The iPhone launched in Taiwan this Saturday, what the initial buyers did not know was that the new iPhones were network independent straight from the box. Isn’t that something we wish happened to us here in the US? Sadly, this isn’t without a price catch since it costs the same as buying an unlocked iPhone upfront. Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) is currently selling contract-free 8GB iPhone 3G handsets for NT$26,600 (US$800), while the 16GB version costs NT$29,900 ($901).

Buying it with a two-year contract reduces that, but the CHT require a refundable deposit of up to NT$24,000 ($725). Still, the contract-free prices are way less than you would pay AT&T over the two-year lifespan of your locked iPhone 3G.

Via