Check the reliable sources for iPhone release info. No official release for Taiwan in sight.
The 3G unlocked - and hacked for open SDK - is available at around 5000 HKD- 20.000 NTD - Yahoo.bid 2 days ago.
And I’ve seen a few in the new Huanghua 3C mall…
Apple selling unlocked iPhone 3G in Hong Kong
September 27, 2008 5:22 PM PDT
Apple has made an unlocked version of the iPhone 3G available in Hong Kong, letting consumers pick whichever carrier they so choose.
This is in sharp contrast to Apple’s policy for the almost everywhere else on the planet. Unlocked iPhones are rampant worldwide, but that isn’t something that Apple has sanctioned.
Freedom doesn’t come cheap. The 8GB version is available for about $695 (5,400 Hong Kong dollars), while the 16GB iPhone costs about $798 (6,200 HK dollars), according to Apple’s site.
The “iPhone 3G purchased at the Apple Online Store can be activated with any wireless carrier,” the site states. “Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation.”
I have a friend coming from HK soon and I’m thinking about getting her to pick up a 3G iPhone for me. Has anyone here done that yet? If so what’s the deal with;
Warranties? Can I take it into an Apple dealer over here or would I have to send it to HK?
I’m currently using PrePay through TaiwanDageda and I’m assuming I can’t use 3G with that. If I sign up for a plan through them, can I get 3G?
Any updates on what doesn’t work here?
Can my friend just walk into Apple in HK and buy one or more, no strings attached?
Or is it better/cheaper/less hassle if I just buy one at Guanghua? 
[quote=“stevegan”]I have a friend coming from HK soon and I’m thinking about getting her to pick up a 3G iPhone for me. Has anyone here done that yet? If so what’s the deal with;
Warranties? Can I take it into an Apple dealer over here or would I have to send it to HK?
I’m currently using PrePay through TaiwanDageda and I’m assuming I can’t use 3G with that. If I sign up for a plan through them, can I get 3G?
Any updates on what doesn’t work here?
Can my friend just walk into Apple in HK and buy one or more, no strings attached?
Or is it better/cheaper/less hassle if I just buy one at Guanghua? [/quote]
Hong kong purchased = only warranty in HK, even for Apple (same for almost all electronics bought there)
yes- when you sign up with a plan, you can have GPRS support (3G)
Buying from GhuangHua = imported from HK anyway as taiwan does not offer (yet) the iPhone (with a plan)
You might ask some providers if they intend to release the iPhone in TW with a plan (as written a few posts above)
[quote=“stevegan”]I have a friend coming from HK soon and I’m thinking about getting her to pick up a 3G iPhone for me. Has anyone here done that yet? If so what’s the deal with;
Warranties? Can I take it into an Apple dealer over here or would I have to send it to HK?
I’m currently using PrePay through TaiwanDageda and I’m assuming I can’t use 3G with that. If I sign up for a plan through them, can I get 3G?
Any updates on what doesn’t work here?
Can my friend just walk into Apple in HK and buy one or more, no strings attached?
Or is it better/cheaper/less hassle if I just buy one at Guanghua? [/quote]
As I understand it you can NOT just walk into an apple store in HKG and get one the unlocked iphones… They are only available through the HKG Apple Online Store, must be shipped to a HKG address and must be paid for with a credit card with a HKG billing address…
The good news is that they are apparently totally unlocked, not hacked, cracked, SIM modded, or otherwise tampered with… all features and functions on any network right out the box, you just supply your own 3G SIM card…
At NT$25,595 for the 16G model from HKG, there are a lot of people selling hacked/cracked/NZ iphones in the NT$35,000+ price range on Taiwan yahoo and ruten auction sites that are going to be in for a shock…
That is the least you can say… reading this: …[quote]with HTC Corporation to sell GPhone, which needs no keyboard because Taiwan people are not using.[/quote]
They produce a phone for export with keyboard and would not sell it in TW? strange
My wife called Chunghua and whilst expecting service department staff in a Taiwanese company to actually know anything about their products or services is obviously asking way too much, all they said was that they have no plans to sell iPhones in Taiwan in 2008… " maybe next year" is all they would offer…
