Dilemma: iPhone 3GS (8GB) Vs HTC Desire

Basq

So I availed of this O2 'Christmas Comes Twice' promotion last Christmas when buying my girlfriend a phone (bought the phone on my account to prevent her knowing).

What this promotion entailed was if I topped up between €20 a month between January and July, I got a €100 voucher to spend on a new Prepay phone on O2 in the month of August. So I topped up with €20 each month (to get my free O2 Friends phone-calls anyway)

There's been teething problems with the promotion (with regards to validating if I met the top-up requirements) but I think all has been sorted now, and I should be able to get buy a phone for free (if it's under €100 on Prepay) or put it towards a phone that's over €100.

So here's my problem, I might as well pick up a phone but:

a) It doesn't look likely that the iPhone 4 will be available on Prepay before the end of the month, so the voucher will be expired by the time it's released on Prepay.
b) I can get the iPhone 3GS (8GB) for €379 after voucher, but is it worth it? Am upgrading from a 2G.
c) Probably the wrong place to ask, but alternatively.. there's the HTC Desire for €299 after voucher. Would this be a better purchase?

I've (very briefly) used the HTC Desire and I didn't mind it.. but I just think €379 for the 8GB 3GS seems a bit pricey. But to be honest, I'm an Apple fiend (iPad, MacBook, no less than 3 iPod's and Mac Mini owner) so I'm probably just annoyed I can't get the iPhone 4 on it.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Jimdagym

basquille wrote: »

So I availed of this O2 'Christmas Comes Twice' promotion last Christmas when buying my girlfriend a phone (bought the phone on my account to prevent her knowing).

What this promotion entailed was if I topped up between €20 a month between January and July, I got a €100 voucher to spend on a new Prepay phone on O2 in the month of August. So I topped up with €20 each month (to get my free O2 Friends phone-calls anyway)

There's been teething problems with the promotion (with regards to validating if I met the top-up requirements) but I think all has been sorted now, and I should be able to get buy a phone for free (if it's under €100 on Prepay) or put it towards a phone that's over €100.

So here's my problem, I might as well pick up a phone but:

a) It doesn't look likely that the iPhone 4 will be available on Prepay before the end of the month, so the voucher will be expired by the time it's released on Prepay.
b) I can get the iPhone 3GS (8GB) for €379 after voucher, but is it worth it? Am upgrading from a 2G.
c) Probably the wrong place to ask, but alternatively.. there's the HTC Desire for €299 after voucher. Would this be a better purchase?

I've (very briefly) used the HTC Desire and I didn't mind it.. but I just think €379 for the 8GB 3GS seems a bit pricey. But to be honest, I'm an Apple fiend (iPad, MacBook, no less than 3 iPod's and Mac Mini owner) so I'm probably just annoyed I can't get the iPhone 4 on it.

Any advice would be appreciated!

You have probably answered your own question there. I'd take the Desire over the 3gs, and The 4 over the Desire. I got the 4 a week ago and it feels like I have always had it.
Did you try ringing o2 and ask them to honour the voucher with the iphone 4? You never know.

if you are defo between the Desire and 3gs, the desire is new, and 80e cheaper than the 3gs, which has (obviously) been replaced.
I think though Basquile, the best thing to do is to get the Iphone 4, even if it means losing your voucher. By the sounds of it, as good as the Desire is, you'll be sick everytime you see the Iphone 4 anywhere.

Idleater

Buy the desire and sell it to fund the purchase of the iPhone4 when it is released on prepay.

With your €100 saving, you will make most back as the desire will be sellable.

Basq

Jimdagym wrote: »

You have probably answered your own question there. I'd take the Desire over the 3gs, and The 4 over the Desire. I got the 4 a week ago and it feels like I have always had it.

Did you try ringing o2 and ask them to honour the voucher with the iphone 4? You never know.

Yeah, this is the problem alright.

Well.. O2 aren't selling the iPhone 4 on prepay, and they're not honouring the voucher for towards upgrade / bill-pay customer.

I put in a message on their forum asking if it'd be on prepay before the end of the month.. but I wouldn't say it's likely seeing how poor their stock levels are.

Jimdagym wrote: »

I think though Basquile, the best thing to do is to get the Iphone 4, even if it means losing your voucher. By the sounds of it, as good as the Desire is, you'll be sick everytime you see the Iphone 4 anywhere.

Well.. I'll use my voucher and even get a free phone with it.

Yeah, I am just pissed I can't use it against the iPhone 4 - especially seeing all the other operators are offering it!

nereid wrote: »

Buy the desire and sell it to fund the purchase of the iPhone4 when it is released on prepay.

With your €100 saving, you will make most back as the desire will be sellable.

Yep, it's not a bad idea.. but it'll be locked to O2.

And I'd be suprised if I make a €50 profit on it.

Lmao_Man

What do you mean ?

O2 are selling it on prepay

Well I got one on release date with them,it's 579 for the 16GB.

Or do you mean you can't get it because stock shortages ?

Basq

Lmao_Man wrote: »

What do you mean ?

O2 are selling it on prepay

Well I got one on release date with them,it's 579 for the 16GB.

