convention of not using caps for a whole word on the grounds that it is somehow offensive, it is possible the person in question is merely very excited about the subject and wishes to make that clear. The capitalizations did not seem random to me.

I personally am not irritated by the use of capitalization for emphasis. the practice of denigrating people who do it reminds me very much of the bizarrely exaggerated gun safety practiced by some Gunny nerds.

examples of this are people who do not merely require that a weapon be thoroughly confirmed to be unloaded, but actually require that it be broken down in order to be handled casually, and sometimes not even then. I have actually seen people demand that plastic toy guns, even the orange ones that could not possibly be mistaken for anything else be treated as live weapons, and be tied into holsters, never drawn, etc..

It is IMHO a testosterone dominance thing. It is an attempt to demonstrate superior expertise and competency by requiring more strict and exacting standards than whatever was being used a moment before by the person they are trying to show up. This is the kind of crud that made the Taliban outlaw white socks.

two words: LIGHTEN UP

[Macinjosh @ Oct 16th 2007 6:36PM]

Screw that, I want a GOOGLE PHONE.

[qrius @ Oct 16th 2007 6:57PM]

i sure hope they dont make it ad-based. reminds me of the dot com boom when every site wanted to show me ads. do you guys remember selling some pixels dedicated on your monitor for ads, and they would pay you? make it discreet if you're going to make it ad-based. just maybe a little splash page AFTER the call?

[Lt_Ladle @ Oct 16th 2007 8:49PM]

well seeing as how Google still makes huge bucks off its rather unobtrusive ads, I believe we can expect the same kind of ads off to the side as we're used to. It'll be interesting how they deal with the lack of screen real-estate, though

[Stone @ Oct 17th 2007 8:39AM]

Of course it's going to be ad-based. Do you think Google is doing this for the general betterment of mankind...?

[John @ Oct 17th 2007 9:30AM]

Of course it's going to be ad-based. Do you think Google is doing this for the general betterment of mankind...?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Why does it have to be ad based? They could make their money by selling the selling the software, or having a ton of web apps customized for it that might be ad based.

Although I'm not sure if any company has ever made money by creating software that runs with lots of different hardware...

[randy @ Oct 16th 2007 10:45PM]

WHY DO you keep showing that picture, Engadget? We certainly may all WANT the Google phone to look like that, but lo and behold HERE you said it wasn't:

Engadget's "reliable sources" say, "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"


So you're just...? Well, what are you doing? You know, I don't even see an ear piece on that phony device.

[JJV @ Oct 16th 2007 11:44PM]

This could be like Apple/Motorola's ROKR. They make this one, its ok not very good though and then in a few years Google has its own Gphone (or whatever they will call it).

[Brian @ Oct 17th 2007 1:04AM]

Please, GoogleGods, release this phone on the Sprint network, with EVDO Rev. A.

I want to replace my A900... but Sprint has yet to release a better phone.

[suv4x4 @ Oct 17th 2007 8:34AM]

I just hope this gphoto isn't an actual sample of the google OS, since it' gugly.

[Nick @ Oct 17th 2007 10:16AM]

Remember that they have just about 1 year before they really need to roll this project out. If the 700MHZ spectrum is not available until 09 then I am sure that they will work to perfect it through most of 08 and be ready to roll the day 700MHZ is available.

[Dave Kaufman - Techlife @ Oct 17th 2007 7:56PM]

I hope some of the developers on their internal teams get the devices. They just released Google Docs Mobile and it really doesn't work. It is much more like Google Docs Mobile VIEWER. I know it was just released but I might have held that one in the lab a bit longer until releasing it. I wrote up my full opinion here:

http://www.dkworldwide.com/techlife/archives/2007/10/17/google-docs-mobile-viewer-says-reviewer-not-ready-for-prime-time/trackback/