Google Phone all but confirmed

There was once a time when we here at DailyTechRag tried to shrug off Google Phone rumors as the natural result of post-iPhone malaise. With more and more credible publications coming forth with insider information, however, it's getting harder to simply dismiss the Google Phone as nothing more than a figment of the Internet's imagination. The latest report comes from the Boston Globe, which claims to have the inside scoop on the device. Allegedly, the Google phone will be "simpler" and "not as flashy" as the iPhone and will sport a QWERTY keypad like most smartphones currently on the market. One of the Globe's sources "praised the phone's ability to scroll through icons horizontally, making a number of different features easily accessible despite the limited screen space," while another "described three-dimensional, animated buttons on the screen."

Meanwhile, GigaOM posted a list of technical details gleaned from "a reliable source" over the weekend. The highlights:

• "Google Phone is based on a mobile variant of Linux, and is able to run Java virtual machines."
• "All applications that are supposed to run on the Google Phone are java apps. The OS has ability to run multimedia files, including video clips."
• "The user interface is similar to a UI typical of mobile phones...is said to be done in Java and is very responsive."
• "There is a special browser which has pan-and-browse features that are common to modern browsers such as browsers for iPhone and Symbian phones."
• "Initially there was one prototype, but over past few months Google has the mobile OS running on 3-to-5 devices, most of them likely made by HTC, a mobile phone maker, and all have Qwerty apps."

Could these reports be accurate? If previous rumors prove true, we may find out later this month, though it still remains unclear whether or not the device(s) is aimed at U.S. consumers.

For more on the latest rumors:
- see this story from the Boston Globe
- and this report from GigaOM