By Joshua Campbell
Tech Geek & Youth Pastor

In the world of mobile devices, a few names may come to mind, Blackberry, Apple, Palm… but one of the most relatively newest and seemingly fast growing platforms of mobile devices will and are featuring the Android operating system.

Android is a mobile OS (operating system) that is created and released by Google. In the second quarter of 2010, Android took a 3% greater market share than the iPhone and is trailing RIM’s (Research in Motion) Blackberry by only 1%. According to Engadget.com, Verizon’s upcoming Fall and Winter mobile offerings will be almost completely Android devices. This OS is clean, it is very user friendly, and provides the mobile user with an app store as well as other Google amenities such as Voice, GPS (Maps), and integrated Gmail and other e-mail clients. The producers of the actual devices (HTC, Samsung, Motorola, etc…) are released more advanced and enhanced devices with the Android OS on them including the first (and second) 4G phones as well as most of the high-end (Samsung Galaxy S line-up) and popular social networking phones (Motorola Backflip and Devour).

Here is my concern. In my previous review of the iPhone, I explained that the phone was capable of parental controls which limited the access the user has to the internet as well as the app store and iTunes. You can download “safe” browsers or filtering browsers as well as accountability browsers, but on Android devices, none of these are available. Android phones do not have parental controls available nor can you download a “safe” browser from the app store (as of right now… hopefully in the future this will be possible). But the app store brings up another issue. In the Apple app store, you won’t find straight up pornograph apps because they have a filtering process and Apple will not let certain apps through to the app store if they are of that nature. Google does not have a filtering process so whatever goes in, goes in and can be downloaded by your teen or you. This is one of those cases where we as parents and leaders need to be pro-active in the protection of our students in not giving them access to this type of content so they will not be able to be drawn in by temptations.

Does it make you a bad person if you have bought or are thinking about buying an Android device for your teen? No. They are sweet phones with tons of capabilities and are amongst the best phones on the market. We just need to be mindful of our students usage on the phones and again, check their phones. Look at their texts, pictures, and app purchases. Give them guidelines and remind them that the phone is essentially yours, not theirs and you can take it up when you need to.

If you have any questions about Android or if you want some advice on purchasing a phone for your teen… let me know! E-mail or facebook me and I will be MORE than happy to help you out!!

LTY articles will cover reviews of technology and how to protect and equip our students in this technological age. Please send us e-mails and questions you may have about anything dealing with technology and youth and we will be happy to answer and help you out in your quest for knowledge!  Contact Josh through http://youthandtechnology.wordpress.com/