I’ve always wondered why all the coolest, snazziest and newest technical toys … cellphones, music players, handheld games and other geeky wunder-lust items reach the US too late or never at all. You only have to read a few days worth of Engadget or Gizmondo or the excellent InfoSync to realize that they review all these cool toys with the standard disclaimer “not for American markets”. My stand has always been a complex US retail system (a “getting to all states or none at all” mentality) and the FCC slowing things down. Why else would manufacturers not want to sell their latest toys to thousands of experienced and well-funded customers.
Today, however, I read an excellent article countering my views and giving an in-depth look at what causes companies in Japan, China, Korea, India, Taiwan, Singapore and Finland to delay launches in America. The article “Tech gadgets banned in the USA” has a misleading title but great information.
Many manufacturers prefer to introduce new electronics in their own countries, to see what problems may arise before exporting the goods.
No one wants to deal with the issues of a defective 1st version 5000 kilometers from the headquarters or factory and thats perfectly legit … cannot argue with that logic. However, there is still a multiple month lag between a successful launch in the home country and the US. I mean, launches in Korea in Jan 2006. And launches in US for summer of 2007? Thats crazy.