I'm trying to understand the earlier post who felt that its justified and great that Apple can charge full price for its phone, AND have exclusive rights to what company it works for, AND force the consumer to pay a penalty for breaking the contract (which up until now was only done in the U.S. for phones that were subsidized). Congress is actually looking at this anticompetitive behaviour right now, because there are laws and regulations on the books, which Apple may be breaking.
All successful "free markets" are regulated to a degree, as a check and balance to keep the consumer and other companies competitive in certain markets, and to prevent price gouging. Get over it. It's not socialist, and it's not restrictive.
Why is it better for the advancement of technology for Apple to restrict 3rd party development on their phones? Wouldn't the "free market" of 3rd party software enhance the functionality of the phone? Wouldn't the phone be more attractive to the consumer, and possibly be even MORE popular than it already is? I think so... and having 18% of the Iphones out there cracked or exported to other countries proves that there is a market for this.