The old saying that friends shouldn’t discuss politics has long had a tech-themed cousin; talking about the “perfect” gadget, of any sort, is likely to result in disagreement, and maybe (with the exception of the Apple vs. Microsoft debate) the greatest furore is over the gadget most of us keep with us most of the time: the cellphone. Information Week tempts fate, then, and asks what exactly makes the perfect mobile, ladling a little Google love into the mixture.

The search giant’s potential strength in this area, of course, is twofold: firstly, their catalogue of web-based apps, and secondly their apparent willingness to step outside of the norm and challenge the status quo of the traditional telcos:

“That’s not to say that the likes of Nokia, Motorola, and RIM aren’t innovating. They are, but they’re working within the system rather than trying to fundamentally alter the way the business works” Information Week

As to what they’d like to see inside the gPhone, Information Week start with OS - and their leanings toward Linux, which is growing among mobile handsets - then move on to discuss the OpenMoko Neo 1973, the current poster-child for the open-source faithful. But they don’t fall into the usual trap of prizing the “how” and meanwhile forgetting the “why” - in this case, the functions that a cellphone is expected to perform and do so with exactly zero hiccoughs.

“[P]hones are small computers, but getting information in or out of them isn’t easy, apart from a few presanctioned methods. That’s because mobile network operators like operating digital toll booths, charging for incoming or outgoing data, whether that’s voice, data, or otherwise. They also don’t have unlimited bandwidth and aren’t eager to have customers flooding their networks with live video, for example” Information Week

Of course, the biggest stumbling block is not the handset but the network it hangs upon. And until we see what block Google can drive among the old stalwarts of the industry, their inclination looks to be over-hyped sops rather than any real movement toward openness. Information Week are realistic (and perhaps a tad cynical):

“In the meantime, why not try an imperfect phone? And if you aren’t entirely satisfied, console yourself with the knowledge that you can always buy an improved imperfect phone next year. In fact, that sounds like a pretty good business model”