Ask HN: What do you think of open vs closed ecosystems for smart phones?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3863299
by infinitivium • 14 years ago
1 0 14 years ago

I've been thinking a lot recently about open vs closed and I think it basically comes down to this:

Closed - Users have more security (ex: recent reports state that Android users are being infected by trojans disguised fake Instagram apps)

link: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/04/19/instagram_android_sms_trojan/

BUT developers can spend months building something essentially inside Apple's jail (and then we are still faced with the approval process)

Open - Users can install any application they want, and apps have the ability to access the device's file structure, etc.

- Large amount of non-curated, unfiltered content - Higher potential for social engineering attacks to get bad code on people's devices

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