Google may no longer remain just a services company as speculations suggest that the firm is considering launching own-brand name Android-based phones.

The speculations are claimed by Ashok Kumar, analyst Northeast Securities and he says the phone maybe launched by this year-end.

Kumar says Google plans to keep the handset unlocked unlike iPhone. HTC and Qualcomm are speculated to be partnering Google for this initiative.

When Google had launched Android last year it was widely believed that it will do so by launching its own handset branded as gPhone. But this was not the case to be.