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As a consumer and as a developer freedom must be the rule.

iOS goes against the rule: you have to pay apple 99$ per year to test and install your own application on your device (the one you paid hundreds $) and you cannot install a random application from the internet, you are forced to use the App store, controlled by Apple.

I don't know for android, I imagine that there are limits to freedom too, may be you must fist download the application on your computer and then upload it on your device through USB connection.

OSX and Windows are more and more restrictive and turned towards their app stores.

I think that there must be an international law which will states something like:

"Anybody who develops an Operating System, for any kind of device, must ensure that:

1. the tools and APIs to create and package applications for this OS and device are free, available for download and documented (developer)

2. installing an application on the OS can be done just with the device, through the included web browser, with only a password request made to the device owner after he opened the link leading to a packaged application download-able from the Internet (user)

3. any application that act as a competing app store for the device can be installed legally without any complaint or constraint (anti-trust)

4. the OS mustn't fight or put restriction against these "non-official" applications.

Microsoft, Apple, many Android stores, Gaming consoles… they are all wiling to limit our freedom to better control what we do with their devices. It's ok to say "we didn't check the application your are going to install, it may contain malware, check your source". It's not ok to prevent the device owner to install these third-party applications.

Of course devices and OS manufacturers have rights, but when you create something for humans, you have to respect their rights.

Now's the time to create these minimal international rules for the future of mankind.