When I first read this, I was really annoyed. This seemed like one of those "do it on our terms" kind of decisions that I just hate in this day and age where it seems companies are just trying to control your decisions and lock you into their way of doing things. Once I did a little checking on the differences of memory cards, this makes a whole ton more sense. Like phones themselves, there are so many cheap versions that are being sold at cut-throat prices that Mom and Pop Consumer just grab and go thinking they are getting good deals, but end up getting such a degraded, crap experince it sticks with them.
There are so many options out there in cards that good deals on decent sd cards are not hard to find. We just need to be sure our circle of friends and family know what they are getting.