Is it worth buying an iphone 3gs now ?

polod

As above really, with the ipone 4 out now would it be a waste of money to buy a 3gs 1 now ? is it out of date now ? Im thinking of getting one of these are they are down to €350 now pay as you go.

thanks for any help

godtabh

The iPhone 4 sis out now so there has been 2 newer models released since the 3GS

polod

And in a few months the iphone 5 and 6 will probably be out don't think I could justify paying the extra 200 or so. Im just woundering will all the app's etc. still be available for the 3gs ?

waynegalway

polod wrote: »

And in a few months the iphone 5 and 6 will probably be out don't think I could justify paying the extra 200 or so. Im just woundering will all the app's etc. still be available for the 3gs ?

If you keep putting off getting a phone on the basis of "there's a newer one coming soon", you'd never get a phone!

I had a 3GS for about a year, and the step up to the 4 was pretty amazing. The camera is far better, the screen resolution is much sharper, it has front facing camera for video calls, and IMO the form factor is much nicer than the 3GS.

You mention paying €350 PAYG for the 3GS. Surely if you have that kind of money to hand you'd be better off getting an ip4? They sell for that kind of money on adverts all the time, maybe even a bit less. I know it would be second hand and may not have much/any warranty left, but if you get one in good condition you'd be much happier with it than a 3GS.

In terms of apps, most of them will run on a 3GS, but some of the newer ones like GarageBand and the graphics intensive games like infinity blade might struggle.

Dublinstiofán

polod wrote: »

As above really, with the ipone 4 out now would it be a waste of money to buy a 3gs 1 now ? is it out of date now ? Im thinking of getting one of these are they are down to €350 now pay as you go.

thanks for any help

I think they're worth every penny of €350 when other phones are five and six hundred. Its solid and one of the best iPhones Apple released. And if you pick up the protection plan your Guaranteed two years peace of mind provided you don't loose it!

I wouldn't buy an iPhone 4, but if you can afford an iPhone 4s then obviously there are going to be some major improvements, screen and capacity being only two.

polod

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

I think they're worth every penny of €350 when other phones are five and six hundred. Its solid and one of the best iPhones Apple released. And if you pick up the protection plan your Guaranteed two years peace of mind provided you don't loose it!

I wouldn't buy an iPhone 4, but if you can afford an iPhone 4s then obviously there are going to be some major improvements, screen and capacity being only two.

Thanks very much yep I think it will do me now

nightster1

polod wrote: »

Thanks very much yep I think it will do me now

3gs is a fine phone:) you'll be good and happy unless you really want n up to date phone

Eire Go Brach

I just moved from the 3GS to the iPhone 4s. Ios5 was a great update for the 3GS. They added stuff that they did not add with Ios4. It's still a fine phone.


I would not pay €350 for it. Buy it second hand and get a new battery if need be.

Spunk84

You can pick up ip4 on DD or adverts.ie for 300-400. Once you hold a 3Gs and Ip4 in your hand you will notice the diference straight away. The Ip4 is much better in apperance and speed. Why pay for 3Gs when it's pretty much it's last year or 2 with apple. Same way, would you buy a playstation 1 or a PS3 ? I'm hoping the Ip5 will be out in the new year as I don't see the point in buying a Ip4s as the Ip4 is perfact for my needs. So summing up don't buy it lad, save for the Ip4

polod

hmm im 50/50 now

CombatCow

Have you seen the retina screen compared to the 3GS, the difference is incredible, I would really advise you go for the ip4

waynegalway

I think I u have the money, you'd be better off with a 2nd hand ip4. If you spend 350 on a 3GS, I think you might, just might, regret it when you start seeing more and more 4, 4s and eventually 5 models over the next year or so.

No matter how you dress it up, the 3GS is now 2 models old, it came out in summer 2009 (I think), so even though it seems good value and people will say its still a decent phone, for the same money you will be far more up to date with a 2nd hand 4.

If you can, have a look at a 3GS and a 4 side by side and compare them for yourself.

polod

Thanks for all the replys lads

but I can see your point now if Im going that far I might aswel pay the extra 130 euro and get the iphone 4 ....Im with vodafone and they don't do the iphone 4s on PAYG

So think Il go for the iphone 4 now

Thats again for all ye'r replys

waynegalway

polod wrote: »

Thanks for all the replys lads

but I can see your point now if Im going that far I might aswel pay the extra 130 euro and get the iphone 4 ....Im with vodafone and they don't do the iphone 4s on PAYG

So think Il go for the iphone 4 now

Thats again for all ye'r replys

You won't regret going for the 4. In a year it will still get the best part of 300 on adverts, whereas the 3GS will be VERY old tech by then.

castie

Apple store isnt too expensive for sim free ones either

http://store.apple.com/ie/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone

350 for 3gs and 499 for ip4 8gb ones

Dublinstiofán

Don't buy an iPhone 4.

3GS or 4S only, i know i had very poor experience with signal strength on iPhone 4 and had a good
few of them. Not everybody experienced this problem but its a design flaw with the handset that
you can test yourself. The iPhone 4 needs to be in a case all the time for successful operation.

waynegalway

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

Don't buy an iPhone 4.

3GS or 4S only, i know i had very poor experience with signal strength on iPhone 4 and had a good
few of them. Not everybody experienced this problem but its a design flaw with the handset that
you can test yourself. The iPhone 4 needs to be in a case all the time for successful operation.

That's true, but in my experience I've had no issues with myip4. My only issue with dropped calls was VF issues and were to do with coverage in my area.

