Originally Posted by
njx9
I've never understood the Android market objections... The fact that it's more open is, for me, by far the biggest positive. I hated being stuck with only those things Apple wanted me to use (and having apps that worked fine, and were clearly not malware, being pulled seemingly at random), and having zero other options, outside of a root. It's been fantastic not even needing to use the standard market (or the amazon one) and still being able to find 3rd party apps that function just fine. It does, generally, take an extra 15 seconds to read through the permissions the app wants and a few reviews to make sure it sounds legit, but it's hardly an imposition, given that I'm generally spending a few extra seconds reading the description in the first place. I'd add that, in general, I've experienced far less frustration using the Apple store than the standard Android market, but the 3rd party options generally more than make up for that.
I do think there is a lot to be said about having access to any and all apps that are available, not just the ones Apple approves. For, people with an understanding of how apps work, permissions, what kind of access they are gaining, etc. I am not sure that would be a problem. But for people like my brother or my employee who just download and install any app that looks like something they would like, there may be problems. They have no idea what these apps do, or what kind of access they are allowing. You would think that people's reviews would raise warning signs or alerts. But, evidentially they didn't and they still got hacked.
Aside from how I plan to use MY phone and just from an enthusiast standpoint, I would prefer open source and open market, even with its risks. But, again, that's just based on what I would LIKE. Now, based on how I would use it for my business, I really don't even want access to anything that hasn't been thoroughly screened. I can't speak about the apps that were pulled for no reason, but I am referring to anything that poses a risk to the OS.
One issue in particular is when Android users do have to restore after being hacked, or even after a major crash. My understanding, and I am not sure if this is true, is that the Android OS is a more fluid and flexible OS and varies from one phone to the next. So, if say my Droid crashes and I want to just restore everything, contacts, apps and all to my new Samsung Galaxy S, I may run into issues with field mapping, and I may even have to go back to the app store and download the apps again. I used to have to do that on my BB, and it drove me crazy. I got to the point where I didn't even bother downloading them again and just learned to live without them.
But, on the iPhone (I have never owned one, so I am not 100% sure of this), I am told you can plug the new phone in, restore from the last backup and you are up and running like the old phone, apps and all. That alone would be a H U G E factor for me, specially coming from BB where I had to reload all of my apps after major crashes. I really don't want to have to go back to the app store and re-download or re-load anything. I just want to restore and go, especially if I am in the field. I usually carry my laptop with me so restoring from a current backup even on the road would be pretty easy. Provided my phone would be back up just like it was before, that alone would almost make the iPhone worth its price to me.
It almost seems as though the Android OS is more of an enthusiast's platform and the iPhone IOS is more of a user's platform. Maybe like having a classic Mustang or Camaro where you can get under the hood and do some part swapping, and tweaking without having to deal with the on board computer monitoring system. I actually prefer Honda though.