Purchasers of mobile telephones can look, but not buy, their mobile devices soon. According to mocoNews.net, Google has recently launched a new Android store for "window-shopping only."

The store will be a "database that tracks all of the Android handsets in the market place allowing customers to conduct comparisons across handset makers and carriers," according to the online article.

Google also launched the Google Phone Gallery, which will be like a phone showcase without actually selling anything. Google learned its lesson when it underestimated "how hard it would be to sell unlocked devices at full price directly to consumers," states Moco News.

The online gallery will come in handy since the number and variety of Android products has "reached unmanageable levels" and Google claims that there are about 60 Android phones being sold built by 20 different handset makers sold in 49 countries. "Google will only list devices that come with the Android Market, Google Search and other service, such as maps and YouTube," according to the article. Consumers can use the site to compare phones side by side, filter phones by country, manufacturer and carrier, and compare each phone's technical features.

Google will also provide info on where and when each phone will be available for purchase. At the moment, the database has 21 phones ranging from HTC, LG, Motorola/Samsung on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless. "Google says the list will grow as it adds countries and phones as they come to market," states the article.

Furthermore, according to the Distimo Blog, "during its first year, the web based access to the Android Market was very limited."

At first, Google only displayed a set of featured apps and no way to download and purchase content from the web storefront. However, recently, a new web based Android Market was launched, "improving Android app discovery from the PC," states the blog. Plus, Google also said music would be downloadable from a web storefront of the Android Market as well. "It is very likely that this web storefront will not only contain music, but also the current application and games categories," according to blog.distimo.com. There is no launch date for the storefront yet, though.

Will this venue be successful? Newspapers need to keep in mind what applications to create for mobile units and if they can view the phones online, they may be able to gauge what consumers want.

Sources: Distimo Blog, Moco News
Image: Distimo Blog