For a long time I've maintained that Apple's position on system access and background process APIs was purely political - in that there is no technical or security/privacy reasons for 3rd party apps being locked out - just Jobs' control-freak personality. Both Android and BlackBerry allow such access to 3rd party apps and it makes a whole lot more stuff possible than on the iPhone.
My own little Android app (http://phonalyzr.com) is another example. Rather than background processing, it needs access to contact/call log info. On Android and BlackBerry the OS notifies the user the app will access that and the user can make a decision, on the iPhone that decision has been made for the user by Jobs.
When people start to see stuff like Loopt working better on Android or similarly open devices and when none of Jobs' scare tactics (malicious apps, viruses bringing down networks etc) come to pass, perhaps the iPhone will open up a bit more.
The open nature of Android certainly has advantages over the iphone, but Apple secured a pretty hefty first-mover advantage. Also, they got it right from the start (or V2) with a great design, whereas Android still feels very much in alpha.
Background processes are a big win and would be a huge factor for me, but I'd need to see some improvement of handset design before I'm ready to switch.
The real question is when will we see a more polished Android phone?
(Google did not have first-mover advantage with their search engine. First mover advantage helps, but it also helps if you have something else, like sexiness.)
Android handsets definitely lack a certain polish, both software and hardware side. Its quite a pickle.
My own little Android app (http://phonalyzr.com) is another example. Rather than background processing, it needs access to contact/call log info. On Android and BlackBerry the OS notifies the user the app will access that and the user can make a decision, on the iPhone that decision has been made for the user by Jobs.
When people start to see stuff like Loopt working better on Android or similarly open devices and when none of Jobs' scare tactics (malicious apps, viruses bringing down networks etc) come to pass, perhaps the iPhone will open up a bit more.