Screenshots of first Googlephone app [Exclusive]
Remember WhatsOpen.com, the stealth search startup that piqued Google cofounder Sergey Brin's interest last month? Brin was so intrigued he told the founders to keep the company hush-hush. Now, however, a source has leaked screenshots of WhatsOpen's secret project.
Context & Ripple Effects
Google's phone project has been building toward this moment since October, when reporting framed it as a play for mobile advertising dollars rather than a handset for its own sake. What was missing was proof of software: nothing third-party had been seen running on the platform. The leaked WhatsOpen screenshots supply exactly that — a working app on the so-called Googlephone, from a stealth search startup Sergey Brin personally encouraged to stay quiet, per the confirmed account of his interest.
The story traveled fast for a leak about an unnamed startup: Engadget ran the screenshots under an explicitly hedged headline questioning whether these show Android, while CNET took the adjacent angle that Google must woo mobile app developers — both outlets landing on the same day, signaling that the open question is less whether the platform exists than who will build for it.
First-order effects
- WhatsOpen loses its stealth status against its patron's wishes — Brin asked the founders to keep quiet, and the leak makes the startup the public face of early Googlephone software.
- Google gets unsolicited proof-of-concept publicity: the first visible third-party app on its mobile platform arrives via Valleywag screenshots, not an official SDK announcement.
Second-order effects
- CNET's framing puts pressure on Google to formalize developer outreach — if independent shops like WhatsOpen are already prototyping, Google must convert curiosity into committed developers before the platform's public debut.
- Handset makers and carriers weighing Android participation now read the platform's readiness in press leaks, shifting evaluation from private briefings to public rumor flow.
Third-order effects
- If leaks substitute for official channels this early, Android's ecosystem forms in public view — a platform whose credibility rests on third-party apps appearing before the first device ships.
- The October ad-dollars thesis sharpens: each new app on the platform extends Google's search-and-ads franchise onto mobile screens, where the company currently has no equivalent distribution.
The trend: Google's mobile platform is assembling its third-party application layer in advance of any shipped device, with unofficial leaks setting the pace of developer and carrier expectations.