Google Android Developers Not Surprised By Kill Switch

"We're not too concerned. We're not making malicious apps. It should be fine and I totally understand why they'd want to do it," said Jeff Kao, co-founder of Ecorio, a Toronto-based developer.

Ecorio was one of the winner's in Google's developer's challenge for the Android platform and its application is featured on the front page of Google's Android Market Web site. The application allows users to track their carbon footprint by inputting when they enter a car or other vehicle. The application measures the time and distance traveled and calculations carbon emissions for the trip. The goal is to help users eventually lower their footprint, Kao said.

Having developed the application specifically for Android, Kao said he understands how someone could create a program to do things that users wouldn't particularly care for, and why Google needs to guard against that.

"We've done some things ourselves that a user might not like that we've had to tweak. For example, some services might run in the background and drain battery life without the user knowing it," he said.

Overall, Kao said Google's decision to open the platform to developers is a smart move for all involved.

"There's huge potential. It gave us a lot of control and there are a lot of different aspects of the phone that we could play with," he said.

Meanwhile, Adam Yoffe, founder of BreadCrumbz, an Israeli-based developer on Android, also had not heard of the kill switch, but he believes Google will apply it only as a last resort.

"I assume [it will be] in extreme situations where device stability or major license infringement is concerned," he said.

He also believes that the kill switch only applies to applications installed through Android Market.

Google's ability to kill third-party applications won't change his mind to further develop on the platform. Yoffe noted that Apple's iPhone, which also has reported to have a kill switch controlled by Apple, has more restrictions.

"As long as your app doesn't cause trouble, there's no reason why it should be affected by this," he said.

BreadCrumbz is a picture-based navigation application in which users can create their own mapping routes and insert pictures into the directions along the way by using the device's camera and GPS.

"Android has been a great platform to develop for. Its support for background operations, integration with other phone applications and integration with location-based services is great," Yoffe said. "On the downside, it's still an early-stage platform. There have been major changes to the environment in the last year, and developing without real devices has been hard.

The first device, T-Mobile's G1, hits stores on Wednesday, Oct. 22.