"Unfortunately the American way is to prefer free or as cheap as possible phones which doesnt do HTC any good if they want to turn a profit on the Touch HD. The number of sales they would get from users of sites like this willing to import is small compared to the number they would attract with a carrier subsidy so catering to such a small market really isnt the best business for HTC."
I think that assumption is wrong. Look at what Nokia as been able to do with there unlocked media phones (n95, n96 etc.). I would think there is a market for high end phone like these. Maybe it's a niche market but that doesn't mean there isn't $$$ to be made.