An iPhone App Store That Apple Doesn't Control 144
waderoush writes "Princeton's Ed Felten has criticized the iPhone and iPad as Disneyland-like 'walled gardens' and says there's no way the iTunes App Store can 'offer the scope and variety of apps that a less controlled environment can provide.' Now there's a central marketplace where developers can sell iPhone-optimized apps without going through Apple's gatekeepers. Launched today, it's called OpenAppMkt and it's a showcase for mobile Web apps — not just the type seen back in 2007-2008, before the advent of the App Store, but also for new games and other apps developed using HTML5/CSS/JavaScript (in some cases, the same apps compiled and sold as native iPhone apps). Xconomy has a behind-the-scenes interview with OpenAppMkt's creators, who say they're not out to compete with the native App Store, but that developers deserve new ways to reach users."
Walled garden discussions (Score:4, Interesting)
All walled garden discussions begin and end with this: Internet vs AOL.
The outlands will always become more diverse and desirable than the garden. The garden's residents will therefore always abandon it. It is only a matter of time.
Re:Walled garden discussions (Score:4, Interesting)
And after almost a decade, /. users are still predicting that iTunes + iPod will fall to a more opened platform.......
I'll catch a carp for this (Score:3, Interesting)
But I'd rather have a more controlled environment where, for the most part, the apps have been vetted so they're not trying to steal any info from me. Part of the reason I'm not an Android fan (and no, I don't have an iPhone. Actually, I don't even have a smartphone).
Being open and fancy-free is fine for some things, but for others I'd prefer some measure of security.
Re:What's so bad about a walled garden? (Score:1, Interesting)
Because people love to hate the popular?
What I want to know is...
Where's the same level of outrage against Microsoft for controlling and having the final say for anything published on XBoxLive?
Where's the same level of outrage against Sony for controlling and having the final say for anything published on PSN?
Where's the same level of outrage against Nintendo for controlling content published on their systems?