Google’s Move to Smartphones, Right or Wrong

Google has delivered its own mobile operating system Android to several phone mobile phone manufacturers. But Tech Crunch founder Michael Arrington says that Google isn’t stopping here. The blogger claimed confidently that Google is manufacturing its own hardware for its smartphones.

“Everything up until now has just been a warm up to the Google phone,” Arrington wrote in his blog post.

Arrington claims he has “absolutely confirmed” that Google is building a Google-branded phone to be sold through retailers sometime early 2010.

Really? But we heard two weeks ago that the head of Google’s Android development, Andy Rubin made it crystal clear that “Google is not making a phone.

“We’re not making hardware,” Rubin told CNET. “We’re enabling other people to build hardware.”

So who’s telling the truth? TheStreet’s Scott Moritz, who has a notorious record of rumors and the his rumors mostly becomes reality. (For example, in May, Moritz wrote a story which quoted an analyst who predicted AT&T would reduce prices for the iPhone’s monthly service plan. Not only did that not turn out to be true; it wasn’t a rumor at all.)

John Gruber from “Daring Fireball” says that if Google pulled off such a stunt, the search giant would likely infuriate telecom partners who have agreed to put Android on their smartphones. We agree with the assessment that a Google-branded phone would probably be an unwise move for Google.

What do you think about Google’s move to smartphones?