The Google Phone?

VE3OGG writes "There has been ample hype over the last several years that Apple's iPhone was just around the corner. (Though a product named iPhone was just recently released by Cisco / Linksys.) Well, while Apple fans continue to salivate at the thought of a phone powered by the company-of-cool, the index-everything-while-doing-no-evil company may be setting itself up to produce their own Google phone in partnership with Orange."

iPhone could still be the name for Apple's phone

[adzoox]

One is a VOIP phone (released by Cisco/Linksys) ... the other is a cellphone/iPod hybrid ... I honestly think Apple could say that is enough of a differentiation for patent trademark disputes. The main thing to note is that the rumor mill is the one calling it the "iPhone" ... not Apple ... evnthough Apple owns the trademark internationally and owns the domain iPhone.org. Also, this pretty credible storyboard was published yesterday noting the name "iPhone".

iPhone Storyboard or Ad Design? [fixyourthinking.com]

Re:If this is true...

[ScentCone]

though I wonder why company and government officials always decline confirming or denying so called rumors

Well, among things, a company like Google is actually owned by its investors, and shares are publicly traded. The SEC gets very, very testy (as do litigious shareholders and their parasitic lawyers) when a publicly traded company does anything that can be construed as falsely painting a picture of business prospects that might impact the value of a share in the company.

In short, regulations and lawsuits have trained companies to opt for silence, rather than risk being called deceptive - even if they don't start the rumor they're not commenting on. And if someone who works there starts the rumor (or can be said to have leaked something), all sorts of insider-trading ugliness can get bandied about. You get what you reward, and you suppress what you punish.

Re:"Two most powerful brands"?

[elFarto the 2nd]

In the UK they are one of the 4 big mobile phone providers (O2, Vodaphone, T-Mobile and Orange).

Regards
elFarto