Plus, in my case, the function I use the least on my ip4 is the phone call function. And I believe the design fault only effects a small number of left handed people, as the way right handed people hold the phone doesn't short out the antenna.

If the OP has the money for a 4S then yes, he/she should get one, of course. But for the money (€350) I still think a 2nd hand 4 is the way to go. The antenna problem wasn't experienced by all, so if your focus is on the iPhone as a portable computer/text/email device and a phone function is less important (as in my case, and I suspect a lot of other cases), then go for the 4, it's a much more pleasant experience overall even after looking at the plusses and minuses. IMO

polod

God this is a real header wreaker lol, I decided after that Im 'going to buy once and buy well' since the iphone 4 is 'out of date' now and vodafone do not have the iphone 4s on pay as you go should I wait until they have it on PAYG ? or is there much difference between the ip4 and ip4s ? I wouln't be getting paid til friday any way so lots of time to decide lol

cheers again

Dublinstiofán

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

Don't buy an iPhone 4.

3GS or 4S only, i know i had very poor experience with signal strength on iPhone 4 and had a good
few of them. Not everybody experienced this problem but its a design flaw with the handset that
you can test yourself. The iPhone 4 needs to be in a case all the time for successful operation.

I've had an iPhone 4 for 6 months now and have never been able to replicate the "death grip" on it. It just doesn't happen for me.

waynegalway

polod wrote: »

God this is a real header wreaker lol, I decided after that Im 'going to buy once and buy well' since the iphone 4 is 'out of date' now and vodafone do not have the iphone 4s on pay as you go should I wait until they have it on PAYG ? or is there much difference between the ip4 and ip4s ? I wouln't be getting paid til friday any way so lots of time to decide lol

cheers again

You're asking a very different question now!

You said you had €350 to spend, so on the basis that that was going to get you a new 3GS or a 2nd hand 4, I was advising to get a 4.

Now it looks like you have the money for a 4s!

If you have that kind of money to spare, then go for the 4s. Its available unlocked on apple.ie from €599. The network carriers may subsidize that slightly for PAYG, but if you want one with this weeks paycheck and VF don't yet have it, that's your only option for buying it.

It will hold its value well.

8gb iPhone 4 on Apple is €499, and 16GB ones are trading for 350-ish 2nd hand. based on that, I'd guess the 4S you buy today will still be worth 400-ish in a years time, so a new 4S the handset will cost you €200 for the year. Thats about €17 a month.

It all comes down to what you can afford. Personally, I'd go for the 4S only if I had €599 to spare. For the difference in specs, a 2nd hand 4 for a little over half that price seems better value to me, though.

BTW, I don't have a 4 to sell! Just in case you think I'm repeating myself to try and get a sale!

polod

waynegalway wrote: »

You're asking a very different question now!

You said you had €350 to spend, so on the basis that that was going to get you a new 3GS or a 2nd hand 4, I was advising to get a 4.

Now it looks like you have the money for a 4s!

If you have that kind of money to spare, then go for the 4s. Its available unlocked on apple.ie from €599. The network carriers may subsidize that slightly for PAYG, but if you want one with this weeks paycheck and VF don't yet have it, that's your only option for buying it.

It will hold its value well.

8gb iPhone 4 on Apple is €499, and 16GB ones are trading for 350-ish 2nd hand. based on that, I'd guess the 4S you buy today will still be worth 400-ish in a years time, so a new 4S the handset will cost you €200 for the year. Thats about €17 a month.

It all comes down to what you can afford. Personally, I'd go for the 4S only if I had €599 to spare. For the difference in specs, a 2nd hand 4 for a little over half that price seems better value to me, though.

BTW, I don't have a 4 to sell! Just in case you think I'm repeating myself to try and get a sale!

cheers wayne you hve been very helpful god i didnt know they were 599 new thats bonkers money to spent on phone really.......Yeah a second hand iphone 4 might be my best bet so for round the 350 mark........Is there any thing to look out for when buying 1 ...do ya have to cut your sim card or something ?

waynegalway

polod wrote: »

cheers wayne you hve been very helpful god i didnt know they were 599 new thats bonkers money to spent on phone really.......Yeah a second hand iphone 4 might be my best bet so for round the 350 mark........Is there any thing to look out for when buying 1 ...do ya have to cut your sim card or something ?

I've never actually bought one second hand, so not sure what to look out for really. Yuo can trim the sim card, or if you bring it to somewhere like carphone warehouse they can trim it for you. Alternatively you can just get a new mini sim from your network provider and ask them to port your number onto it. No hasle whichever way you do it.

If you get to buy the phone in person from someone, I'd suggest you do the following:

Turn it off and back on again, just to make sure it's powering okay.
Plug it into a computer with iTunes on it, to make sure iTunes recognises it as an iPhone4 (fake iPhones are doing the rounds, and even though some of them look convincing, iTunes won't recognise it).
If you have the time, get the serial number from it and call the network provider to make sure it hasn't been reported lost or stolen.
Ideally if you can check it for connectivity, for example does it connect to bluetooth, 3G and wifi okay, that would be a good idea.
Maybe make a call on it to make sure the microphones and speakers work okay.
Try going online on it to make sure safari works.
Ask if its jailbroken (there are lots of threads about the pros and cons of that, so look on boards.ie to see for yourself).


Other than that, as long as it looks in good physical condition (ie. the screen/back is not scratched or broken, and the physical buttons do what they're supposed to do), you should be happy enough.