Google's gPhone Supposedly Confirmed

The rumors that Google plans to release a phone under its own name continue, with the latest unconfirmed report promising that numerous prototype units will soon be at this company's headquarters.

Details on this upcoming device are sketchy, aside from the assertion that it will have a large display.

Not surprisingly, the gPhone, as it's often called, will run Google's Android OS. The prototypes are expected to run an as-yet-unreleased version of this operating system.

The most mysterious part of this rumor is the source says this upcoming model will run the "real" version of Android. Exactly what this means is not clear, though this unnamed source claims it will run on both a smartphone and a laptop.

Unlike current Android-based devices, Google is supposedly handling the design of the hardware and software for this one, and it will be released under the Google brand.

A Data-Only Device?
A previous unconfirmed report revealed a bit more about the gPhone. This said that Google isn't going to introduce a phone per-se but rather a MID: a pocket-size device that is focused more in mobile access to the Internet than making voice calls. This model -- supposedly on its way to AT&T -- will allow users to make VoIP calls, but mostly give access to the Web. Service will reportedly cost just $20 a month.

If this report is correct, Google will launch this model early in 2010.

Source: Gizmodo