According to man-about-town, Robert X. Cringely, Samsung is readying not one, but two separate Android-based phones, one of which is due in September, with another model following around Christmas. If you believe what you read (and what his tipster says), these phones will not be labeled Samsung, rather they will be released as Google-branded gPhones. The model released in the Fall will be a "higher-end" model which apparently looks "somewhat like a Blackberry Pearl" but with a screen that flips and "a keyboard for texting" (though to be honest, that description makes little sense, as the Pearl has a keyboard). The second device will be a cheaper model (under $100), and will likely be released after the holidays. Of course, right now this is just speculation -- given the large gap of time between now and September, these plans could be completely rearranged or nixed altogether... even if they are accurate.

[Via IntoMobile]

As is the custom in these matters, Dell has flatly denied the existence of any product to announce at MWC, and went further on to state that the company doesn't even plan on attending the show. Rumors of a "Gphone" were probably greatly exaggerated to begin with, and now at least the venue has been firmly shot down. That said, there was no explicit denial of an Android-related product (there never is), so the optimistic ones out there can go on hoping for a Dell phone to solve all their problems. Hey, if Garmin can do it, what's stopping them?

[Via Electronista]

Stick this one firmly in the rumor category, since all the verbiage that's been thrown around about this story still traces back to one single source: a slightly ill-informed article done up in MarketingWeek in the UK. The article cites unspecified "senior industry sources," and goes on about how this is Dell and Google working closely together on what is more or less the "Gphone." Since we have no reason to believe Google is going to jeopardize its Android OS by getting extra-friendly with one specific manufacturer, the primary weight we can give to this rumor is that fact that Dell picked up a former Motorola executive, Ron Garriques, to run its Global Consumer Group early last year. Other rumors have cropped up over the years about Dell moving in this direction, so it certainly wouldn't signal the apocalypse if a Dell-branded Android phone does show up at this rumored unveiling at 3GSM, but giving how early on Android is at the moment, we'll believe it when we see it.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple-BFF and mobile-telecom-extroidinaire AT&T is in talks with Google about joining the Open Handset Alliance. In an interview today, Ralph de la Vega -- chief executive officer of the company's wireless unit -- said that the provider is, "Analyzing the situation," concerning the use of Google's Android operating system for some of its handsets. Although Mr. de la Vega hasn't personally met with the search-engine giant, the fact that AT&T is even considering joining the Alliance could have a palpable impact on the industry's perception of the forthcoming mobile OS contender. As you'll recall, T-Mobile and Sprint have already jumped on the OHA bandwagon (though to what extent no one knows), and adding the de facto US leader to the mix might really get this stew boiling over. [Warning: read link requires subscription]

[Via Information Week]

You can't help but love Steve Ballmer. Besides being the ultra-rich, ultra-faithful CEO of Microsoft, you can always count on him to deliver some choice words -- especially if the competition is in the news. His latest efforts come in the wake of Google's Android announcement, a project which clearly stands to compete with Redmond's ubiquitous Windows Mobile platform. When asked what he thought of the forthcoming phone OS at a news conference in Tokyo, Ballmer noted that, "Their efforts are just some words on paper right now." Okay, let's be perfectly honest: that statement is true -- but don't you think that when a monolithic company like Google aligns itself with other giants such as Intel, T-Mobile, Samsung, and LG (amongst others), Microsoft might take it a little more seriously? Ballmer went on to say that, "They have a press release, we have many, many millions of customers, great software, many hardware devices and they're welcome in our world." Thanks for allowing Google into "your world" Steve, we're sure your subjects will appreciate it.

C'mon, you knew this was coming. Not a moment after Google does its big reveal on the Android OS and forthcoming multi-manufacturer GPhone, the rumor mill has already starting churning with wild imaginings and fantastic leaps of logic. A not-so gigantic jump comes as speculation that HTC's Omni -- which we first heard about nearly a year ago -- is actually the phone that has been referred to as the "Dream," Google's OS demo unit. We have to admit, there are some similarities between the two, not the least of which are the 3-inch by 5-inch size, rectangular touchscreen, full QWERTY that swivels out (which according to this earlier rendering, goes in more than one direction), and a beveled edge that "nestles in the palm." We remind you, of course, that this is just the first in a long line of rumors trying to pinpoint the "real" GPhone -- HTC or otherwise -- so don't get too excited just yet.

Update: As a commenter points out, the "earlier rendering" is actually the precursor to the Omni, the HTC Universal, though its screen mechanism bears a resemblance to the one described in the original Forbes article.

Carefully orchestrated announcements for broad, sweeping initiatives like the one staged by Google today don't always do a great job of diving straight into the meat and telling it like it is, so we thought we'd boil down the Android and Open Handset Alliance sitch as best we could into a tight, easy to digest series of bullets. If this list is still wider than your attention span, though, just know this: you can pick up your Google-powered phone in the latter half of 2008.

• At its core, Android forms the basis for Google's operating system and supporting software for phones. In Google's own words, it's a software stack.
• Two separate but related entities form the basis for today's announcement: the Linux-based Android mobile platform (a result of Google's 2005 acquisition of a start-up of the same name) and the Open Handset Alliance, a 33-strong group of device manufacturers, component manufacturers, software companies, and carriers that have committed to working with Android.
• There is no cut and dried "Gphone" and Google doesn't intend (or at least it hasn't indicated an intent) to enter the hardware business. Instead, it'll leave that to established players like HTC, LG, and Samsung -- and theoretically, anyone else that wants to have a go at it since the Android platform and its code base is wide open.
• Unlike the platform itself, there's no guarantee that devices based on the Android platform will be open to third party developers. Google says that'll be left to manufacturers and carriers to be decide, although it doubts they'll choose to lock them down (hmm, has Google ever worked with a carrier before?)
• Nokia, Apple (on whose board Google CEO Eric Schmidt sits), Palm, and Microsoft are notably absent from the alliance. Palm has come out today to announce that it intends to continue to integrate Google services into its future products.
• Carriers currently in the alliance include China Mobile, KDDI, NTT DoCoMo, Sprint Nextel, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, and T-Mobile. T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel are the two national US carriers that are signed up; AT&T and Verizon are not.
• The first Android-powered devices are expected in the second half of 2008. Rumor has it that Google has been using an HTC-sourced device, the "Dream," to demonstrate Android to potential partners. HTC may launch a version of the Dream as one of its first handsets to use the platform.

