According to The Telegraph, Google is in talks with mobile network operators
Technology giant Google is considering a move into the highly competitive smartphone market with its own branded handset, according to a new report in The Telegraph, which cites “sources familiar with the discussions.”
Google makes the Android operating system, which is the industry leader in mobile operating systems, and lent its name to the Nexus line of phones, although those devices are largely designed by third-party hardware companies.
A “senior source” said a new device will released by the end of 2016.
CSS Insight analyst Ben Wood told The Telegraph: “They are concerned that Android is fragmenting, that it needs to become a more controlled platform. I think they’ll seek to control it more, more like Apple.”
Earlier this year the Mountain View, California, firm expanded its mobile virtual network operator play, Project Fi, to provide nationwide coverage in the U.S.
Google’s Project Fi is a pay-as-you-go service supported by Nexus devices. Users of the Google Fi service use Wi-Fi for much of their data use, rather than the Sprint and T-Mobile US networks.
Tim Hardwick of MacRumors.com provided some insight into the report: “A Google-branded phone would therefore make sense from a software point of view and allow the company to control the hardware running its OS and let it showcase its other mobile software services. Such a move, however, isn’t without risk. In April, the European Commission formally charged Google with monopoly abuse, accusing it of using the success of Android to unfairly push its search engine and Chrome browser on users. Not only that, much of the company’s mobile service revenue is made through iOS devices, so Apple could potentially make life hard for Google if it felt threatened by its move into mobile hardware design.”
