Google Phone Speculation

Now let's take a look at some wild guesses, which range from wishful thinking to reasonable deduction. Some people think that Google is preparing to enter the mobile device market and that it will soon offer a device as a direct competitor to Apple's iPhone. These speculators believe the Google Phone (or Gphone as some are calling it) would have a large touch screen and would run on either an OS designed by Google, an OS based on Symbian (the most common smartphone OS) or Linux. Google would integrate applications like Google maps into the phone with a GPS system, making it easy to see where you are (or share your location with others).

Google Messenger
David Paul Morris/ Getty Images
Google may concentrate on tweaking applications like Google Messenger for existing phones rather than make its own hardware.

In the next section, we'll look at the role Internet advertising could play in Google's mobile phone strategy.

The Open Device Debate
The FCC's auction of the 700-MHz band is the center of a public battle waged between Google and Verizon. The debate is whether the FCC has the authority to designate that band as an open application, open-device band. Open applications means that customers would be able to download any application they wanted to their handheld device. If the band is designated as an open-device band, it would mean customers could use any handheld devices for any wireless network that used the 700 MHz band. In other words, they would no longer have to rely on a limited (and sometimes exclusive) range of phones from a service provider. Google supports the FCC's position, but Verizon disputes it, claiming that the FCC is acting beyond the scope of its authority.