We're probably going to be hearing a lot about Google's Open Handset Alliance and Android mobile phone software platform in the days to come, but the official press release contains quite a few things to chew on while we wait for the deluge. The big dogs in OHA appear to be Google, T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm and Motorola, but the list of companies that have joined the group is insanely long -- we're counting 33, and that's just the companies who've joined as of today. Notables include Intel, LG, Samsung, Sprint Nextel, KDDI, Broadcom, Marvell, Texas Intruments, NVIDIA, and, randomly, eBay. Equally interesting are the prominent absences from the list -- it looks like Nokia, Microsoft, AT&T, Verizon and Softbank aren't in on this party just yet. Peep the full list of companies after the break.

Read -- OHA press release
Read -- OHA members page

Google will be holding a conference call at noon eastern to unveil the details of its long-rumored Android mobile operating system. Joining CEO Eric Schmidt will be other members of the 34-member Open Handset Alliance, including the chief executives of Deutche Telekom, HTC, Qualcomm, and Motorola. According to the press release, the "Android platform will be made available under one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses," and will be composed of a "fully integrated mobile 'software stack' that consists of an operating system, middleware, user-friendly interface and applications." More details to follow.

Read - Google press release
Read - Android mobile OS overview
Read - Google blog: "Where's my Gphone?

Look, we know how you feel -- rumor mongering over the Google Phone (or OS) and its supposed appearance (in a multitude of forms, with an avalanche of partners) has reached the tipping point where it goes from exciting to annoying. That said, when the Wall Street Journal (amongst others) mentions a date or a place, you tend to pay attention. The stock-market rag is now reporting that the infamous GPhone will be making its official appearance on Monday. On the flip side, some say the story is that Google-partner Android will deliver news of an SDK for a new mobile OS -- a "complete software stack" based on Linux. Of course, we're not going to be placing any bets on said activity (nor should you), because with the way things have been playing out thus far, it seems pretty unwise to make wagers -- unless they're on the fact that no one really knows right now. So, if by Monday night you're sobbing uncontrollably because the obviously-life-changing device / software never made a showing, don't say we didn't warn you.

Read -- Ring-Ring...Google to Announce Phone Plans Monday
Read -- Google to unveil 'Android' phone software

There just wouldn't be balance in the world if a select few didn't come out and starkly disagree with the obvious, right? Somehow, a number of analysts have managed to overlook the smorgasbord of hints, clues and signs that Google is indeed working up some form of software (or hardware) for the mobile realm, and moreover, they're speaking out to denounce the possibility. Specifically, Ken Dulaney, an analyst at Gartner, made himself a target by stating that "building an OS is the dumbest thing [Google] could do," and he even led us to believe that he's a developer in a parallel universe by announcing that "cellular telephone code is probably the hardest code to write per line of code for anything." Still, we're beyond the point of wanting Google to come out of the woodwork and say something, but considering the numerous reports claiming that the search giant is indeed in talks with select carriers, it's hard impossible to believe that there's nothing going on behind the scenes.

The Gphone rumors have been heating up lately, and things seems like they're about to come to a boil. The Wall Street Journal, not generally known for wild rumor-mongering, is reporting that Google is in "advanced talks" with Verizon and Sprint and has made "significant progress" with T-Mobile, with an announcement of some kind due within two weeks. The news sent Google stock past $700 today, although it's still not clear if Google is simply developing its own software or going all out and doing an entire handset. Either way, it looks like Google's getting ready to make a move sometime soon, and with the amount of chatter we're hearing, it's going to be a big one.

Another day, another Gphone rumor. This go 'round, a UBS analyst is reportedly confirming that HTC "will ship about 50,000 cellphones running on a mobile operating system made by the Mountain View, California-based search giant by the end of this year." If you'll recall, this definitely isn't the first time we've heard these two names mentioned in the same sentence, but interestingly enough, analyst Benjamin Schachter actually suggested that the first batch wouldn't "be for sale" -- rather, they'd be used exclusively by developers "to understand how the software works." These reports also help substantiate the belief that Google will likely be focusing on software, and furthermore, Mr. Schachter insinuated that he wouldn't be too awfully shocked if another handset maker (such as LG, imagine that) also jumped in to provide hardware. Whatever the case, we'll be waiting in tense anticipation for a developer-led unboxing -- if this hubbub proves legitimate, of course.

[Thanks, Jeff]

It is a device it isn't a device, that's the debate brewing ever since the mythical "Google Switch" first graced our pages back in January. Just a few weeks ago, Taiwan's Digitimes cited sources claiming that Google "will definitely launch its own branded handset." Yesterday however, the International Herald Tribune stated that Google is "not creating a gadget to rival the iPhone, but rather creating software that will be an alternative to Windows Mobile from Microsoft." Of course, that's pretty much in line with what our own sources have been saying all along. According to the piece, Google's open-source challenge to Microsoft will be on display sometime this year with phones, the cost of which could be at least partially off-set by advertising, available in 2008. Fine, just bring it already and release the hordes of gPhone fanboys quietly incubating within our readers (and editors).