Apple have said it’ll only happen if Chunghua agree to the US$199/299 contract subsidized prices that Apple insists on for all markets… Chunghua claimed that with Taiwan’s cheap call and data rates, they couldn’t make back the money on a NT$6200/US$199 iPhone and this may have some truth to it, but I think a bigger reason is that HTC, being local, is in bed with all the local service providers and their clunky “3 steps behind Apple” handsets have an established NT$20k+ pricepoint and an iPhone that is not only better designed and more desirable, but also less than half the price would leave HTC all but dead in the water…
Apple’s surprising move to sell 100% unlocked iPhones in Hong Kong has been rumored to be a move to address China and Taiwan’s refusal to accept the US$199 deal (China even insisting on using it’s own irrelevant and incompatible 3G/Wifi standards, meaning official China spec iPhones would have 3G and wireless functions disabled!)… It could be construed that Apple have decided to “punish” Taiwan and China for their heel dragging and provide a “back door” for unlocked official-but-unofficial iPhones to be sold into both China and Taiwan, through Hong Kong… So by the the time Taiwanese service providers get their heads out of the sand and drain the last of their under the table HTC hong-bao, almost everyone who wants an iPhone in Taiwan will already have one… typical “the customer comes last” Taiwanese business mentality will once again bite them in the arse… oh well, one of these decades they’ll learn…
[quote=“plasmatron”]My wife called Chunghua and whilst expecting service department staff in a Taiwanese company to actually know anything about their products or services is obviously asking way too much, all they said was that they have no plans to sell iPhones in Taiwan in 2008… " maybe next year" is all they would offer…
Apple have said it’ll only happen if Chunghua agree to the US$199/299 contract subsidized prices that Apple insists on for all markets… Chunghua claimed that with Taiwan’s cheap call and data rates, they couldn’t make back the money on a NT$6200/US$199 iPhone and this may have some truth to it, but I think a bigger reason is that HTC, being local, is in bed with all the local service providers and their clunky “3 steps behind Apple” handsets have an established NT$20k+ pricepoint and an iPhone that is not only better designed and more desirable, but also less than half the price would leave HTC all but dead in the water…
Apple’s surprising move to sell 100% unlocked iPhones in Hong Kong has been rumored to be a move to address China and Taiwan’s refusal to accept the US$199 deal (China even insisting on using it’s own irrelevant and incompatible 3G/Wifi standards, meaning official China spec iPhones would have 3G and wireless functions disabled!) It could be construed that Apple have decided to “punish” Taiwan and China for their heel dragging and provide a “back door” for unlocked official-but-unofficial iPhones sold into both China and Taiwan through Hong Kong… So by the the time Taiwanese service providers get their heads out of the sand and drain the last of their under the table HTC hong-bao, almost everyone who wants an iPhone in Taiwan will already have one… typical “the customer comes last” Taiwanese business mentality will once again bite them in the arse… oh well, one of these decades they’ll learn…[/quote]
Ha, most insightful rant I’ve read all week! 
I def agree with the HTC angle. There must be a reason why the providers in Taiwan won’t step up and bring in the iPhone.
I got word from Nam at www.nationwide.com.tw that he can get you an unlocked iPhone3G now, so don’t feel you have to go all the way to HK to get one… 
Cool. Any idea of price? Warranty?
Wanna have the 3g iPhone? just move your asses to Huang Hua new Electronics market. I spend 5 hours there last weekend and found at least 5 shops selling them. The old 2 and new Hong Kong imported 3G ones.
Didn’t asked for the price. I am allergic to Apple’s marketing practices. 
You don’t need to spend 5 hours at Guanghua market to get the 3G.
I picked mine up there over a month ago in only 10 minutes.
Nam’s 16GB unlocked iphone mentioned in Maoman’s post comes in at 26k with a 6month warranty. He’s reputable and it’s about what I was expecting to pay. I’ll be spending double ten day with a new toy it seems.
I thought the Hong Kong iPhones didn’t need to be cracked, just plug them in and use them as normally, like the New Zealand phones.
That’s what I understand also. I’m pretty sure Nam’s iPhones come unlocked, not cracked.
Sorry, that was meant to be ‘unlocked’.
This GPS on my 3G is really awesome. Zooms right into my location, shows it on the map right down to the exact street. Then pop over to the satellite view… gives directions to other locations.
Internet…
Google…
Facebook…
Youtube…
Automatic daily downloads of video and audio podcasts, TV news from back home, I am exhausted trying to use everything…
oh, and FORUMOSA! When sitting at starbucks, or eslite, or on the toilet…