Not sure why you're surprised. Apple's general mantra is "we know the best, if you don't like it, go fuck yourself".

(mac user myself)

A $300B market cap suggests they just might know best. :)

see also: http://www.vendhq.com/

Yup, really impressed by this local (to me) kiwi company. They have solved the connectivity issue with complete offline functionality via HTML 5 storage and syncing; they also do integration with cash tills, barcode scanners, payment systems, accounting systems etc. Disclaimer: I know the founder; he's a pretty smart guy.

Nice to see more competition in this space as it certainly validates that the area as a whole is ripe for revolution. I suspect that the incumbent POS folks will be going the way of the dinosaur in a few years.