It was last November that Google announced their entry into the smartphone OS battle (alongside Symbian, RIM BlackBerry OS, Microsoft Windows Mobile, and of course the inimitable iPhone) but we have yet to see the first Google Android smartphone on the market. Well that is soon about to change.

A British chip maker named ARM has released a prototype of its unbranded handset running the Google Android operating system, equipped with:

• email (provided by Gmail)
• text messaging
• multimedia apps
• internet browser (with Google as the default home page)
• Google Calendar functionality
• GoogleMaps software

Meanwhile, Google's own engineering director has unveiled an Android smartphone prototype as well, this the Google branded GPhone. While Google won't be manufacturing the GPhones itself, it aims to design the basic handset in such a way that manufacturers of all capacities can still deliver a quality, Google-worthy product. The first of these looks to pack the equivalent power of the iPhone into a smaller, tighter package (and that includes the screen size).

The first Google Android smartphones are expected to hit markets later in the year.