The Google Phone May Be Near

TechFlash reports: Would you buy a Google phone? Not the recently launched Droid. But a full-on, Google-branded phone in the spirit of Apple's iPhone. That's the enticing rumor that emerged today after TechCrunch—citing unnamed sources—reported that Google is working on its own branded phone that it will sell direct through retail channels beginning early next year. (Michael Arrington reports that the phone was supposed to debut before the holidays, but got pushed back due to delays).

If true, the rumor could have huge implications on the mobile ecosystem. And it also could increase pressure on Microsoft to enter the fray with its own branded mobile phone. Microsoft executives have downplayed rumors in the past that the company was developing a Zune Phone.

Arrington writes:

"The phone will be produced by a major phone manufacturer but will only have Google branding. (Microsoft did the same thing with their first Zunes, which were built by Toshiba.) There won’t be any negotiation or compromise over the phone’s design of features—Google is dictating every last piece of it. No splintering of the Android OS that makes some applications unusable. Like the iPhone for Apple, this phone will be Google’s pure vision of what a phone should be."

The TechCrunch story has sparked plenty of chatter in the blogosphere. PC World's David Coursey followed up the report by offering five reasons why Google should not sell handsets, including point No. 2 that Google could alienate handset makers that are already supporting Android and point No. 5 that Google has little expertise in the hardware business.