[TriLUG] Android Phone vs iPhone vs other smartphones

[Matt Pusateri]

On Mar 17, 2010, at 11:06 AM, Christopher L Merrill wrote:

> 'm pretty shocked to hear another poster say that the open-source nature of Android is worthlessif
> you are not going to build your own binaries from modified sources. I don't get that - I've been a
> Linux user for a decade now and have never built from sources. IMO, the open-source advantage of
> Android is going to manifest in many ways. We're already seeing a proliferation of Android on a wide
> variety of devices - some in non-phone form factors.


I think you misunderstood what I was saying.  What I tried to convey, is that if you're not going to download the SDK and build your own apps like one of the other posters decided to do, then the ability to do that is not a deciding factor compared to the to having the more restrictive iphone.  If all your doing is downloading apps from a app store and not developing apps yourself, then it's less of a factor for you that you personally have access to the source code.  I am not saying,  nor did I think I say "that the open-source nature of Android is worthless".  One of the reasons I originally considered an Android based phone is I don't like the restricted nature of the iPhone.  But taking the politics of open vs. closed away, the iPhone works for me, and I am not hindered by the closed source model with regards to my phone.  I want it to work and be stable, my phone is not the place I want to have to spend time tinkering, but that's just me.