It is frustrating that it's not here yet, but there are several reasons why it's not available here, the war having nothing to do with it. It's also not that surprising that only 20% are interested there's been very little media coverage of the product here when compared to the hype in the US.
First off, the US is Apples largest market so its logical for them to target it first. The nature of the iPhone complicates the usual logistics of a product roll out. If Apple release a new Mac it's not that difficult for them to sell it here because its not dependent on collaboration with a telecommunications network.
That brings us to the next obstacle - the network. Telstra have pretty much made it clear that they have no desire or intention to take on the iPhone, yet they have the only EDGE network in the country. The other crappy thing here is that free WiFi is hard to come by so that wouldn't even compensate. Until a 3G alternative is available its unlikely we'll be seeing the iPhone here. Hopefully once it is available Vodafone or 3 will take it on.
In some ways its actually a good thing we're not getting it straight away. By the time it does arrive it probably will have been upgraded and improved in numerous ways.
Lastly, Australia really is a relatively small market when compared to other countries. Its unfortunate, but its true.
