The on-again, off-again Google Phone rumors just got a healthy stir by Digitimes. The Taiwanese tech rag says that HTC is building the phone with initial shipments set to hit by the “end of 2007″ — globally in 2008 — citing “handset component makers” as their source. The phones will feature Texas Instruments’ 3G platform with EDGE and of course..The on-again, off-again Google Phone rumors just got a healthy stir by Digitimes. The Taiwanese tech rag says that HTC is building the phone with initial shipments set to hit by the “end of 2007″ — globally in 2008. They cite “handset component makers” as their source. The phones will feature Texas Instruments’ 3G platform with EDGE and of course built-in G-Mail and Google Maps. Unfortunately, they will not be GPS enabled. The handsets are also said to sport both Google and carrier branding with “sources” claiming that European’s Orange might be the first carrier to see the hotness. Digitimes doesn’t have the best track record with rumors so please everybody… exhale and let’s wait for secondary confirmation.

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The category of VoIP-enabled smartphones has grown with the introduction of WiFiMobile’s new VoIP software for the Nokia S60 cellular handset. The application allows users to call other WiFiMobile addresses at no charge, while a subscription pricing plan is available for calls to PSTN numbers. Configuration and management are described as easy and straight-forward for the just-released software. While enterprise customers may want more management at this point, WiFiMobile may be a realistic choice for those waiting for the right time to implement an IP PBX.

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Thanks to a mysterious user by the name of deuxani, we now have a better look at Sony Ericsson’s forthcoming P700i smartphone. The phone will come with a 2.6-inch QVGA screen and 3.2-megapixel camera with duplex LED light.

It’ll have three flavors of wireless including 3G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. As you can tell by the image, it’ll also have a two-letter-per-key keyboard, which kinda ruins it for me ( I could never get used to that style of texting). Otherwise, it looks pretty solid. No word on availability yet.

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There have been plenty of Zune 2.0 rumors recently–flash memory, a “watermelon” version this summer, and what-have-you. Now here’s another one to add to the pile; Engadget recently pointed us to a “Zune phone” interface patent application unearthed by Mad4MobilePhones. It appears to be a sort of “tiled” setup for for “improved user interface for mobile devices such as smartphones” and “personal digital assistants.” Looks like a fancy Bingo card to me.

Engadget pointed out that some of the icons appear to point to weather, music, and the like. There’s also a TV icon with rabbit ears (umm, online video?), a globe (mobile Web?), a shopping cart, and…a dog? From the looks of it, it definitely seems like a Microsoft answer to the iPhone.

Concrete Zune phone rumors started flying around a few months ago. And keep in mind that Microsoft has filed other applications involving wireless communication over a 4G WiMax network. Hmmm…

Anybody else think that Microsoft plants rumor fodder in an attempt to deflect from the recent onslaught of Apple rumors? Sneaky, sneaky Steve Ballmer!

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