MG Siegler on why he hates Android→
MG Siegler wrote an article detailing the history of the Android platform, its original goals, and what it has since become. In doing so, he also explains why he hates Android:
Apple, for all the shit they get for being “closed” and “evil”, has actually done far more to wrestle control back from the carriers and put it into the hands of consumers. Google set off to help in this goal, then stabbed us all in the back and went the complete other way, to the side of the carriers. And because they smiled the entire time they were doing it and fed us this “open” bullshit, we thanked them for it. We’re still thanking them for it!
While you could argue that this is just one side of the story, there’s no arguing that Android has shifted a lot of power back into the hands of the wireless carriers.
For the record, I don’t really believe that Apple wrestled that control away from the carriers out of the goodness of its heart (or even for the benefit of consumers, for that matter) — it’s very possible that it’s just another case of Apple doing things on its own terms or not at all. That’s why I don’t really blame Google for doing what it did. This really isn’t an Apple vs. Google issue — it’s about carriers vs. consumers. Android is the carrier’s best friend. And that usually means it’s the consumer’s worst enemy. [parislemon]
