Breaking: Google Phone will launch in 2007
April 18, 2007
Taiwan based manufacturer HTC (High Tech Computer) has apparently begun manufacturing the Google Phone, with a shipment of 1 million units to be ready for delivery late 2007.
Google handsets, supporting Texas Instruments (TI) 3G platform and EDGE (what? no HSDPA?), will not feature GPS functionality but they will feature integrated Gmail and Google search functions.
We understand that the handsets will initially be run on the Orange network and be co-branded as Google / Orange phones.
HTC declined to comment on the report.
We will update this post as soon as more information leaks. I was hoping that the Google Phone would be a HSDPA device and find it hard to believe it will only use EDGE. Google has already patented a LOT of mobile phone technology.
Update: More details here.
I can’t see it happening - it doesn’t make sense to place a production order before showing your prospective customers what you have in store.
Apple showed off the iPhone ages ago, and now they know how the market reacted its right to go into production to build a number of these devices.
The spec so far of this “GPhone” doesn’t inspire me with confidence that it will be the handset to be seen with.
Being able to search the internet from my phone is along way down after Playing Songs and being able to record Video.
I doubt this will be in direct competition with the iPhone, as some bloggers state. It doesn’t make sense for many reasons, not the least that Schmidt is on Apple’s board.
It’s also not Google’s style to come out with expensive stuff - competing with the slick and innovative iPhone will be costly (investors even getting nervous Apple risk all the iPod earnings on the iphone). Google previously stated they think phones should be free.
So I guess we’ll see a fairly standard phone, but completely free. Revenue will come from ads, obviously, and Google will datamine every single packet to build intellectual property in the field of voice and location data.