Google previously refuted rumors that it's planning to make own-brand smartphones, but now news hits the wire that the search giant has bought Mike and Maaike, the design studio that helped create the Google Nexus phone.
Mike and Maaike bills itself as "a progressive industrial design studio," that focused on "functionality, intelligence, and ease" in the design process for the G-1, Bloomberg reports. Mike and Maaike has also counted Belkin, Steelcase, Microsoft, Incase, and the City of San Francisco among its design clients.
Commenting on the purchase, Google representatives said that it is a "natural next step" for the company to get "even more serious and to really go for it" when it comes to mobile device offerings featuring Android. Google has been rumored to be working on a Nexus Android tablet, as well as an expansion of its line of Nexus-branded handsets, which would be powered by Jelly Bean, the next major Android release. Google is said to be working in concert with a range of device manufacturers in making these devices.
