Arun Sarin, chief executive of Vodafone, questioned the logic of a Google mobile phone yesterday, suggesting that it would struggle to distinguish itself in an already crowded handset market.

Mr Sarin claimed it was unclear what a “Google phone” would offer consumers. “What is it that is missing in life that they are going to fulfil?” he asked. “You can reach Google already through a number of devices. You don’t need a Google phone to do that.”

Speculation over a big push into mobile telecoms by the internet search giant has reached fever pitch over recent weeks. The group looks poised to launch its own, internet-enabled mobile handset equipped with tailor-made applications.

It has already fostered relationships with mobile phone companies including Vodafone, which offers Google internet search on its handsets. However, a much bigger push into the area seems likely, More than 20 per cent of mobile subscribers are set to have access to mobile internet at broadband speeds by the end of this year, making mobile the next battleground for advertisers.

Research by Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts that the market for advertising on mobile phones is set to be worth more than $11.3 billion (£5.5 billion) a year in 2011.

Some analysts believe that Google could seek to bypass the mobile carriers and go it alone in mobile. Such speculation has been further fuelled by the internet giant’s recent indication of a potential $4.6 billion bid for a licence for wireless spectrum in the United States, which could be used to launch a mobile broadband network.

Alternatively, it could seek to persuade mobile phone companies to work with it. It has held talks with at least one mobile operator about its plans for a potential “GPhone”.

Arash Amel, an analyst at Screen Digest, said: “While the mobile companies and Google may see the benefits of working with each other, both sides will also be slightly suspicious of each other. At present, mobile operators very much have control of the end user in terms of the services they offer and what they charge. It is not as democratic as the internet, the traditional home of Google.”

Google, Mr Amel said, might be looking for a deal similar to that which was negotiated by Apple with O2 for the iPhone.

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