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Will Google's Android and the Open Handset Alliance result in the perfect phone?

(Credit: Open Handset Alliance)

One of the promises made with Google's new Android platform and the Open Handset Alliance is that we as consumers will finally be free from the tyranny of cell phone carriers. Thanks to Sprint and T-Mobile's agreement with the OHA philosophy of open and free cell phone usage, maybe we can finally truly find the perfect phone that'll match all our needs and be affordable at the same time.

But what does a perfect phone mean for me? Of course, right off the bat, I'm hoping for a compact device with generous screen real estate, a functional keypad or QWERTY keyboard, plus a 3-megapixel camera, but an open platform would not necessarily dictate the design of the hardware. So I'll focus mostly on software and desired features.

1) First and foremost, I want an easy to use OS. Sorry, Symbian and Windows Mobile--though both these mobile OSes have plenty of power, they're not the easiest for the smartphone newbie to understand. Palm is a fine OS, but it's getting to be rather dated and sadly underpowered. Ideally, the Android platform will be as easy to use as OS X on the iPhone, but with a lot more flexibility.

2) Google has already come to my aid with the second feature I want--the ability to install and use a wide range of applications. I would be happy with the Google apps alone--I use GMail and Google Calendar religiously, and Google Docs would be great to have--but if Google truly believes in the open-source movement, they would open the doors for their competitors to enter the gate as well. This means I want to see apps from Yahoo and Microsoft on here along with all the other third-party ones.

3) Following up on number 2, these are the applications I want on the phone: A fast and well-built browser that supports Flash as well as Java, a multiple IM client, an e-mail client that supports POP and IMAP, compatibility with Microsoft's Exchange server for work e-mail, and perhaps this is a pipe dream, but I want a VoIP client. Ideally, I'd like a mobile Skype app, as well as compatibility with something like T-Mobile's HotSpot @ Home, where I get to make free calls via WiFi.

4) It needs to be fast. That means I want 3G, and I want Wi-Fi as well (OK, so this is encroaching on hardware territory a bit). Thankfully, Qualcomm has mentioned that 3G will be a big part of Android, so this isn't too far from reality. That said, 3G and Wi-Fi together in one package would be ideal.

5) Open up Bluetooth as much as possible. That means I want stereo Bluetooth as well as the ability to tether my PC to the phone via Bluetooth and use it as a modem. This combined with the phone's 3G abilities would obviate the need for a separate EV-DO or HSDPA PC card.

That's a pretty hefty wishlist for sure, and I haven't even gone into the details yet. Perhaps there's a phone like this already and I'm not aware of it, but it would be nice to have Google's Android as well as the OHA produce something like this. I can guarantee you that if a well-designed phone comes out with all the above features and more, I might be willing to fork over my hard-earned cash for one.

How about you, dear readers? What is your ideal phone? And do you think the Android platform plus the OHA will come up with it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

P.S. OK, also, it'd be sweet if I could access my home computer while I'm on the road. All right, I'm done now.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google will make a big announcement on Monday that will detail the company's partnerships with various handset makers and carriers for its much-ballyhooed "open" mobile OS. Apparently U.S. carriers T-Mobile and Sprint are slated to be in on it, while Taiwan's HTC is a safe bet for a handset manufacturer.

Other manufacturers are also possible (Samsung, LG , and Sony Ericsson, to name a few), but we won't know until Monday. As we've previously theorized, these Google-powered phones could have a Linux-based OS, along with a few Google-branded software applications. News.com has attempted to confirm this report, and both Google and T-Mobile have replied "no comment" to the speculation.

Google is pitching its vaunted Gphone to Verizon Wireless, but the odds are still against the search giant striking a major deal with the second largest phone company in the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported Tuesday evening that Google is in "serious discussions" with Verizon Wireless to put its mobile "GPhone" software on Verizon phones.

For months, people have been speculating about the rumored Google "GPhone." Most people believe that it's not a specific phone, but is more likely an operating system or software that integrates many of Google's mobile services, like Web search, Gmail, Youtube, and Google Maps, onto phones made by existing handset makers. But more than simply integrating Google services onto handsets, the new Google mobile OS is believed to be an open platform on which application developers would have free reign to develop a slew of new applications and services.

The WSJ said in an earlier article published Monday that Asian cell phone makers HTC and LG Electronics will be the first two handset makers to use the software.

But Google-powered phones will be useless unless the company can strike deals with mobile operators to allow them on their networks. T-Mobile USA is rumored to be the first U.S. operator that will sign on with Google. And now the WSJ has said that Verizon Wireless is also in "serious discussions" with Google over using phones that have its new software embedded.

Verizon Communications Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl admitted on Monday during an investor call that the phone company has been in talks with a lot of companies, including Google. But he didn't elaborate. His comment was in response to a question about the upcoming 700Mhz auction.

Verizon and Google have been publicly squabbling for months over the "open" provisions the Federal Communications Commission adopted as part of the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum. The provisions require winners of the spectrum auction to allow any device to connect to networks using that spectrum. Verizon had filed a lawsuit against the FCC. But last week, it dropped its complaint and said it would no longer appeal the provision.

Despite this change of heart, Verizon Wireless' history indicates that it's still very unlikely the company would agree to offer phones with tons of Google-branded services on an open platform. The reason is very simple. Of all the mobile operators in the U.S., Verizon is the most aggressive in protecting its "walled garden." It has some of the most stringent testing of new phones, and it is very selective about the applications it allows onto its "deck."

What's more, Verizon is also very cautious about allowing other companies to brand services on its network. For example, Verizon Wireless uses a search application from a smaller company on its VCast mobile service, which it brands itself, instead of using a search tool from a bigger company such as Google or Yahoo. And instead of leveraging existing music libraries as its competitor AT&T has done, Verizon has built its own music and video library.

