Google breaks 600, talk of the GPhone make the NY Times,… will Google ever slow?

What is in some ways a much bigger deal than a GPhone (okay, that is a big deal), is Google’s operating system and desktop app ambitions/capability. Apple has much less to worry about than Microsoft.

From NY Times:
At the core of Google’s phone efforts is an operating system for mobile phones that will be based on open-source Linux software, according to industry executives familiar with the project.

…In short, Google is not creating a gadget to rival the iPhone, but rather creating software that will be an alternative to Windows Mobile from Microsoft and other operating systems, which are built into phones sold by many manufacturers. And unlike Microsoft, Google is not expected to charge phone makers a licensing fee for the software.

…“The essential point is that Google’s strategy is to lead the creation of an open-source competitor to Windows Mobile,” said one industry executive…. “They will put it in the open-source world and take the economics out of the Windows Mobile business.”

Combine that with China’s fast growing computer market and talks of using Linux instead of Windows. A Leveno with Linux could easily reach US consumers. Microsoft has significantly dropped its Windows price in China (they weren’t paying for it, so something is better than nothing) to gain a foothold. (I wish I had the source on me, I read it or watched it from a mainstream source… we’ll call “Some Guy” within the past couple months)