Another bit of fodder for all that have gulped down the Android cool aid and think it's such an "open platform".

In the last couple weeks I've done a lot of ROM updates and testing of various Android builds. If Android is so "open", how come:
  • Many devices are stuck on version 1.6 and can't be upgraded.
  • Phones require "rooting"...how does that differ from iPhone "jailbreaking".
  • Why can't I download hundreds of applications from the Android Market when I have a Chinese SIM card (or other non-USA/EURO telco)?
  • Why can't I purchase thousands of applications while living in China (or other countries)?
  • Why doesn't Google Navigation work in the majority of countries on the earth?
  • Why does Google discriminate against hardware? If it were open, it would be possible to install on any device. Upon such installation, all features should be available?
  • Why do you have to search forums for simple issues like how to trick the market into thinking you speak english?


So far, I see some differences in the way Google and Apple operate. Apple controls you with an application called "iTunes" and Google controls you with a hodge podge collection of beta "cloud" applications. I wouldn't call either of them "open" or "closed", more like "controlled". Obviously, Android's lack of quality control has allowed them deliver a few too many malware apps via their Market store, so I'm sure we'll see further controls set in place in the near future.

Apple may control a bit of your phone life, but take a look at the amount of data Google is harvesting on you, and then ask who looks like big brother. If you want anything to work correctly in Android (not just the phone, but on your computer as well) you need to be logged into your Google account at all times. That means every tiny detail, from contacts, to what you search, to where you go (via what route), and all websites you visit are being tracked by google.

For me, the Android world seems to have so much potential, and I'm loving the power, but it's the Google applications that stand in its way. Unlike Chinabiker, my contacts don't sync seamlessly, my maps don't update quickly, I had to finally resort to using Google Chrome to get bookmarks to sync with my Google account, and the last time I reset my phone, the appstore lost all the applications associated with my Google account. Simple things, like changing the name of a POI in Google Maps, have thousands of complaints on googles forums, yet Google ignores the request to fix this after more than a year. BTW, POI's are saved in your google account as "bookmarks" WTF?

I guess the one big difference I'm noticing between WinMo, iPhone, and Android is privacy. I could switch between many devices with MacOS, iPhone, Windows, & WinMo without ever requiring an internet connection. A little tweaking, and any of these platforms can easily transfer your vital data with ease. The Android and Google platforms have no privacy at all. Everything you do with them is tied to analyzing you and feeding you advertisements.

So overall, I'm loving the geek aspect of being in the Android world, but as a geek, I can't stand the fact they are harvesting info on every little bit of my life. I'm not spending hours on hacking into features, I'm spending hours trying to figure out how to do something without it being reported to my Google account.

Which...BTW... is why my extended KML routine is much better than MyMaps. You can anonymously create a route and then travel it whenever you want versus the Google way of telling them when you create routes and when you travel them.

Oh well....

"You have zero privacy anyway, get over it."
Scott McNealy, Sun Microsystems 1999

Cheers!
ChinaV