In the past Apple has gained some experience in internationizing its products. And the outlined solution (minus the default or missing options) is quite good, too.

But I doubt if they tested the device with real people in the local markets. For example, as a German using mostly German Websites I would have stronlgy preferred the .de default.

But usability engineering, esp. for international target markets, usually requires more time and money than usual. And I guess, that is where Apple took the shortcut.