Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I don't think you roll out a device into a major new market (and remember than Europe has a larger population and a larger combined economy than the US) to "shift old stock".
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I think it is quite likely that if a new model is released (esp if with WiFi or 3G or something) that it will only be officially available in the US/Canada initially. What with Kindle taking off in the US, it already having a wireless ability, the issues with licensing and serving wireless content worldwide and also the US having the most mature market (outside Japan I guess) then, if I were a Sony Fatcat, then that is exactly where I would concentrate on next (in tandem with building a market in Europe).
Hence this should not affect European sales too much; i.e. for the great majority of purchasers (those who go into Waterstones & buy one for Christmas or on impulse or whatever; i.e. those same people who go and buy their TV from Currys without checking out the specs/prices/availability online) they won't care (or even know) that there is a sexier version available on the other side of the pond.
Obviously for us early (-ish in my case) adopters it will be a major frustration (I know, I know, `C'est la vie` and all that but it doesn't stop it being major frustrating
).
Either that or it will be a totally wet fart - i.e. a relaunch with pretty colours and a price-drop
.