Google Phone Rumors Swirl

The public will finally get to see Google’s Android cellphone platform in action at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, a source told Reuters. British chip maker ARM will show the prototype, the source said, though ARM and Google declined comment. The first phones and services based on Android are due on the market in the second half of 2008.

Both T-Mobile and HTC have said they’ll release Android-based phones this year. Android is being developed using open-source software and is aimed at making the Internet work better on cellphones. In November, Google assembled a group of carriers, handset makers, software developers, and chip makers to work on the platform. Researchers have estimated it will be in 2% of smartphones this year.