Android Apps and News

It’s a little early in the week to fan the flames of the always-growing Android vs. iPhone argument, but a prominent new Google employee has decided now is as good a time as any for such activity. Tim Bray is a former Sun Microsystems employee who announced today that he declined to continue working at Oracle to pursue a new job with Google. Bray hasn’t been on the clock long, but he’s already taken to his personal blog to make the following statements regarding the iPhone:

The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet’s future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It’s a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger.

I hate it.

Shots fired!

Bray isn’t saying anything that hasn’t been said thousands of times already (including on this very website), but it’s surprising to see someone who’s officially on Google’s payroll make such a blunt statement. Google has always towed the line in promoting Android without openly tearing down Apple or the iPhone, so it’s interesting to see someone openly state their disdain for the Apple control system. Bray is a self-admitted Mac buyer who goes on to say how much he loves the iPhone’s hardware and software, but feels “freedom’s not just another word for anything, nor is it an optional ingredient.”

According to his blog, Bray has joined Google as a Developer Advocate likely to focus on Android. Expect an Android app to result from his attempts to “have a better feel for [Android] issues.”

[Tim Bray via CNet]