Think I will finally be buying an iphone, but need a bit of advice...

I got a 3GS on Orange in December and I do not regret the decision. So far Orange have been really good to me (I was amazed to see how responsive they were to my questions). There are a few points you might consider:

First, in my area I actually get better reception using the 2G network than the 3G. My phone seems to hold a signal enough for text and conversation even if it has 1 bar, so the signal is not strong but it is sufficient most of the time. I hardly use 3G, relying on WiFi at home and at the office.

Second, if you can wait for the 4G it is probably worth it. It's not about getting the latest phone, but maximizing the time you can use the phone that you buy. I used my previous phone for 5 years and it cost me less than £5 month over its lifetime. I would expect the shelf life of the new 4G to be at least a year longer than the 3GS (I presume Apple will stop supporting older models of the iPhone at some point to make us buy new ones).

My battery time is good enough to last a whole day of use unless I am using a GPS tracking program (then I get about 2.5 hours). I set the screen brightness to medium, use only 2G and turn of WiFi unless I am using it. I recharge the battery at night while I sleep. I expect that the battery might be easier to manage when Apple finally pulls its finger out and includes user profiles for power settings. I have never experienced a situation in which I have run out of battery power on the iPhone. I haven't had it for long, but it doesn't seem to be an issue and there are external battery packs and cases for emergencies if the phone is essential to you.

i'm not trying to be funny about your questions, and i can't really offer any help about orange since i am on o2, but i think you are asking these questions on the wrong forum. you will more than likely get a twisted set of answers that favor the iphone since this is an apple site. having said that, and ignoring the orange part, i find my iphone ok, but getting stale.

1. with regards to price, if now is the only time you'll be able to buy one in the next year then do it. you could always try and sell your 3gs and buy a payg 4th gen phone when they are released, but if you already know you cant buy one around its release anyway then you shouldn't be worrying about it.

2. reception is fine for me, but where i live is right on the edge of a 3g area so i often get 1 bar of 3g taking over from full edge reception. sure i can turn 3g off, but turning that on and off gets boring really fast. you'll see why if you get one, especially in comparison to your android phone if you have the switches for that kind of thing set up on a home page. my suggestion would be to take a friend with an orange iphone out there (if you know someone with one) and see what you get. other than that no one can really say what kind of signal you will get.

3. you'll probably notice a nice speed difference over your magic. although if you have an ipod touch 2nd gen you'll have some idea of this already. not sure how much faster the 3gs is over the touches but the 3gs is snappy... shame about the zooming in and out animations that slow things down, especially when you want to quickly flick between apps, like internet to email, for example (you've probably seen this on the ipod?)

4. no real problems, only the usual lack of some features that keep being brought up. despite the general opinion that the iphone is a fragile toy it is actually pretty tough. i'm not saying throw it against a brick wall for laughs, but dont worry about it slipping out of your pocket or off a desk. i've dropped mine twice while getting out of my car and once onto a tiled floor. other than light cosmetic damage to the back and bezel its fine.

5. i charge every night. i'm on wifi about 6 hours of the day (with 1 bar of 3g, this nails the battery) and full 3g for the rest at work. i check emails on it regularly during the day, sometimes game for about 30 minutes (bejeweled, nothing really intense), check facebook on it, browse the net now and then (3g and wifi). i rarely make or take calls but i do text anywhere between 5 to 20 times a day depending. i pull it off charge at 7:30 am and put it on charge around 10:30pm and usually have anywhere between 20 and 50% battery depending on how much of the above has been done. i will sometimes top it up if i'm going out on a night.

hopefully this helps, but like i said, get opinions from more than just this site. it's always good to get a varied set of opinions rather than using one source.

as a bit of a disclaimer, i am someone that is considering an N1 or Desire next. I've had the iphone for almost a couple of years now and need a change. i'm not entirely sure at the moment. i do know someone that went from a magic to an iphone and he thinks i'm an idiot for wanting to try android, but hey, everyone is different. the iphone is good, but a few things stop it from being great for me, things that other phones now offer while still offering a sleek design - both hardware and software. a year a go it was all about the iphone, now it's not so black and white imo.