Google Open About Kill Switch in Android Phones (NewsFactor)
Frederick Lane, newsfactor.com 34 minutes ago
Although T-Mobile's G1 smartphone with Google's Android mobile operating system won't be formally launched until Oct. 22, observers are busy peering under the hood and reading the fine print. One feature is sure to cause some comment: A remote kill switch that will let Google wipe out any application that violates the developer distribution agreement for Android apps.
Not long ago, the discovery that Apple retained the ability to remotely kill iPhone apps (and was not afraid to use it) sparked a sharp response from some Apple customers, in part because there was no disclosure of the kill switch and because Apple seemed indifferent to the fact that customers had no easy mechanism to get refunds for killed apps.
But Michael Gartenberg, vice president of mobile strategy at Jupitermedia, doesn't think customers will have the same reaction to Google's kill switch.
"The existence of a kill switch for Android applications is not a big deal," Gartenberg said. "The big difference here is that Google did not make any secret about it; they were open about its existence from the start."
Preventing Harmful Applications
Gartenberg thinks customers will actually appreciate the fact that Google has retained the ability to protect its operating system.
"The important thing to remember," Gartenberg said, "is that the Android system is an open platform, which means that developers are generally free to do what they want. That means, of course, that some applications may potentially be harmful and even cause damage to the network."
The goal of Google and its partners, he suggested, is to create an environment in which they have control over the software ecosystem.
Google has also announced it will take a more active role in helping purchasers of killed applications to recover their money. The company promises to make "reasonable efforts" to recover the purchase price from the developer, and says if it can't recover the full amount, whatever it does get will be divided among the purchasers.
Different Approaches
Apple and Google, Gartenberg pointed out, have taken two different approaches to the mobile-app experience.
"Apple has much more control over its platform, and vets the apps when they are submitted," Gartenberg said. "We don't know yet whether Apple's approach is correct, or Google's. Perhaps both are."
Another unknown, Gartenberg said, is when Google might invoke the kill switch.
"Time will tell," he said. "I'm sure that Google has no interest in censoring apps. But what does the kill switch mean as a practical reality, under what circumstances would they invoke it? We won't know the answers to those questions for a bit."