So what could Google and Verizon be talking about? The most likely scenario is that Google is offering Verizon the ability to use its operating system to integrate any applications it wants into its phones. Most of Verizon's phones today are built on either Qualcomm's BREW environment or on a Windows Mobile platform. Google may be offering Verizon a free or very cheap licensing deal to use its software on phones. Verizon could still lock-down the phones if it chooses. This means that the Google-powered phones on a Verizon network might not be "open" at all to consumers or developers.

The new Google software will also supposedly offer integration with advertising platforms. And this is something that Verizon or any mobile operator would likely find very interesting. Today, mobile advertising makes up a small fraction of revenue, but carriers expect to generate a significant amount of revenue from mobile advertising in the future.

At the end of the day, Google's biggest market for the supposed Gphone software may not be with any of the U.S. carriers. Instead, Google will likely find a great upside in aiming its open platform at the developing world where people are much more likely to access the Internet on a cell phone than they are on a PC.

"A Google-software enabled phone makes the most sense in emerging markets," said Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research. "The next 1 billion to 2 billion cell phone users are going to be people in these markets. And most of them will not own a PC. For Google to grow its Internet audience there, it makes much more sense for them to optimize the Web experience on a phone."

A Google phone concept mockup created by T3

(Credit: T3)

Taiwanese handset maker HTC is expected to ship about 50,000 cell phones by the end of this year that use a mobile operating system from Google, according to a Fortune article that cites a report from a UBS analyst.

The phones won't be for sale until next year; the initial shipment will go to developers, says analyst Benjamin Schachter. Google is likely talking to other handset manufacturers, he says.

Google has declined to comment on rumors of its phone plans. Google is hosting an analyst day on October 24, and Schachter expects the company to talk about its phone strategy then.

Talk of a possible Google phone kicked up again Friday with new rumors coming out of India that the phone could be launched within two weeks.

Rediff.com reported that Google is in talks with two of the three top mobile providers in India, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, to offer the new "Gphone." The article cites unnamed sources who say the phone will also be launched simultaneously in the U.S. and Europe. The only remaining hurdle in the U.S., the story said, is approval from the Federal Communications Commission, which must certify any wireless device sold in the U.S.

Google isn't commenting on the rumors, saying in a statement that the company "is committed to providing users with access to the world's information, and mobile becomes more important to those efforts every day."

Before you get too excited and start queuing up somewhere for one of these phones, let me explain why I think the rumors are bogus. For one, Google has never actually confirmed that it's working on building its own handset. Even though it sounds really cool and sexy for the company to pull an "Apple" by building its own hardware, it just doesn't fit into Google's business model, which is to develop software applications for the Web as a way to sell more advertising.

Google executives, including Chris Sacca, head of special initiatives at Google, have said publicly that they think there is plenty of competition and innovation in the handset market.

"I think there is a healthy environment of competition and innovation in the device market worldwide," Sacca said in an interview with CNET News.com last month. "It's just the channel that discourages that kind of innovation here in the U.S."

And just this week, Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search products and user experience, showed off how well Google's applications worked on her iPhone. So I just don't see any reason why Google would want to build an "iPhone-killer."

That said, there's no question Google is hot for mobile. The company has introduced several new mobile products this year. And CEO Eric Schmidt recently said the company will likely participate in the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction early in 2008. Exactly what it will do with the spectrum if its wins licenses is unknown.

I think what's more likely is that Google is working with a hardware partner to develop a smart phone that's optimized and preloaded with lots of Google applications. My guess is that the supposed prototypes that The Wall Street Journal and others have mentioned in recent articles may be mockups the company has developed with partners to demonstrate and test new applications.

So could a Google-powered device made by unknown hardware partners really be ready for launch in two weeks? I think that's probably a little too soon. I checked the FCC Web site Friday and Google has not registered any product to be tested with the FCC. Of course, if Google is working with a partner, as I have suggested above, the phone could be registered in the FCC files under a different company's name.

My gut feeling is that these Google-loaded phones will likely be introduced a little later this year and into early next year. But stay tuned. I'll definitely be watching to see how Google's ongoing mobile strategy evolves.

update--The head of Google in Spain and Portugal has confirmed that Google is working on a mobile phone. "Some of the time the engineers are dedicated to developing a mobile phone," Isabel Aguilera is quoted as saying on the Spanish-news Web site Noticias.com.

A Google spokeswoman in the United States released this statement when asked for comment: "Mobile is an important area for Google and we remain focused on creating applications and establishing and growing partnerships with industry leaders to develop innovative services for users worldwide. However, we have nothing further to announce."

Google stateside has repeatedly declined to comment on rumors of a Google Phone, but the smoke has been rising lately. Earlier this month, Simeon Simeonov of Polaris Venture Partners wrote in his blog that an inside source told him the Google Phone will be a BlackBerry-like device running C++ at the core with an operating system bootstrap, or loading program, and optimized Java, and that it would offer voice over Internet Protocol.

Rumors also circulated that Google and Samsung were building a phone, code-named "Switch," Simeonov said, and his posting includes what he claims is a leaked photo of the device. That wouldn't be so far-fetched, since Google and Samsung announced a partnership in January to bundle mobile versions of Google Search, Google Maps and Gmail on certain Samsung phones. Late last year, the rumor was that France Telecom Group's mobile-telephony division Orange was in discussions with Google.

Plus, Google has on its payroll Andy Rubin, the founder of handheld device maker Danger who later started Android, a mobile-software maker that Google bought in 2005. Google also acquired mobile-applications company Reqwireless and secretly acquired a company called Skia, whose first product is a portable graphics engine that renders 2D graphics on handhelds.