Apple iBooks App to be US-only at Launch? What About iPhone-also?

Stop us if you've heard this one before -- Apple rolls out a new form of media, like say iBooks e-books, for their iTunes/iPod/iPhone/now iPad ecosystem, and it's initially only available in the US.
No doubt the global-village defying mess that is international media licensing rights is at play here, as different publishers can own different parts of the same books in different territories, so TiPb is not at all surprised. Like iTunes Movies and TV, which took a long time to reach Canada, the UK, Australia, etc., we're not going to hold our breath for iBooks any time soon.
But that's hardly unique. Amazon took a while to get the Kindle international, and they've failed miserably at rolling Amazon MP3 out. If there is a company that can push through the quagmire, however, it's Apple and its iTunes juggernaut.
Meanwhile, we're still waiting to hear if US-based iPhone and iPod touch users will get a version of Apple's newest app as well. Or is everyone outside the US and not on an iPad just going to have to make do with the Kindle app...?
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Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.