According to The Observer, Google and Orange are negotiating the terms of a multi-billion-dollar partnership to create an Orange branded Google phone, that will include Google's suite of software for faster and easier web search. The mobile phone will be manufactured by HTC, the Taiwanese manufacturer specializing in smart phones and PDA's, and will come pre-loaded with mobile versions of Google Earth, Gmail and other Google software.

The mobile phone might not include spectacular, hi-tech features, and - since it will be a HTC mobile phone - don't expect it to be small either. The main purpose of this phone is to provide an easier and faster way to surf the Net, by using, of course, Google's search engine and software for mobile phones.

No official announcements have been made so far, but, in my opinion, a Google-phone is bound to be released eventually seeing as the services that were once only available on the Net are going mobile as each day passes by and Google has already forged partnerships with mobile carriers to offer mobile versions of applications such as GTalk and Gmail as well as mobile versions of Google Maps.

Therefore, packing all the software up into one phone that makes the mobile browsing experience significantly faster might be the next big step for Google.

The multi-million-deal with Orange could be profitable for both Google and Orange, providing the users with a combination between Orange's services and 3G network and Google's web expertise.