Or do you mean you can't get it because stock shortages ?

That's odd.. it's certainly not available on their website on prepay - I don't think it's ever been!

Lmao_Man

Oh god,this is the problem with o2.

I can't prove it as I'm on this on my iPhone 4 (ON O2) but are you a member of the o2 forum ?

Ask there for proof.

I would put my house on it,it's quite worrying that nobody has replied about it aswell.

579 = 16gb
679 = 32gb

Jimdagym

Someone defo said on launch day that the first person in the queue bought a pre-pay.
Its not on the website, but its defo for sale. He cant buy and wait for the shipment though if its not on the website. Ina shop you need the physical phone to buy, you cant pay for it then wait 2 weeks for delivery like you do online.

Lmao_Man

Found proof :

O2IrelandShop @ricey83 you can only buy prepay in an O2 Store not on o2.ie, existing custs only. iPhone 4 prepay prices: 16GB: €579, 32GB: €679
4 days ago*in reply to ricey83

www.twitter.com/O2IrelandShop

Have a look at the tweets from 4 days ago

Basq

Thanks for that Lmao_Man.

Voucher can't be used in a store unfortunately.. only online purchase!

Lmao_Man

Ps : thanks for the BA of you're in the Movies and scene it think it was you anyway.

Hogzy

As some people have already said id get the Desire over the 3gs too.

They have fantastic resale value so keep it for a few weeks and sell it (if you dont like it) and buy the iPhone 4

Iv owned all 3 phones (apart from 3gs but had an 3rd Gen ipod touch). HTC Desire is a fantastic phone phone. Streets better than the 3gs, but like your self im an apple fanboy so i went for the Iphone 4.

HTC Desire is as good as the iPhone 4 (If your not a fanboy)

Basq

Cheers all.. am seriously torn now!

I wouldn't mind the 3GS (I'm using a 2G bought in February 2008 for fecks sake!) but am I mad getting it when the iPhone 4 has just been released? Suppose if I buy the Desire for €299 and sell it for €350 - €380 still boxed, I'll be able to get the iPhone 4 for just over €500.

The HTC looks nice.. but I don't know. I'm read the touch-screen isn't quite as good, I'd miss the App Store and read the battery is pretty poor too.

Dilemma indeed.. have about 10 days to think about it. But feel free to keep chiming in with opinions, I'm all ears!

Hogzy

Basquille, the 3gs is a year old... Either get the desire or save a little longer for the iphone 4.

Dont get a 3gs, One day when your walking down the street you'll see someone with the 4. Then you will look at the pathetic iphone you have and think your a failure.

Dont do that to yourself.

TrustedApple

why not look at a 2nd hand iphone because there a lot cheaper and can pick up a good 32gb for 350 on adverts so maybe get the htc sell that and get a 32gb 3gs
so not get a 4 because i have had 3 of them and none have worked outside the box

and the crap apple with put on you with there storys
eg your weak 27 iphone is not a reforb its made from old iphone parts
me i sent you a weak 30 i think i must get like for like back now i am droping calls like crazy in a full 3g area
or we lost your number or give a wrong number to tnt and do not give you the right tacking numbers

and the person who is looking after the case she well not email me back after she told me to email her
i will get back to you in 1 day thats what she said now its 5 days

Basq

Hogzy wrote: »

Dont get a 3gs, One day when your walking down the street you'll see someone with the 4. Then you will look at the pathetic iphone you have and think your a failure.

Do me a favour Hogzy...

.. never volunteer for The Samaritans!

Jimdagym

samapple789 wrote: »

why not look at a 2nd hand iphone because there a lot cheaper and can pick up a good 32gb for 350 on adverts so maybe get the htc sell that and get a 32gb 3gs
so not get a 4 because i have had 3 of them and none have worked outside the box

and the crap apple with put on you with there storys
eg your weak 27 iphone is not a reforb its made from old iphone parts
me i sent you a weak 30 i think i must get like for like back now i am droping calls like crazy in a full 3g area
or we lost your number or give a wrong number to tnt and do not give you the right tacking numbers

and the person who is looking after the case she well not email me back after she told me to email her
i will get back to you in 1 day thats what she said now its 5 days

This post hurts my brain.

BBMcQ

Jimdagym wrote: »

This post hurts my brain.

+1, talk about an off topic rant based on anecdotal experience. I've never had any problems with any iPhones, done business with 5 of them over last 2 years.

I'd say go for the desire though vs. the 3Gs (i'm an iPhone 4 user). The 3Gs is a year old and looks out of date compared to the 4. Whereas the Desire is a iPhone 4 competitor and a 3Gs beater. Whenever it gets the 2.2 Froyo update it will have probably all the features of the iPhone 4.

Ps. I don't have an android (obviously) but I hate the way they do software updates! I'm frustrated on behalf of android customers!

jeromeof

I would definitely go for the Desire over the 3GS. I borrowed a desire to compare with my iPhone 4 for a few days, and the Desire was faster at browsing and that was before the Android 2.2 (FroYo) update was made available. I believe it is even quicker now with the latest optimisations. So hardware wise the Desire is equal (and better in processor speed) than the iPhone4, so it is considerable better than the 3GS. But software wise, for me Android is ugly (even with some nice HTC widgets), the Android market is very poor and I have already got considerable amounts of iPhone Apps + a nicely organised iTunes. So the iPhone was always going to feel better for me.

