[RickyMaveety]

OK .... now a Norwegian posted something in another thread somewhere, that Norway actually has contractual items, such as manufacturer's warranty provisions, dictated in its Constitution no less.

So ... either the Norwegians are a shoo-in for the most anal retentive populace on the planet, or this is something that is common in countries other than the US (where we most definitely do not put items like that in our Constitution .... no way .... no how).

But, that got me thinking. Now Sony has be in the manufacturing business for a long time, and they sell the products they manufacture worldwide. So, they probably have a whole team of lawyers in every country advising them on applicable laws with regard to manufacturing. And, because of this, it's not such a big deal to float a new product worldwide without having a really good idea as to how well it will be received.

But, while Amazon has been a worldwide retailer, to my knowledge, the Kindle is their first foray into manufacturing anything. And, I would hazard a guess that, until they have a serious grasp on how well the Kindle is going to sell in the US ... where they only have to deal with the US laws concerning warranties and limitations on warranties ... none of which are stated as a Constitutional right (with a five year term according to that poster), why would they want to branch out to several hundred smaller markets, each with their own set of warranty and other laws??

It's one thing to retail merchandise all over the place. The manufacturer is the one who is going to be stuck with the angry consumer in Norway who expects the Mexican manufacturer to comply with a five year warranty (and how exactly do they go about enforcing it anyway .... declare war against the country of manufacture??), but it's a whole other problem to be the manufacturer and sell the product worldwide ... because then you really are on the hook.

But, if that one lady or gentleman from Norway was correct, and Norwegian law provides (Constitutionally) that all products sold in Norway have a five year warranty, no matter what the warranty in the sales materials or packaging dictates ... putting aside for the moment that I really don't see how anyone would actually enforce the thing ... why would Amazon want to bother with selling the Kindle in Norway (which is a lovely country ... I know, I've been there, just not exactly a huge market, with a population of roughly one half that of just the County of Los Angeles), when there are going to be so many legal hoops to jump through??

Now, please don't everyone jump on me all at once, but I think maybe that's the reason why ... or at least one reason why ... the Kindle is not being sold outside of the States. Does anyone agree that that might be the case?? Or, is what the other poster said wrong?? I'm not an expert in international law ... so I'm just as clueless as the next person on the topic.