BenFeldman

These questions should (rightly) be raised about the Market.

But calling into question the openness of the platform itself may not be the right approach, because anyone can distribute any APK just like anyone can distribute an EXE or DMG (or, for that matter, a Windows Mobile or BlackBerry application binary). It seems that with the proliferation of the App Store and its exclusivity, people have forgotten that on every other major platform, there -are- ways to avoid carrier limitations through other distribution channels.

And if I remember the clause in question correctly, the Android 'kill-switch' only applies to applications downloaded through the Market (as it is only found in the Market TOS and specifically applies only to the Market Developer Distribution Agreement).

I really wish more people would speak to the ability to distribute your app as you wish on other platforms, and not talk about the BlackBerry App World, Windows Marketplace for Mobile or Android Market as if they were the only possible way to distribute an application.

Of course, you could just go download the APK from somewhere else.

I doubt many people (myself included) would have -any- issues with the App Store's restrictions if, like the Android Market, it wasn't the exclusive and only way for distributing applications, and you could distribute the binary like you can distribute an EXE or DMG.

By that, it was meant that the code would be merged from the separate Cupcake branch to the master branch. This was actually completed a few days ago -- ahead of the original schedule.