USA Today and many other papers and news outlets are carrying stories on Google's gPhone, which will be an open source software-powered cell phone. Sort of. The phone will use a variant of Linux, and users will be able to load non-Google software on it.
But the exact business model is still under wraps. It will probably be free or very low fee, but Google is in the business of making money. The company already intends to put many of its own applications and services on the phone, and one has to wonder if you will be able to remove them or use competing software.
You also have to wonder what role ads will play. Will you have to scroll through a bunch of ads every time you want to make a phone call? Will you have to watch a 30 second ad video to make a call?
Finally, you have to wonder about privacy. Google has a terrible track record with privacy, and in return for using this cheap or free phone, Google will probably get to capture all your phone numbers and contacts. And if there is email and Web browsing supported on the phone, as there almost certainly is, Google will likely be capturing every email address and will be storing every Web site you visit.
But the phone is free! While the phone may have widespread appeal to college kids and people on a budget, I suspect a lot of people will look at the terms of service and pass.