"A" is for "Android"

Look!
Up in the sky!
It's a bird!
No, it's a plane!
No, it's the Android!

Perhaps it's the time of year.
Or maybe it's a resurrection of the Great Cargo Cult.

Last month, when Google gave some (how many?) employees an unbranded "Google Phone", the net went wild with speculation ... does this mean "free phones for all." The speculation was fueled a bit more with Google's "free wifi for travelers" at selected airports.

Things have settled down to a screaming pace as folks await a Google "event", scheduled for January 5th, just before the Consumer Electronics Show. Most folks expect that this will focus on an Android partnership between Google and HTC, perhaps others.

Two big areas of interest are "what does this mean for Google?" and "what does this mean for the rest of us?"

For Google, does this mean that Google will become a phone company, manufacturing (or branding) a hardware device? Will they become a telephone company, offering (or branding) 3G or 4G or 5G service? Perhaps some data only service?

For the rest of us, does this mean low cost phones? Or will we have to wait for the "clone" manufacturers to ramp up their versions of this model. Will we see, somehow, a low cost mobile communication service, something for $10 or $20 a month, rather than the $80 - $100 a month AT&T and Verizon want?

Or will the announcement be mostly a bust - something that will be interesting in principle, but very blurry around the edges. Something like "Chrome" or "Wave." ?

As the line of questions indicate, I'm interested, but not conviced one way or another.