Is Google coming to a phone near you?
AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are talking with Google about the possibility of accepting Google applications and ads on mobile devices.
The prospect of an actual "Google phone" - a co-branded device that could be sold in cell phone stores - isn't currently under discussion, say people familiar with the talks. They declined to be identified because Google has not yet made an announcement.
Any agreements would likely pave the way for consumers to more easily access Google's search engine from mobile devices but would not cover actual devices or include Google-specific calling plans, those sources say.
Google has been pushing the cell phone giants to open up their networks to all devices and applications. Google is particularly interested in extending its dominance in the search-engine space into the mobile device world, says former telecom analyst Susan Kalla, a managing partner at KHX Investments in Greenwich, Conn.
"Google wants open systems so long as the 'O' in 'open' means Google," Kalla says. KHX has a position in Google.
Of the big three cell phone carriers, Sprint is most closely aligned with Google philosophically. Sprint, which has 54 million subscribers, is building an advanced broadband network that will be open to all devices and applications - including those provided by Google. Sprint's goal, over time, is to turn the U.S. into one, big wireless Internet hot spot.
Sprint has a history of working well with third-party application developers and boasts a fairly robust collection of applications - music, video and more - that subscribers can use.
Verizon, the No. 2 carrier with 64 million subscribers, historically has exercised close control over devices and applications as a way, it says, of ensuring good service for customers.
At Google's invitation, Verizon has been discussing the possibility of making Google's search-engine application more easily accessible from Verizon-endorsed mobile devices.
AT&T, the United States' No. 1 wireless player with 66 million subscribers, was also approached by Google, people familiar with the matter say. The carrier already has exclusive distribution rights for the hugely successful Apple iPhone. It also has a solid relationship with Yahoo, Google's chief competitor.
Under their current deal, Yahoo provides the portal for AT&T's high-speed Internet service, but that preferential treatment does not extend to the mobile space. Yahoo, which became a partner in 2001, is negotiating a new contract with AT&T.
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