Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s time as a member of Apple’s board of directors is starting to pay off. Okay, in truth I have no idea if Google is borrowing directly from Apple’s secrecy playbook, but the way information about the forthcoming Android line of phones is coming out in dribs and “exclusive” sneak peak drabs, seems awfully familiar.

Google itself showed a prototype of one Android design back in May. There has also been fevered speculation in the tech press (guilty as charged), about whether Google’s partners will be able to meet the promised deadline of delivering the first devices by the end of this year.

The latest hot scoop/rumor comes from AndroidGuys, which posted a diagram of what it claims T-Mobile’s G1 Android phone will look like. You can see it here: .

Given Google’s own preview and other reports on the Web, the AndroidGuys noted only a few new things caught their eye:

“One noticeable difference is the slight tilt to the bottom of the handset where the trackball is located. Although it’s a small change, it’s worth noting. We love the 5 row QWERTY keyboard with the spaced out buttons, reminiscent of recent Sidekick devices.”

Other specs AndroidGuys reported later via anonymous sources said the device will sport a 528Mhz Qualcomm 7201 processor; Data kit for USB connectivity in the box; 64MB Internal RAM; 128MB Internal ROM, 1GB MicroSD card; Dedicated camera button; 3.1MP camera (no flash) 2048 x 1536; Video playback files - H.264, streaming, 3GPP, MPEG4, and Codec 3GP and a Dedicated YouTube Player.