Sure, that's fair. But from their standpoint it's a bit "damned if you do, damned if you don't." This is conjecture, but I imagine supporting cheaper third-party devices is becoming a headache. In the last thread about this, a former ZigBee developer noted how difficult it was to code to the platform. It may not all be evil.
But from their standpoint it's a bit "damned if you do, damned if you don't."
No, it is not. They have two options - have their own standard or support other ZigBee devices. This has not been a problem with another similar standards like KNX.
but I imagine supporting cheaper third-party devices is becoming a headache
It is not about supporting some cheap third-party devices but other ZigBee devices that Philips claims to support.
