Android's Killer Admission

Remember when Google reps boasted that their new Android software would let any developer build any applications for their new smart phones? Turns out that's not quite true. When Google releases its new T-Mobile G1 phone on Oct. 22, users will learn that the company has built a "kill switch" into the device. If Google doesn't like what a developer has done with its software, it has the capacity to remotely remove that application from your phone, wherever you may be.

As ComputerWorld's Nancy Gohring points out, customers were furious when they discovered that Apple had built the same feature into its iPhone. But Google's users may not be so angry. Since Google's open-source philosophy will allow any developer to write whatever app he or she wants and offer it on the market, Google doesn't prescreen apps and may need the capacity to remove malicious software after it infects devices. In addition, Google has openly admitted building the kill switch into the phone, while Apple hid the switch from customers until a software developer figured it out.

Still, people are already grumbling about the kill switch and the power Google has retained over your new mobile Internet phone. "It would actually be quite funny to see what Google would do if Microsoft or Apple put an application on the Android Market that installed Windows Mobile or Apple's iPhone software over Android," writes CNET's Matt Asay. "Worthy of the kill switch?" And InformationWeek reporter Eric Zeman writes, "Most of the time, this will likely be to the benefit of the end user, who otherwise may wind up with a bricked Android. That's not going to stop people from wondering about Google's real intents or purposes behind the clause in the Android Market's terms of service. Remember your motto, Google: Don't Be Evil."