One of the reasons I was drawn to the Android stable as a mobile platform was it’s open nature. The fact that I can control the use of my own phone is important to me. Having someone else say what I can and can’t do with it, is not on. So it is that I’ve been a happy Android user for some time now. And I can change the phone as I choose ( eg. running custom ROMs ) without being legally or otherwise targeted by my phone company.
Something that you can’t unfortunately say about Apple. They’ve been at the forefront of protecting their closed system since day 1, to the detriment of their own clients. Try changing anything on your phone ( or any other Apple product ) and you’ll have an Apple lawyer at your doorstep in minutes. As many have already found out.
I won’t even start with their restrictive App store requirements and operations.
So it’s interesting to find Apple users touting recent security issues in the Google Market. They seemed to have missed the fact however that the Android platform itself has not been compromised. And this issue is not only limited to Android; it’s affecting all app markets to the point that there are even fake Apple retail stores in China now.
That’s not to say that the Android platform is immune from security issues – it’s certainly not. No platform is.
The problem with Apple’s closed platform is that like all other commercial companies with closed-source products, outsiders don’t get to see, comment on or assist in fixing security issues. And it’s these very same security issues that have resulted in their products being jail-broken. From issues with malware and viruses, to lawsuits in phone tracking data, Apple is starting to see the results of being popular. And the security issues are coming fast and furious.
As well, Apple, like many other closed source companies, knows only how to fight competition with patent attacks, not technical innovation. And so Apple users are looking at a world where there is only Apple and nothing else. Is that what you really want? Competition has always fostered innovation. If there is no competition, there is no reason to improve or to create something new. And stagnation is a slippery slope.