A fifth of Android applications aren't playing fair, according to SMobile Systems which reckons that mobile application marketplaces are rife with malware.

SMobile ran though more than 48,000 applications on the Android Marketplace (about three quarters of the whole marketplace) collecting details of the permissions the applications requested – Android applications have to list resources required – and SMobile bases is analysis (pdf) on those requests.

It might explain why so many legitimate developers are happy to develop for the iPhone and not bother with Android. If Google do a regular clear up of malware apps that can help considerably to the uptake of apps. I just wish that Apple would relax their morality standards a little and allow some apps on the iPhone. I would like to buy iSnort but am not willing to jailbreak it to do so.