Google, Orange seek tie-up for Internet telephone

LONDON (AFP) - "The Internet juggernaut Google has held talks with Orange, the telecommunications operator, about a multi-billion dollar tie-up for mobile telephone users to search the web, a news report said.

Executives from Orange, which is owned by France Telecom, flew to Silicon Valley in California for preliminary talks about such a deal at Google's headquarters, the London-based newspaper The Observer said on its website.

The two firms are focusing on a branded Google phone, which would probably also carry Orange's logo, with a screen that might look like a video iPod, it said. It would be manufactured by HTC, a Taiwanese firm specializing in smart phones and Personal Data Assistants (PDAs).

The phone would have built-in Google software which would vastly speed up the slow and cumbersome experience of surfing the web from a mobile handset, the news site said."

:source: Source: Yahoo! News
:view: BetaNews: Google Exec Quashes Mobile Phone Rumors
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Being a Google fan, I find that a Google branded phone to be exciting. :happy:

Big G is at it again, growing by leaps & bounds. I wonder if they're in talks with any other major cell phone carriers. If google got on enough of these small screens, it would be one more avenue for them to pursue in ensuring Net Neutrality and sticking it to overly greedy ISPs.

Seems more rumors are flying around for a gPhone again:

Is Google Really Planning an iPhone Killer? - YahooNews

Doesn't mention Orange tho'.