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.
It's making sure that you're not liable for someone's house burning down because they bought the el cheapo bulb from knockoff brand C. This is standard protective legal boilerplate to protect philips in the unlikely event.
Also, want to point out that philips is not "extorting money" from other companies - they can choose to enter the "friends of" program to make the general consumer feel better, or choose not to, at their discretion.
The class of user that realizes any zigbee bulb will work with a hue hub is already technically proficient, and will more often than not be willing to take on any associated "risks."
If you want an analogy, then it is similar to the case where MS Office would refuse to open ODF documents from another office suites and then after uproar would only support documents from friends of Microsoft.
A LED bulb converts your 230V AC (or 110V in the US) power source into 12V DC (in case of Hue itself). This converter part can, if poorly made, create a fire hazard. And a bulb is usually mounted inside a lamp, many of which are flammable and have the shape that will accumulate heat inside instead of dissipating it.
Yes, but that applies to china mobile chargers and a lot of other devices that nobody worries about (and also to CFDs and any led lamp that might be today in your house)
Of course it's not. You weren't talking about one, you asked how a LED lamp can burn your house down. It can.
Personally, I can't see how someone could legitimately blame Philips for a Hue-connected-but-unsupported third-party bulb starting a fire, but I don't doubt some will try.
Funny thing though, but that AC/DC converter is manipulated by firmware activated by a wifi protocol. If the fire only starts when the converter is activated into its highest conversion rate in a particular sequence by certain commands sent across that wifi protocol and those commands are being chosen by a user of an app on a mobile device two rooms away, is that a software issue? It's certainly a gray area.
I am. Because it is a way to extort money out of other ZigBee participants.