It's seemingly inevitable that Apple is going to have to open up the platform to some degree. The only question is, "how much". I'd also hate to see global fragmentation where devices end up having different feature sets in different regions.

My first thought at the prospect of allowing side loading here, but not there, was that it was an absurd concept. Of course, as I'm based in the US, where we get ALL the features on launch day, it's easy not to notice that Apple already voluntarily maintains a fragmented market.

Go, JP! Go, EU!