Man, Apple's been coming down pretty hard on third party vendors lately. First it was the sexy apps, then the WiFi sniffers, then the book-only apps. In the latest round of purging, Apple takes it to the physical world.

Whether it's just because they want more store space for their own products or they're cooking up their own screen films or they really think their oleophobic glass screens are all that tough, Apple has told screen protector vendors that they're quits as far as the Apple Store and the website goes. Whaaat?

Rumors are abounding that Apple has contacted vendors and told them they won't be stocking anymore screen protectors. 9To5Mac links to Dan Frakes at Macworld who says he's heard from multiple vendor sources about the heave-ho. And it's not even confined to straight up screen protection. Even sleeve protector products that contain cling films are being asked to step outside.

Image Source: iphone-products.com

Personally, we don't know anyone who doesn't have a screen protector for their iPhone. In fact, we bought one the day we got our iPhone and put it on the moment it was registered, and the handy little cling film has never been off since. While we go out of our way not to put keys or any other hard metal objects in the same pocket with our iPhones (and many women we know have a dedicated pocket for it in their purses), we'd still never go without our screen protector.

Even worse, we'd never even think of picking up an iPad with its four times as large screen without some serious cling action to protect our baby from scratches. So far, as is typical with everyone's favorite computer company, Cupertino's being a bit tight lipped about the whole thing. If they come out with their very own clings along with the delayed docking stations in May, that'd be one thing. Otherwise, we'll just have to find our own third party vendors.