A day before the alleged Apple iPhone is supposed to come out, comes the story thatw Orange is working closely with Google on a “multi-billion-dollar partnership to create a ‘Google phone’ which makes it easy to search the web wherever you are”. We know about Google apps coming to the mobile phones, including search, maps, e-mail and other services, but the story says that this partnership goes deeper: a branded Google phone, which would probably also carry Orange’s logo. The device would not be revolutionary: manufactured by HTC, it might have a screen similar to a video iPod. But it would have built-in Google software which would dramatically improve on the slow and cumbersome experience of surfing the web from a mobile handset.
The story says the Google phone would not go on sale before 2008.
Somehow, I am a bit skeptical on this one. Meanwhile if you want to know about Google moves in mobile, read our sister site MocoNews.net.