Sorry for the late reply but here goes - It appears that the GPL works fabulously well in environments where there are few restrictions on how code is developed, modified and executed. In closed ecosystems the GPL's copyleft clauses make the code hard to use (there are server based loopholes). I think the unwieldiness of the GPL in closed environments is a net win because it creates incentives to moving to more open systems. The FSF / GPL were started in an era where the PC environment was similar to the mobile environments of today. Over the period of their existence they have contributed to pushing the world in a direction where developer tools are freely available and the idea of spare time hacking is no longer a fantasy. I am hopeful that someone will create some mobile software under the GPL which is so useful that it creates the wedge required to open the mobile app landscape such that there are no restrictions on what languages are used to develop and how the apps get deployed.

In short its not the GPL thats broken here, its the closed nature of the system in question (iOS). In the short term this might require some activism and sadly at times this might result in things like VLC being removed.

Disclaimer - I am not affiliated with the FSF, Nokia, Apple, VLC or any other party in question.