Android Has a Kill Switch, Just Like the iPhone

• Author: admin
• Filed under: Tech News
• Date: Oct 16,2008

As we close in on the launch of T-Mobile’s G1 device, more and more information is showing up. While Apple drew a lot of criticism when it was discovered they have a “kill switch” whereby they can disable any iPhone apps remotely, how will customers react to similar info, now revealed, about the T-Mobile G1 (please, someone come up with a better name).

In my opinion, Google isn’t likely to take as much heat over this revelation.

• First, it’s coming before the first device even hits the market. Apple was secretive about its kill switch.

• Secondly, Google also states it will make “reasonable efforts to recover the purchase price of the product.” If it can’t get the full amount back, it will divide what it gets among the buyers of the product.

• Finally, while Apple must approve every application that shows up on its App Store, Google doesn’t do that; it’s a free-for-all on the Android Market, which makes sense since the device is all about openness. You can see (I hope) how that could lead to rogue applications being uploaded to the Market, and why that might lead to Google needing to kill them.

The Android Market Terms of Service are on the device, and they say:

Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement … in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion.

So really, it’s not a bad thing, and their openness (coinciding with the openness of the device, right), is great. The big problem with the iPhone kill switch was the secrecy around it; Apple should take this as a good example.