IMO this is a big advantage when you are living in the states, but when you live in the Philippines its a hassle and very costly to send it to the states if something went wrong. For the cost of the shipment back and forth I will just buy the replacement lens here at 5 thou pesos ( this is usually the prob naman.) The best to me (warranty wise ) is to buy nalang in hong kong bec Phils is just so close one can take a cebu pacific flight for around 6 to 8 thou pesos (fare only, round trip), have excellent roast goose, wonton noodle etc 
while dropping it off,,then buy some dvds pa and come home that same night 
..On the date of the pickup of your unit at Sony hong kong, do the same thing hehe..Total cost maybe 16 thou for 2 trips, enjoy pa the excellent food, dvds, etc. hehe..I know you can just go there for one day unless their immigration won't allow it, if they don't allow it then one just have to enjoy Gloria Maris wonton noodle and get it fixed in virramall.
A brandnew ps3 lens is only 1.5k, if u could replace it with urself you can save lots of money and time...
with regards to PS3 warranty here in the Phils.
Service lang talaga binibigay ng local sellers dto...hassle pa rin, u have to wait coz they have to send it to HK to have it fixed which I find it impractical at hindi mo pa alam kung paano kinalikot yung console mo....
coz ang gagaling na ng mga gumagawa dto sa atin ...at it would only take a day or two or sometimes hours lang to have it fix
to all future buyers of PS3 wag kayong magpadala sa dilemma na iniwan ng Xbox 360 (b4 the falcon version) not all games consoles are the same.
you have to face the fact na pumalpak talaga Microsoft dun...
look at Nintendo Consoles, Sega etc...lamog na ang itsura at sira sira na ang mga controllers gumagana pa rin.
SONY ang binibili nyo, it's a trusted brand way way b4 hindi pa tyo pinapanganak..
Consider also the fact that what you are buying is somehow future proof (crossing my finger coz lapit ng 1440p pero over na toh if you would ask me u will need a digital eye to appreciate this)
I suggest if u have the means naman GO GO GO buy one anywhere basta mura at brandnew and enjoy it ...don't try canvasing too much basta under 19k bilhin mo na...try to consider those people whose who bought nung unang lumabas yan just Imagine ang matitipid ninyo 2day...tsambahan din kasi yan since it's electronics
Life is Short ika nga..pera pwedeng kitain oras hindi
just my 2 sentimos