But I believe you would easily get your cost back selling a Desire on Adverts in a few weeks, there is a shortage anyway I believe. So update it to 2.2, see if you can get O2 to unlock it (say you are going on a business trip or some other excuse) and then sell it if you don't like it. You should easily find you can sell it at a profit and put that money towards you new iPhone. So you might have a few interesting weeks with the Desire and Android in general and you never know you might actually like the Desire.

Ghandee

samapple789 wrote: »

why not look at a 2nd hand iphone because there a lot cheaper and can pick up a good 32gb for 350 on adverts so maybe get the htc sell that and get a 32gb 3gs
so not get a 4 because i have had 3 of them and none have worked outside the box

and the crap apple with put on you with there storys
eg your weak 27 iphone is not a reforb its made from old iphone parts
me i sent you a weak 30 i think i must get like for like back now i am droping calls like crazy in a full 3g area
or we lost your number or give a wrong number to tnt and do not give you the right tacking numbers

and the person who is looking after the case she well not email me back after she told me to email her
i will get back to you in 1 day thats what she said now its 5 days

Not being smart assed here, but Please tell me English isn't your native Tongue.
That posts just a little bit hard to make out.

Hogzy

stuartmchugh wrote: »

Ps. I don't have an android (obviously) but I hate the way they do software updates! I'm frustrated on behalf of android customers!

Lol apple has released 2 software updates since the 4 was launched. Apple updates it's software a lot more than android does. Android brings a lot more to the table than ios does but a lot of that stuff people don't need. Like tethering but it's nice to know you have it. And it's free. Handy for ur iPad basquille.

Edit: I recognise ur name stuartmchugh. I think we have duelled over android v iPhone before. Best keep this thread on topic

tigershould

OP - i think its a really bad idea to go for the 3gs when the iphone 4 has just been released.

and i wouldnt go for the desire either (my biggest gripe is the 512kb memory and your apps have to be installed on the internal memory (correct me if i'm wrong))

if you have the 2g - your next step is the 4th gen

Idleater

tigershould wrote: »

and i wouldnt go for the desire either (my biggest gripe is the 512kb memory and your apps have to be installed on the internal memory (correct me if i'm wrong))

you're wrong, for a start it's 578Mb and secondly you can install on the (upgradable) SD card (now depending on carrier or if you update the SW version manually).

Basquille, I think you'd be able to sell a desire for a profit easier and for more than a 3gs -assuming you are willing to go through the hassle of buying two phones, and losing out on some of the value of your voucher to essentially get the one you want.

The other option is to plead with someone with sense on o2 to allow you to postpone till the iP4 is available, or use in a shop.

Basq

The HTC Desire doesn't seem to be on the O2 Twice list anymore so that's out!

I might just pick up a HTC Smart for €29 (after voucher) and sell it on for €80 - €100. And put the €50 - €70 profit towards the iPhone 4.

nereid wrote:

The other option is to plead with someone with sense on o2 to allow you to postpone till the iP4 is available, or use in a shop.

Neither of them are likely!

Idleater

basquille wrote: »

I might just pick up a HTC Smart for €29

Sony Ericson x10 mini ???

Basq

That's €159 after voucher.. but I despise the Sony Ericssons phones (and my brother even works for them)!

The real question now is which of the phones would I be able to sell easily and for a decent profit?

Hogzy

basquille wrote: »

That's €159 after voucher.. but I despise the Sony Ericssons phones (and my brother even works for them)!

The real question now is which of the phones would I be able to sell easily and for a decent profit?

If you can get your hands on a desire from a shop then you will defo be able to sell them at a profit.

At the moment demand heavily outweighs supply for the desire, so the price is actually going up and up (on adverts).

Like a month ago these phones were getting between 300-350. Now theyre getting between 350 and 420.

Basq

Hogzy wrote: »

If you can get your hands on a desire from a shop then you will defo be able to sell them at a profit.

At the moment demand heavily outweighs supply for the desire, so the price is actually going up and up (on adverts).

Like a month ago these phones were getting between 300-350. Now theyre getting between 350 and 420.

Cheers Hogzy.. but can't use the voucher in a shop. Only online!

Was sure the HTC Desire was on the O2 Twice list yesterday, but could be wrong.

Will wait to see if it's re-added next week.

EDIT: Sheena over the O2 forums just told me it's out of stock, but should be back on the list on Saturday morning. Sounds like a plan!

Basq

Alright..

So I've found out I can use the €100 towards the iPhone 4 on Billpay.. but I just don't think I can warrant the €40 a month minimum. I spend €20 a month as is.. in fact, I'd be lucky to spend that!

So I've been thinking the HTC Desire and I'll consider reselling it.. it was €399 last week (€299 after discount) last week. It then went out-of-stock and was told by one of the moderators that it'd be back available this week. It's now back available but at €439! :mad:

O2 anger me so much sometimes!