You don't need too many G's for a Gphone
A Google own-branded mobile phone could become available as early as January 5, according to Reuters.
The news agency's sources say Google will be selling both an unlocked and service plan version of its upcoming phone, with Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile pegged as Google's US partner.
The phone, which is rumoured to be called either the Nexus One, the Dream or the Passion, will be manufactured by HTC but Reuters' sources say customers will be able to buy it directly from Google within a matter of weeks.
Whilst this does seem to be a rather tight timeframe, it is certainly not an impossible one and, as we wrote earlier this week, a company blog post recently confirmed Google employees were already testing an Android-based device to "experiment with new mobile features and capabilities."
Amongst other rumours, the phone is allegedly comparable to the iPhone in both features and its overall potential to change the industry, but sources say it will have a bigger screen, a swappable battery and a memory card slot to boost capacity.
Even more surprising is a report on the website AndroidGuys that claims the phone could go on sale for as little as $199 unlocked with a $100 rebate for people with old Gmail accounts.
Some might say this doesn't really sound like a very financially viable option, as almost everyone nowadays has a Gmail account, but if there's a company out there that potentially could shoulder the financial burden of this, that would be Google.
