Google could imitate the iPhone with VoIP handset

Google could emulate the iPhone's influence on the smartphone market by launching a handset that incorporates its VoIP solutions, Mobile has said.

Such a product could "jump the market in the way the iPhone did," said James Atkinson, editor of the fortnightly UK mobile phone industry magazine.

Google could create a phone that "you could use anywhere in the world relatively cheaply" by bundling its IP telephony solutions, Gizmo5 and Google Voice, with a handset, he explained.

If Google truly wants to gain a foothold in the mobile phone market it should focus on being innovative rather than directing advertising towards consumers, according to Mr Atkinson.

"Are they really just about getting you to look at ads and increasing their revenue that way or do they really want to be a serious player?," he said.

He added that it is "very difficult to know" what was the main reason behind Google developing and selling its first self-branded phone, the Nexus One.

The presence of smartphones in the global mobile phones market continued to grow in 2009, GfK said recently.

The increasing prominence of smartphones has seen a movement towards 3G technology, which potentially bodes well for the VoIP carrier market.