Google Phone Plans Unveiled!

Google finally announced what the Google Phone rumors are all about. Get the full article from The New York Times:

1. The Google Phone Software will be based off of Linux. (Watch the support for Linux rise. :) :) :) )

Mr. Rubin, who is 44 years old and is a veteran Silicon Valley designer, said the software system that Google has designed is based on the Linux operating system and Sun Microsystems’ Java language. It is designed so programmers can easily build applications that connect to independent Web services.

2. The Google Phone Software will be open sourced to give others the ability to contribute. :)

In contrast to the existing competitors, Google’s software will be offered freely under “open source” licensing terms, meaning that handset manufacturers will be able to use it at no cost and be free to add new features to differentiate their products.

3. This announcement was not that there is a phone yet, but that Google has partnered with several major telephone companies with over 1000 developers to create the first cellphone that was built in an open source way. The code will be Linux based, free and mostly open sourced and companies around the world will contribute until a product is produced going on sell second half of next year.

“We are not building a GPhone; we are enabling 1,000 people to build a GPhone,” said Andy Rubin, Google’s director of mobile platforms, who led the effort to develop the software.

Mr. Rubin said the open-source strategy would encourage rapid innovation and lower the bar to entry in the highly competitive handset market, where software accounts for an increasing share of the cost of making a phone.