After a week or so of rumors about an exciting new "Google Phone," the Web software giant confirmed Monday the details about its venture into the mobile platform, i.e. your cell phone.
Rather than release one model of a phone, Google is teaming with 33 other participants, including carriers T-Mobile and Sprint, in the Open Handset Alliance to create a unified platform, currently named Google Android, for running software applications on mobile devices.
What's that all mean? The big motivation for Google is that it will likely have its applications such as Gmail and Google Docs & Spreadsheets automatically built into a major share of new cell phones in the burgeoning market.
What's interesting and exciting is that the platform--likely based on Linux--will be open to all third-party developers. With any luck, that means that consumers will finally be able to choose exactly which software apps they want to use on their cell phones.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt claims that "as a result of this platform you'll be able to do amazing things with your mobile devices that you've never thought of." We'll get a first peek at the possibilities for programmers with an early look at a software development kit for Google Android next week.
Nicole Lee has created a wish list of features that she'd want from a Google phone. What's your dream of a perfect cell phone? Tell me about it, or whether or not you'd welcome Google onto your cell phone in the CNET Download.com blog.