In conditions of the highest secrecy with NDAs slapped on insiders, the long-awaited GooglePhone is set to enter a crowded marketplace sometime soon after America’s Labor Day.

Thought to be an early prototype of the GooglePhone

It is being described it as “simpler” and not as flashy as Apple’s iPhone. It has the ability to scroll through icons horizontally, making a number of different features easily accessible despite the limited screen space.

Another described it as having three-dimensional, animated buttons on the screen with a small QWERTY keyboard, like a Treo or a BlackBerry, rather than relying on a touch-screen, like the iPhone.

Earlier, Sim Simeonov, a technologist-in-residence at Polaris Venture Partners in Waltham, blogged an entry titled “The Real Google Phone.” He wrote that an “inside source” had described a “BlackBerry-like, slick device,” and that “Google would create distribution partnerships with a number of different mobile carriers, unlike Apple, which is locked into AT&T for five years”.

In August, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google hopes that several different manufacturers will build the phones and multiple carriers will help distribute them. Google will supply the software and deliver ads to the phones.

Engadget wrote last week that Google’s new operating system for cellphones, could be revealed shortly after Labor Day.

We await developments with interest.

Simeon Simeonov has posted what he calls some inside information about the new Google Phone, including a picture of it which was allegedly leaked to Engadget and described as an Apple iPhone killer :

The phone is said to have the following features :

* Blackberry-like, slick device
* C++ core w/ OS bootstrap (some version of Linux?)
* Optimized Java running on the C++ core
* Vector-based presentation courtesy of Skia’s technology
* Many services, including VoIP.

Simeon writes : “Apparently, Google is planning to build distribution relationships with multiple carriers by allowing them to minimize subscription and marketing costs. In other words, Google will market the phone online and carriers will fulfill.”

There seems to be a lot of chaff flying around this product from inside sources. Could Google be using a disinformation campaign to disguise its true intentions?

One thing’s for sure, any physical product from Google is bound to make a huge dent in the market, especially if it can undercut the iPhone on price.