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These are times of speculation, certainly when it comes to hi-tech gadgets. The latest is that search giant Google might come out with a home entertainment device soon. According to sections of the U.S. media, that would be the company's major foray into the hardware sector.

As is the trend elsewhere, be it with Apple, Amazon or Samsung, it's all about diversifying into varied sectors. So, one can't outrightly dismiss Google's new product in the consumer electronics space as something impossible.

"Google still makes the vast majority of its money from Internet search. But as computing detaches from the desktop and laptop, the company cannot afford to be marginalized. The new device is an effort to control the design, production and sale of an entertainment device, just as its competitors have done so successfully," wrote David Streitfeld and Nicole Perlroth in New York Times.

The device, according to them, exists as a prototype and will eventually be sold as a branded item to consumers. Initially, the device would be for streaming music, but its utility might be expanded eventually, the article stated.

It is believed that Motorola Mobility might produce the device, after Google acquired it for $12.5 billion. With Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, it might also boast features to connect with other home electronics equipment.

The device has been in the works for years and will be out this year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

It is after Google filed an application last week with the Federal Communications Commission, all  news and subsequent speculation were sparked off. Apparently, Google said in the application that it would begin testing a device called an 'entertainment device'.

The company has plans to test 252 of the devices in its employees' homes in Mountain View, California, Los Angeles, New York and Cambridge, said a report.