Is Google entering the mobile phone race?

Several reports indicate that Google is going to enter the mobile phone market very soon. According to one report, Google's mobile phone offering will be built using Linux software.

by Kristina Knight

According to sources, the Google offering won't compete directly with Apple's iPhone, launched earlier this year. Google, it is said, will likely create the software for the phone but won't actually go into production on the model. That will be left for mobile phone manufacturers who may want to use the Google application as an alternative for users who don't want to use Microsoft's Windows Mobile and other mobile applications that are built into phones.

"Google’s strategy is to lead the creation of an open-source competitor to Windows Mobile," said one anonymous executive (via MarketingVOX). "They will put it in the open-source world and take the economics out of the Windows Mobile business."

Some reports say that phones offering the Google alternative could be available within the next year. However, how Google will do with the platform will depend on how many mobile manufacturers and wireless carriers signed on to offer the platform.

Google is open to working in the mobile space, however, as evidenced by two moves within the last month that offered up both AdWords and AdSense to mobile marketers.