Some Apple fans aren't taking too well to a particular attribute of the recently unveiled, GPS-enabled iPhone 3G. U.S. News & World Report has a roundup of the coverage, which explains how Apple apparently prevents third-party developers from accessing the GPS radio in the handset. In other words, only the version of Google Maps for Mobile built into the iPhone 3G can access the GPS chip. And since that app doesn't do voice-enabled, turn-by-turn directions, it's a missed opportunity.

In fact, TomTom already announced that they've coded an app specifically for the iPhone 3G, Reuters said, before details of the SDK became available. It's possible that Apple is just playing hard-to-get with their legalese (as Engadget theorized). I can't see why the company would discourage something that could catapult them to the forefront of the portable nav system market without having to spend a single cent on development themselves—except for legal concerns.

As Engadget said, Apple may well have "worked out an agreement with TomTom to pass along any liability—you can bet Steve doesn't want to get sued when iPhone users start careening into sand piles and into oncoming trains."