Nokia to drop Symbian from N Series, Google to make own phone (allegedly)

Naturally the Google phone story is thriving in the 'no comment' vacuum it traditionally reserves for future product announcements. The rumour mill says the phone is going to be some sort of up-market stunner and the idea of Google going it alone to produce (or rather contract a manufacturer to produce) a phone is certainly feasible and has its attractions as a strategy.

Google's position on the Google-led Open Handset Alliance which promotes Android, theoretically doesn't rule it out of building an Android phone itself - the more manufacturers the merrier.

So why would it? The power of Google's brand could be enough motivation. Why not produce an up-market Android that sets a gold standard using the Google brand and sell it direct at the top of the market - a sort of upmarket challenge to theiPhone, if you like.

Other theories mooted to explain Google's move (if it IS making a move) include providing a mobile device spearhead for WiMAX. Over on MoCoNews they reckon: "Google is an investor in Clearwire which is building a nationwide 4G wireless broadband network. Google could embed a mobile WiMax chipset into the phone, which would connect to Clearwire’s network.