Guest post by Fatal Exception’s Neil McAllister questions how open is too open when it comes to mobile app markets, especially in light of the recent discovery of suspected malware in the Android Market. “Open platforms are attractive to developers, but as we have now seen, developers come in all flavors,” McAllister writes, “If smartphone vendors aren’t careful, they risk repeating the mistakes of the PC software industry, with mobile platforms becoming the new Wild West of computing.” As McAllister sees it, strong governance is the only solution, and this includes the ability to act swiftly when exploits arise – “something only centralized oversight can provide.” Sure, Apple’s App Store approval policies are somewhat ‘draconian’, “but by ensuring that each and every app in the App Store has met its rigorous standards, Apple has forged a bond of trust with iPhone users that no other smartphone vendor can match.”
…is how you view your phone.
Is it a device that has to be rock solid, or is it a computing platform that you like to futz around with?
There is nothing preventing a company from having a strict, centralized, reviewed, official app catalog, but still allow advanced users to install other applications at their own risk. I believe this is what Palm does with WebOS.
This gives the benefits of both systems, and without the risks (as long as you don’t install non-approved apps).
The other possibility is to make unapproved apps be run in a sandbox, where they can’t cause any harm. This is especially easy in something like Android or WebOS, which use non-native code.
Good concept, however it would need to restrict non-approved apps from having access to data from other apps, and maybe even some services, so it could make the whole exercise moot.
Generally techies, other than those who just want it as a usable work tool, will not choose the iPhone, unless they jailbreak it. For the general public – the same users who will stop their virus scanner from downloading it’s updates because it slows down their YouTube video playback or makes WoW laggy – Apple’s approach is much safer, and Apple know where the larger market is…
Except that most users will install whatever has a pretty graphic. You’d still end up with Malware and I guarantee you that web sites would be all over the company’s app store even though it wasn’t their fault in the first place. Most people don’t care if they blame the right person, they just want to blame *someone*. As with everything, there is absolutely no way to please everyone.
I suppose this is yet another case of freedom vs security, Its a question of what you value most in a computer. As phones get more powerful I expect more freedom and choice. There is a bit more danger, but its a risk I’m willing to take and if you use some intelligence you can almost always avoid the worst of it. Some may make the other choice, thats fine as long as the choice of a more free platform exists. The very existence of Android, WebOS, Maemo, and whatever other phone OS’s that do allow some freedom makes me feel confident that the Apple model isn’t going to take over, so I’m not worried.
The what? From what everyone’s seen so far the standards, if they can even be called that, are completely arbitrary and obviously not applied by anyone with the technical knowledge to spot spyware or malware.
Edited 2010-01-15 10:14 UTC
Wait, that industry made ~300 billion USD in 2008:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_industry
Apple’s iphone? Its hard to find hard numbers since Apple apparently doesn’t release any, but estimates put it at up to 160 million USD in a year (the total sales, not Apple’s cut):
http://lsvp.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/apple-has-made-no-more-than-20…
So, 160 million in the ‘doing-it-right’ industry, versus 300 billion in the ‘making-mistakes’ industry? You do the math, but that sounds like very profitable ‘mistakes’ if you ask me.
Even if it eventually reaches the Jobs’s claim of making it to 1 billion per year, its still got a long way to go before its in the same league with the PC software industry.
Some people are scared of freedom, some won’t live without it. Your ‘Wild West’ is my ‘Heaven’.