Whereas Android puts the user in control of evaluating an application's requirements before it installs, Apple keeps that control for itself. Instead, like an overprotective parent, it insists on approving each and every application before it can be offered up for sale in the --part of its strategy of maintaining the iPhone platform's "."

In the Android Market, of course, there are no such restrictions--again, it's up to users to evaluate the apps they buy upon installation.

While some view Apple's approach as the safer one for users, the opacity of its process makes it unclear what, exactly, the company checks on incoming applications. Given the sheer number of new apps written every day, it seems unlikely that Apple--or any company--could do more than simply verify the developer's identity and make sure the app does what it promises to do. It would also be easy for any developer to add malicious code after an app has been approved.

Either way, there's no doubt that plenty of apps that Apple had vetted later were found to have vulnerabilities. Just recently, security research firm Lookout found that applications on Android are generally less likely than those for the iPhone to be capable of accessing a person's contact list or retrieving their location. It also found that nearly twice as many iPhone apps can access the user's contact data.

3. Openness