The gPhone

All of the rumors on the Internets have Google revealing their plans to get into the mobile phone business today. While the rumors have been gaining steam for a few months now making fanboys like me drool at the thought of a cheap, open, mobile Internet device that syncs and integrates with all of Google's products, I'm getting ready for a letdown. I don't think the announcement will be bad, but I don't think it's going to get a huge reaction because I don't think there will be a phone - just a software platform for existing and future mobile phones. I also don't think this will necessarily be a bad thing, but it does mean I won't be able to go out and buy something soon that looks vaguely familiar to the thing on the right. People like to have real gadgets to play with and touch - I think the idea of a Google phone without a phone will confuse most people that haven't been following this story over the last few months.

A while ago, I had some thoughts about what the gPhone might/could be, and assuming that they don't announce an actual phone/phones today, I'll write about it later in more detail but here is the general idea that I was dreaming about (and I really mean dreaming).

The gPhone would center around GrandCentral Communications, which Google acquired in July of this year. GrandCentral Communications would just become Google Communications. With the idea of one number for life in mind (basically the premise of GrandCentral), you would sign up for a phone number within Google Communications (which would now be the backbone of Gmail, Gtalk, and any other communication platforms under Google including social networks like Orkut). Once purchased, the gPhone would not require activation like a normal phone. Instead, the phone would boot up and prompt you to enter your Gmail account name, which would be tied to your newly acquired Google Communications phone number. Once logged in, the phone's functions would be tied to your Google products (like contacts or photos). For example: Pressing the "contacts" button on the phone would essentially be the same as clicking the "contacts" button within Gmail (similar UI) except the phone would have the ability to instantly make a phone call from within the interface. The same would apply to Picasa Web Albums or Google Docs in that the button on the phone would call up a simplified web page for each, specifically designed for the gPhone. The phone could be carried by any of the cellular phone companies provided that they had the capacity for a high speed data network. Payment plans could be flat fees with "all you can eat bandwidth" similar to how we currently pay for Internet in our homes (and for the iPhone with AT&T).

The more I write about this however, the more I see how far off I probably am for a number of reasons. We'll probably see later today where this whole thing is going, but I've got my fingers crossed.