GPhone

Little is known about Google's mysterious GPhone, which the company says it will release by next year. Staying true to form, Google has remained tight-lipped about what its plans for the phone are. But a report in The Telegraph says Google will preload services such as interactive maps, email and its search engine onto the phone.

While industry insiders suspect that Google is planning to take advantage of the lucrative mobile ad market, the company's strategy remains somewhat unclear.

Although Google has worked with wireless carriers in the past, the company has made headlines lately by suggesting that internet firms and consumers would benefit by breaking the carriers' lock on the industry. 

The GPhone should give Google extra leverage against carriers that have so far refused to open up their networks.

For Google, the mobile stakes are high.

"What's interesting about the ads in the mobile phone is that they are twice as profitable or more than the non-mobile phone ads because they're more personal," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in May.