It's been close to three years, and the world is still waiting for a worthy competitor for the iPhone. The Motorola Droid is a great device, beloved by most reviewers, but it's also clearly a few steps behind Apple's brainchild. No product can stay on top forever, though. One day soon, someone will create a mobile phone every bit as good, if not better, than the iPhone. Currently, the company most likely to design such a phone is Google.

First, Michael Arrington of TechCrunch confirmed the Gphone's existence on the basis of reliable inside information. Now, Gizmodo has received confirmation as well. A "trusted" source who claims to have seen the device calls its launch a "certainty". Google has yet to confirm these rumors.

If a Google phone is on the horizon, it's unlikely it will be like any smartphone we've seen before. There's no point in Google building their own device if they aren't going to do something truly unique with it. It's very possible that the Gphone will be a Google Voice-powered 100% data-driven mobile device. Building their phone to rely entirely upon VOIP for calling would allow Google to turn carriers into nothing but glorified ISPs.

A data-driven Gphone could be the game-changer the mobile industry has been looking for. If such a device were to become popular, it could forever alter the power dynamics of the industry. It's not a change most carriers would relish, but it would make things far easier for the consumer. Here's to hoping!