With Google more than likely to announce its long-rumored, Android-based ‘Nexus One’ smartphone next Tuesday, most industry insiders are of the opinion that the Google phone might not just astonish the world, but also put the iPhone-maker Apple on its defensive.

Going by the rumors about the Google phone, there are suggestions galore that the device might just hit at Apple iPhone’s weakest point – the Google ‘Webphone’ will use the Internet, similar to Skype, as its transmission medium, thereby freeing the phone as well as the prospective users from the domination of the phone companies.

Furthermore, the Google Nexus One has been designed to run the Google Android operating system for mobile phones, which is essentially being envisioned as a major advancement in mobile phones, both because it challenges the domination of the popular iPhone as well as because it offers an “open” operating system, which other companies could make use of and design applications for.

Nonetheless, whether or not the Google phone will actually offer substantial competition to the iPhone, only time will tell! With early reports suggesting that despite all its notable features the Google device will largely be a conventional smartphone, the chances appear to be more bleak than bright!

Meanwhile, the impetus-driven and cash-rich Apple is not waiting for competitors to catch up – rather it is moving a step further; and, as per rumors, would soon launch its much-anticipated tablet computer.