Quote:
Originally Posted by Snaz
Well Ron we agree on most things but the above statements are not true. Before I address each I must predict that you have never used an Android phone and so your comment about stability and user experience is without warrant. If you have been an Android user what problems did you experience? What version? Remember the first iPhone OS? 
Apple or Google simply cannot approve and check the hundreds of thousands of user submitted apps. Malicious iPhone apps? You betcha:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/18376...pp_report.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10446402-245.html
Any paid app in Google Market has to go through an application process that includes identity of the submitter, same as a bank check, thus a trail is available in case of complaint.
A jailbroken iPhone is super vulnerable to attack if the user does not bother to change root password and a quick survey of the iPhone users here with jailbroken iPhones do not know even what Root is. |
Hey Keith,
I have only checked out Android a bit and obviously not all the different phones. The problem with Android is that different phones and manufacturers may be using different versions of the firmware and OS and updates may not even cover all the phones out there. The problem with so called "open" phone OSes is similar to the problems with Windows. You have to support umpteen different hardware configurations, input methods, screens etc. The user experience may differ from phone to phone as will the available feature set. The term for that is fragmentation and it is a problem with Android.
While techies may like the open nature and hackability/customization available with Android, the vast majority of people would rather have something that is straightforward and easy to use out of the box. That is the iPhone. It just works with a fine tuned user interface and extremely well integrated services and features that are consistent across devices. Apple's control does result in an excellent product.
As for malicious software, the links you provided were for theoretical exploits but to date Apple has not allowed any malicious apps to get through. They do check the functionality of software under the hood and have caught apps doing things they shouldn't (even though it wasn't malicious code).
Google on the other hand does not actually check apps to the same degree. In fact just this last week Google remote killed two apps that were doing things that were against the rules. But thousands of people had likely installed them by the time they were caught:
http://www.tipb.com/2010/06/25/googl...-users-phones/
You might also want to read this PDF that discusses security concerns with the Android market:
http://threatcenter.smobilesystems.c...6-22-10-v1.pdf
Yes, a jailbroken iPhone is vulnerable but then you are hacking Apple's system so that would be your own darn fault. It would be akin to hacking Windows and then blaming Microsoft if you had a problem. If you don't jailbreak the phone and use it as Apple intends then you are far safer then with Android. There really is no need to jailbreak an iPhone.
With regards to enterprise support, Apple went a long way to doing that in iPhone OS 3 and have added even more in iOS 4. It will only keep getting better with future updates.
http://www.securityweek.com/iphone-4...nes-enterprise
Finally, with respect to the antenna issue, it may or may not be a real problem. Some people experience it and some don't. The root cause is also under investigation. Adding a case seems to help. Some people have seen the problem resolved by reseating the sim card. Some say that all is required is a firmware update to increase the speed at which the phone shifts frequencies when the signal degrades. So it's a bit of an unknown at the moment. But I would say the majority of the 1.5 million iPhone 4s sold so far are operating without problem. you also have to remember this is not just an iPhone problem but many mobile phones experience signal attenuation depending on how you hold them. It is a function of the way antennas work vs. your bodies own electrical conductivity.