Here comes Google Phone
Google is hoping to launch a mobile phone early next year that allows users to surf the internet on the move.
The company hopes that the GPhone will follow in the footsteps of the popular Apple iPhone which was launched in the United States in June.
Google services, such as its search engine, email and interactive maps, will be loaded on to the phone.
The phone should make it easier for people to access the internet when they are away from their computers.
It is thought Google will derive its revenue from the lucrative mobile advertising market.
Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of Google, recently said that mobile phone adverts are “twice as profitable or more than non-mobile phone ads because they are more personal”.
Research by Informa Telecoms & Media, a telecoms analyst, forecasts that the market for mobile advertising will be worth more than £5.4 billion a year by 2011.Google is believed to have signed a deal with a Taiwanese firm to design the phone.
The company refused to confirm any plans for the phone.
A spokesman would only say: “Our ultimate goal is to help users access the information they want, no matter when or where they want it.
“Our users and partners want Google search and Google applications on mobile, and we are working hard to deliver that.”
Thomas Husson, an analyst at Jupiter, a research firm, was sceptical about th e GPhone.
Mr Husson said: “It’s difficult to comment as they are only rumours at this stage. If you have a look at the whole mobile market I don’t think it will have much impact.
“Even Apple needs a portfolio of handsets to really tackle the market.”