Google has responded to rumours that the company is developing its own mobile handset by confirming it is indeed experimenting with a new Android device.
Images of a touchscreen HTC phone called the Nexus One were recently published online, prompting a flurry of speculation that Google is finally launching its own branded device following the success of the Android operating system on third party products.
Writing on the Google Mobile blog over the weekend, Mario Queiroz of the search engine said the phone is part of an experiment involving a mobile lab, which takes the form of a handset "that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities".
He added that this phone is currently being tested by employees around the world as part of Google's "dogfooding" policy of trying out its own products on its staff.
"Unfortunately, because dogfooding is a process exclusively for Google employees, we cannot share specific product details," Queiroz stated.
Analyst Ben Schachter of Broadpoint AmTech told Bloomberg that Google's latest experiment appears to be an attempt to exert a greater influence on the development of the mobile web.
Rumours of a Google branded phone have been circulating for over a year. Google has said that it will reveal more about the device after it has finished testing it.
