gPhone: Google/Orange Phone Set To Take On Apple iPhone?

gPhone: Google/Orange Phone Set To Take On iPhone?According to a report in yesterday’s Observer, Google has been cosying up to mobile giants Orange with a multi-billion-dollar plan to knock out a ‘Google phone,’ offering easy Web searches on the move.

The branded Google phone is expected to be manufactured by the Taiwanese smartphone/PDA makers, HTC, and come with a screen similar in size to a video iPod.

The phone will come with optimized Google software designed to speed up the notoriously cumbersome task of surfing and searching the Web on a handheld device, and offer mobile versions of Google applications such as Google Earth, Gmail and Google Docs & Spreadsheets.

Palm Treo users will already be familiar with some of these programs with the superb Google Maps for Treo application scoring full marks in our recent review.

gPhone: Google/Orange Phone Set To Take On iPhone?The Observer reported that the phone could access Google’s databases to offer a wealth of location-based searches, including personalised listings of local cinemas, restaurants and other amenities, and maps and images from Google Earth.

Rumours of the Google/Orange partnership come as expectations of an Apple iPhone announcement are reaching fever pitch, with one Website suggesting that the leaking of the story could just be a cunning ruse to steal the thunder of an imminent Apple announcement.

The future for Orange could soon be Google in your pocket (Observer)