My latest Guardian column, "Android and iOS both fail, but Android fails better," explains why I prefer Android to iOS — not because I trust Google more than I trust Apple, but because Android requires less trust than iOS.
I use Android because I don't trust Google. Sure, I trust and like individual googlers, and admire many of the things the company has managed – but I don't for one moment think that Google's management is making its decisions in order to make me happy, fulfilled and free.
I think there are good days when Google's management might believe that helping me attain those ends will make it more money, but if it were to believe that making me miserable would enrich its shareholders without alienating too many of its key personnel and partners, my happiness would cease to matter in the slightest.
So why use Android? Because it requires less trust in Google than using iOS requires that you trust Apple. iOS has one official store, and it's illegal in most places to buy and install apps except through this store. If you and Apple differ about which apps you need, you have to break the law to get your iPhone or iPad to run the app that Apple rejected.
Android and iOS both fail, but Android fails better
(Image: Rooting my HTC Hero Android Phone, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from a_mason's photostream)
