Many suggest Google's mobile plans exceed the cell phone's browser however, which is why the carrier control issue really is of importance to them. I agree with the article in this regard. Several respectable analysts believe a Google phone is ~6-12 months from being unveiled, and that Google has interests in more advanced on-deck applications such as context sensitive searching (based on location, time, etc). Both of these objectives are definitely "blockable" by the telcos under current conditions.

isn't the iphone a google phone? i thought SJ and ES were on each other's boards. google is trying to create the platform and capitalise on the traffic (by betting it can build better products) - that's their business space. apple makes consumer devices which use traffic. sounds like a pretty solid proposition to me.

I think that if Google does have a phone in the works, it will be a no-frills, inexpensive phone that will cost a lot less than the iphone. That way, google won't compete with the high end of the market that iphone has covered.