Matt Asay picks up on the griping here with a piece titled “Disservice to partners may bite Apple.” Apparently MacUser has been tracking this too, with an article explaining that “Apple has installed a proprietary authentication chip in their portables that makes it impossible for 3rd party companies to create iPod/iPhone compatible accessories without signing an often times costly agreement with Apple.” (MacUser cites this article from Popular Mechanics.) MacWorld, meanwhile, tracks the dissatisfaction among iPhone app developers here.
Hear me now and believe me later, people. There is a lot of grumbling in Happy Happy Apple Land these days. It’s not just about MobileMe and the so-called “3G” iPhone. And it’s no longer just music companies complaining about working with Apple.