Where's That "Smartphones for Dummies" Book?

Smartphones have more advanced operating systems than regular feature phones, and app markets broaden their capabilities beyond what you find out of the box. Unfortunately, Android phone consumers will need a special geek decoder ring when entering the Android market, because there's nothing to keep the developer in the garage from showing their inner Vulcan.  And while we are on the topic of arcane messages, has RIM gotten rid of that "Send a PIN" option or the "Servicebook initializing" verbiage yet?

My LinkedIn Status. Hmmm...

Autofill helps me complete my search for "Am..." Huh?

So is this the benefit of "open development" we're hearing about lately? Does open development let developers feel they no longer need to cover up the sausage making? I am not sure that most consumers will appreciate having visibility to their code right from the very apps they want to use.

Update on Monday, October 19, 2009 at 11:05AM by Gearhead Gal

After seeing the "Droid Does" ads, I'm wondering what percentage of the general consumer population really understands the reason to care about "allowing open development" or "widgets".  Ask your friends who have an iPhone if they care, and then ask your friends who have a feature phone if they know what operating system it runs? While smartphone sales are growing, they still represent less than half of the mobile devices sold today. Are consumers who haven't bought a smartphone yet the ones who will appreciate the value proposition for an open OS? And will they want the risk that comes with letting bad designers and developers affect - and perhaps fatally alter - their phone's predictable user experience?

Update on Monday, October 19, 2009 at 12:27PM by Gearhead Gal

Does another brand gets sidewiped in the Droid march to market?