22nd September, 2010 by adina
Tags: Facebook, Foursquare, Google, News, Yelp

According to sources cited by TechCrunch, Google is said to prepare mobile devices that could be used for checkins and social networking to equip a certain number of small businesses. The devices are to be used by customers to rate the businesses or to finalize purchases through Google Checkout.
The company seems to accelerate its efforts to compete with existing services like Facebook, Foursquare or Yelp. The high-profile launch would include about eight million devices that would be distributed to companies present on a long list.
Google has not yet confirmed the reports nor did it hint at a specific set of features. It is still unclear if the company wants to profit from hardware sales or form other aspects of these services, but it is expected that the first devices would be offered for free.