New phones could send computers to the trash

You may soon start feeling nostalgic about your computer, thinking of it as an archaic throwback, akin to a turntable or an eight-track tape.

The recent disclosures about a Google phone may be a turning point in the history of the personal computer. PCs had their heyday, and it was yesterday. Now is the moment for the phone.

After all, Google knows where the action is, and it’s not the computer. The innovation and excitement around new technology for the masses is shifting to the phone. Apple’s iPhone gave this trend a whiz-bang start in 2007, and a Google phone will ensure the trend accelerates in 2010.

By 2015? Maybe you won’t have much use for your computer.

Now, for starters, what’s known (or rumored, really) about the Google phone? According to widespread reports from the New York Times and other news organizations, Google is likely to market a Google-branded phone early next year. Much remains uncertain about the phone, apparently labeled the Nexus One, but it is said to use a new version of Google’s mobile operating system software, known as Android, and to be sold “unlocked” for use with a variety of wireless carriers. If you type “nexus one” at Google News, you will get more than 3,000 recent news articles about the device, which will be manufactured by Taiwan’s HTC Corp.

Whatever the specs, the idea of Google getting into the business of designing and selling a gadget — a phone, rather than a computer — signals a clear move toward using phones, rather than PCs, for many computing tasks.