Forget about the Google phone. What do you think of a Google-branded netbook? That's the latest rumor that emerged after a report from TechCrunch that says the company is planning to build a netbook based on its operating system Chrome.

TechCrunch cites an interview during which Google said it was working with several prominent hardware manufacturers who were interested in the Chrome OS. Among them are Acer, Lenovo, HP and Qualcomm.

A direct quote says:

“The Google Chrome OS team is currently working with a number of technology companies to design and build a device that will provide customers with extraordinary performance. Among them are Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba.”

Besides, TechCrunch cites multiple sources who claim that Google has been talking to at least one hardware manufacturer about building a netbook for Google directly. In the report, it’s said that since Google had given the company a request for proposal with quite detailed technical specifications, discussions on building the netbook had begun.