Google itself renewed the rumors of making its own smartphone, after the company said it is internally dabbling with a mobile device, with analysts to have already given a name for the new device.

In a blog post Saturday, Google said the new device combines hardware built by an unnamed partner with its Android software.

"We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it," Mario Queiroz, Vice President, Product Management at Google wrote in a blog post.

The blog post came a morning after Google workers evidently excited about getting "Google phones" exchanged comments on wildly popular microblogging service Twitter.

Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal on Saturday also said that Google planned to sell its own cellphone direct to consumers as soon as next year.

The paper added that the new phone will be Called the "Nexus One" and will be made by smartphone maker HTC, running on the search giant's Android operating system. The paper also said that the device will be sold online, with the cellular service to be bought separately.

Such a move would mean Google would go head-to-head with Apple's iPhone and Research in Motion's Blackberry, as well as current makers of Android phones.

Analysts say the aim is to gain access to valuable consumer data that can be used to sell ads at premium prices, rather than to make money from direct hardware sales, as companies such as Nokia or Research in Motion do.

Google launched its first Android phone in September 2008, the G1 sold by T-Mobile USA. Verizon Wireless last month released the Droid, the first smart phone to run Android 2.0, and expects to launch another Android phone this year.



Update
Google's "Nexus One" also got the approval of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with T-Mobil 3G and turned up on the commission's site.