According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is close to unveiling the plans for its much anticipated mobile phone. Apparently in the US, T-Mobile will be a likely network partner. What will make the phone different from other devices is not fully known at this point but it is likely safe to say the device will be great at mapping, searching and probably showing videos of the YouTube variety.

 

Speculation coupled with past comments from Google execs lead us in the direction of thinking the new phone will be open and have seamless access to Google services.

 

The article is interesting as it includes a quote from Microsoft which basically says mobile phones are already open and you can currently develop programs for them.

 

To some degree this is true but by the same token, Google has been quite an innovator in the arguably mature desktop software business.

 

Examples? Well there is Google maps and the whole mashup concept. In addition, the injection of AJAX into web software is another area where Google has innovated. To be fair, Microsoft had the most popular and earliest AJAX software with its OWA solution but Google really helped popularize AJAX.

 

So it will be interesting to see what a phone from Google will look like. I know I was amazed at how great the interface on Apple’s iPhone was and equally surprised that no other phone company or even Microsoft had anything like it. Will Google’s phone also wow us in the same manner?

 

Somehow I have trouble believing Google will have a device anywhere near as useful as Apple’s iPhone. In addition, I think the audience attracted to a Gphone are already iPhone users. So it will be interesting to see how the news on this device develops and whether it will be the breakthrough product many anticipate it will be.

Disclosure: The author is a shareholder in Google.