Well, it’s out, or at least the majority of the web thinks it is.  Sites such as TechCrunch, and Engadget, both have articles on the leaked phones price point.  Furthermore, this PDF is supposedly the Terms of Sale that Google creates when you are buying your phone (please comment if this link dies, I have another copy I can link too).  Now, the entire internet is up in arms, some saying how Google is turning into another Apple, others disappointed, hoping that Google would save us from the current state of cell phones, and a few that say that this is no big deal.  I would like to state that all of this is unnecessary.  Why?  These leaked information given is fakes.

The first clue I had was the PDF file.  It looks like something that was printed out by going to a webpage, and directly printed from there, also, it looks bad enough that I believe some else scanned in the copy they were given.   However, the PDF file links to:  http://www.google.com/static/en_US-tehttp://www.google.com/static/en_US-terms_of_sale.htmlrms_of_sale.html.  When you go there, you get an error claiming that the page does not exist.  That is the first sign that the document is a fake.  However, the internet is not static, and links change, forty years from now, I doubt many of the links that I put here will still be valid.  Thus, I had to dig a little deeper into the document.  My next clue, was who Google claimed made the phone.  Many times within the article, they state that Google did not make the phone, but HTC did.  This comes at little to no surprise, after all, it has been a widely known rumour that Google would not be making the phone, but rather, would be branding it, analogous to how Microsoft sold the Zune initially.  That’s all well and good, until you read later in the document.  Google basically removes any form of liability whatsoever, claiming that any hardware problems should be dealt with HTC, and not Google.  It is stating that Google is branding the phone, but will not be taking any responsibility for it whatsoever.  Not only does this give the impression of fraud, but with any amount of basic game theory analysis, this makes no sense whatsoever.  First, why would HTC allow Google to brand their phone if they would be taking all of the responsibility for any hardware issues.  At a minimum, they would have the customers go through Google, who would then take their problems to HTC.  Next, why would Google want their brand on a phone if they have no control over the hardware?  Thus, it is highly likely that Google will be keeping their hand, at some level, in the state of the hardware.

One of the biggest things that was screaming fake, was the subsidization.  Many times in the contract, Google states that it is them that is subsidising the phone, not the carrier.  It states that if you cancel your phone contract, you must pay the difference to Google.  It then states that you may have to pay an early termination fee to whatever carrier you were using.  First, it seams a little odd that Google is talking about your carrier in the abstract.  One could argue that Google is just trying to make a catch all licence, which is not an uncommon practice in the law business.  However, if that is the case, why did they not also talk about the hardware creator in the abstract as well?  They specifically pointed out HTC.  It could be argued that this is because HTC is the only person making the phone, while you can get any carrier.  The problem is that Google is allowing one carrier, and one plan, to subsidise the phone.  T-Mobile, with a $79.99 a month plan.  Why would Google be the one subsidising T-Mobile?  Would it not be T-Mobile subsidising the phone, not Google?

Finally, other small tid bits should promote scepticism, such as the lack of URLs in the screen shots.  Thus, at the end of the day, this rumour is likely just that, a rumour, nothing more, and nothing less.

Update: The announcement came on Jan. 5, 2010.  You can find more details about it here.