I got an iPad (original) from my work about a year ago. I used it quite a bit at first, but eventually wound up using my laptop more often. When I saw the Galaxy Tab 10.1 I really thought I'd give the tablet thing another try. I picked one up at Best Buy now that they have the no-questions-asked return policy. I truly believe it's the first iPad contender. It has the power, the battery life, the form factor, etc. All in all it's a great device. Also, I truly liked Honeycomb. Then, a few days later, I read that Samsung had ported their touchwiz UI to the Galaxy Tab, and were going to be pushing it out in an update in August. I promptly returned the device, and bought an iPad 2. Until Google puts their foot down and stops these manufacturers from bastardizing the very capable OS they have developed it's never going to be able to stand on equal footing with a device built by a company like Apple who controls everything from hardware to software. I decided to check out a Droid X2 a couple weeks ago, and after about 10 minutes gave it back in disgust. The thing had so much crapware bundled on it that it reminded me of 90s era PCs. Unfortunately you can't remove any of it without voiding your warranty. Google HAS to do something about this. I like Android, and I think some of these devices have a real chance at making a dent in the market, but they will not get a dime of my money until I get the OS as it was intended and the manufacturer leaves any modifications up to me.

Say what you will about Apple's "walled garden", but I'm kinda happy I'm inside it. That's not to say that iOS is not exploitable because it most certainly is, but it's much less likely something I purchase off the app store will contain malware like this.

That analogy doesn't work here. It's not like them putting the gas cap on the same side of the car (that'd be the two things doing the same function thing I mentioned in my OP). This is like them putting the EXACT same body on their chassis and slapping their logo on it. At least the specific apps I am referring to (Mail jumps to mind).

FTA: In the latest intellectual property suit to hit the smartphone industry, Apple is suing Samsung, alleging the Galaxy line of phones and tablets infringe on a number of the company’s patents and trademarks. I cannot speak to the patent thing all I can say is that the UI widgets, etc. looked EXACTLY like the iPhone in the custom mail app in particular. They specifically mention trademark so...

Fair enough. I was just pointing out how far they went.

I didn't mean the shape and arrangement. I meant the icons themselves. As in the artwork.

When my boss bought a galaxy tab I was curious to check it out. I spent about 5 minutes playing with it, handed it back to him, and said, "They're gonna wind up in court over this thing". I'm indifferent when it comes to android vs. ios. I have both a Droid X and an iPhone 4, and I use both every day. I find things about both platforms that are unique and that I prefer to the other. However, when you look at what Samsung did with their UI... It's pretty pathetic to be honest. They literally copied entire app UIs wholesale (even icons). There is no question that you can argue that all mail apps look similar, but this was almost pixel for pixel. They went so far as to make their own UI widgets (instead of the stock android ones) that looked JUST like the Apple ones. I'm not a huge fan of software patents, but there's a difference between similarities in programs that do the same function and literally just ripping off EXACTLY what another company does.

I'm sure this is a bug and not by design as the OP's argument doesn't make much sense. Most native app versions of services that also offer webapps are free anyways. Apple gets to eat the distribution overhead for no 30% cut. Just sayin.

You do not own your software. What you own is a license to use it under specific terms, and the media it came on. Also, it's not really fair to draw a comparison between a boxed game that, while it has re-playability, has a set amount of play time to completion vs. an MMO which, while it has a monthly fee, you are getting a constant stream of new content for that subscription fee. Not saying that I don't understand your position about wanting to not pay a monthly fee for a game, but it's not as simple as owning vs. renting.

From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070618/en_nm/moore_si cko_dc;_ylt=AlCwA3Q_lgqYCdEP6.QZgqLMWM0F Separately, Moore said he would not prosecute those already circulating bootleg copies of the still-unreleased documentary on the Internet. "I'm happy for people to see my movie. I'm not a big fan of the copyright laws in this country," he said.