A few weeks before the “Google Phone” was revealed to be Android, someone who would seem to be very much in the know reiterated to me that the Google Phone was in fact going to be an actual phone at some point. Android was of course meant to be more of a mobile phone OS/platform rather than an actual phone, but Eric Schmidt would not rule out Google going in that direction eventually. Now today comes rumor that Google and Dell have teamed up to create a physical phone, one that yes, could rival the iPhone.

Months ago I wrote “Is Google About to Stab Apple In the Back with Google Phone?“, in which I wrote that I thought Google coming out with their own cellphone at that time was unlikely given that the iPhone had just been released by Google’s buddy Apple – and seeing as Google’s CEO Schmidt sits on the board of Apple, that would seem a suspicious move at best. I did note however that certainly in the future I could see that happening.

Cut to more recently where we’ve had reports earlier this month that Eric Schmidt recuses himself at Apple Board meetings whenever the iPhone is the topic of discussion. While Android presents one level of potential conflict of interest, a Google Phone – which Schmidt certainly would have been instrumental in the rumored deal with Dell – would present a very large conflict of interest.

Sure, Google wouldn’t technically be wholly making such a phone, Dell would be in charge of most of the physical attributes, but it would be questionable for Google to get into the hardware business on its own at this point, a partnership is a smart play. Make no mistake, if these reports are true, this very much would be a “Google Phone” – and its chief competitor would very likely be the iPhone.