Zigbee availability

[Codeblack]

Zigbee appears to me as the perfect protocol for home automation: open, secure, 2-way,... So why aren't there any modules available in NL or even EU? Zigbee seems to be around for a few years now, so I would expect some ready-made devices and components to be sold by (web)shops like they do for X10, Z-wave, etc.

Another question, which worries me a little, is how much of a standard is Zigbee exactly? I'm still diving into the Zigbee specs as we speak, but I read stories about different Zigbee systems (e.g. Plugwise, Control 4 & AMX if I'm not mistaken) which will not be able to communicate with eachother. Isn't the whole purpose of the Zigbee protocol (and other protocols for that matter) to be able to create a network of different devices and components using the same protocol and have them all to communicate and work together? Or was that in the datacommunications class I missed ?

[Digit]

Zigbee is a specification. It doesn't guarantee interoperability.
A Zigbee Certified product could just as well be a "closed" system as any other. In that case the product manufacturer chose to put it's own Application Profile on top of Zigbee. But this product can coexist with other Zigbee products.
A Zigbee Certified product that complies to an Application Profile like "Home Automation" however, should be able to inter-operate with products from other manufacturers that comply to that same Application Profile.

[Codeblack]

Ok, I get that, Zigbee is not specific enough. So we should talk about the Zigbee Home Automation Application Profile. I was kind of assuming that any home automation product using Zigbee would be conforming to the Home Automation Application Profile. I understand that some manufacturers want to accomplish some level of vendor lock-in (although most probably didn't count on RFXCOM ), but they can't all be that stupid.
So my question remains: why aren't there any modules available that conform to the Zigbee Home Automation Application Profile. Or will these modules just not become available for DIY, but only through companies like Control 4. And if this is so, the only way to make a DIY home automation system with Zigbee, is to make one yourself from microcontrollers & RF-radio's.