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Anyone else on the fence? I have serious doubts at $599

M

melman101

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Sep 3, 2009
2,751
295
Hey all. I am having serious doubts for iPhone 4 for myself at $599. My wife is definitely getting one, so I'll have access to the video and picture taking abilities. I just don't think its a worthy upgrade at $599. Maybe it's just me. I don't know. I did reserve one at the apple store but I don't think I'm gonna pick it up. I don't know, anyone else in the same boat?

I'm thinking I can hold on to that cash and get the iPhone 5 at the proper price.

BTW, I have had every iPhone on launch day. This one, I don't know.
 
My two cents, I wouldn't have gotten the iPhone 4 unless i was eligible for a full upgrade. I was, so, I did. :)
 
Traded two in a Best Buy for $225 each.

$800 New Phones
$450 Trade IN
---------------------
$350 out of pocket for two new iPhone 4s.... $175 for each phone = less than lowest upgrade price.

If you sell yours and offset the cost and your wife is eligible for the lowest upgrade price, they may average out to be OK like mine. I'm paying $599 and my wife is paying $199 but in the end we are paying $175 each.

The iPhone 4 will be worth more in the future than any other iPhone toward the purchase of the iPhone 5 and in addition, you will NOT be under contract when you pay the full price for your phone.
 
drober30 said:
Traded two in a Best Buy for $225 each.

$800 New Phones
$450 Trade IN
---------------------
$350 out of pocket for two new iPhone 4s.... $175 for each phone = less than lowest upgrade price.

If you sell yours and offset the cost and your wife is eligible for the lowest upgrade price, they may average out to be OK like mine. I'm paying $599 and my wife is paying $199 but in the end we are paying $175 each.

The iPhone 4 will be worth more in the future than any other iPhone toward the purchase of the iPhone 5 and in addition, you will NOT be under contract when you pay the full price for your phone.
Click to expand...

Thats a good idea, but to trade in in-store you have had to bought it there. You can do it online, but my wife wants to keep hers as a backup. I mean I could technically buy it if I want, I'm just not sure I want to spend $600 bucks no matter which way I look at it.

I just don't want to go threw the hassle. Plus, maybe it's good that we are keeping one phone with a regular sim.
 
It's bloody £599 or €699 in Europe and you complain about the price :p

At $599 it is a cheap upgrade heh ;)
 
Not sure myself either...

I use my iPad almost constantly when at home / commuting (rarely).

Whilst I really like the iPhone 4, I'm not sure if it's worth the money - I love my 3G, but i've had it for 22 months so entitled to an upgrade. I was hoping to drop my tariff down by £10 a month, but it doesn't look like it'll be possible as most of the tariffs have gone up.

I quite like the look of the HTC Desire, just not sure I want to jump from the apple ship..

Any opinions would be welcome...
 
melman101 said:
Hey all. I am having serious doubts for iPhone 4 for myself at $599. My wife is definitely getting one, so I'll have access to the video and picture taking abilities. I just don't think its a worthy upgrade at $599. Maybe it's just me. I don't know. I did reserve one at the apple store but I don't think I'm gonna pick it up. I don't know, anyone else in the same boat?

I'm thinking I can hold on to that cash and get the iPhone 5 at the proper price.

BTW, I have had every iPhone on launch day. This one, I don't know.
Click to expand...

You know why I didn't get the original?

mwkb2wm.jpg


I just can't justify spending $599 on a phone (even if it is cutting edge and more than just a phone). If I had to pay full price for the iPhone 4 I would have passed on it, easily.
 
I have bought every iPhone ever released
on launch day regardless of price.

This year that tradition ends.

Why? $599 for a 16GB phone that forces
me into a new 2-year contract is just absurd.

Oh....I tried to get the phone. Went to Radio
Shack and got a $247 credit on my 3GS trade-in.
However, was not able to preorder the phone in
the store so I got my phone back.

Bottom line is that it may well be worth all
of us in this same boat to wait it out another
year, let our contract run out, and jump on
iPhone 5 next June for $199.
 
600 dollars - ouch. I can't see spending that much for a phone.

Oh crap, my sig is showing a Nexus One. Move a long, nothing to see here :p
 
Maflynn - how do you find the Nexus One?

Is it easy top synch with OSX? How does it compare with the 3G / 3GS?

Also, is the battery life as much of an issue as publicised?
 
NJRonbo said:
I have bought every iPhone ever released
on launch day regardless of price.

This year that tradition ends.

Why? $599 for a 16GB phone that forces
me into a new 2-year contract is just absurd.

Oh....I tried to get the phone. Went to Radio
Shack and got a $247 credit on my 3GS trade-in.
However, was not able to preorder the phone in
the store so I got my phone back.

Bottom line is that it may well be worth all
of us in this same boat to wait it out another
year, let our contract run out, and jump on
iPhone 5 next June for $199.
Click to expand...

At $599 you wont have to re-up your contract. So if you love AT&T then that may not be a good thing but if your one who wants to switch to Verizon when that materializes, you could sell your iPhone4 for a few hundred, thus only paying $199 for it and switch to Verizon and pay the new customer rate.
 
iann1982 said:
Maflynn - how do you find the Nexus One?
Click to expand...
I like it. One thing that I had to do was readjust my expectations. Like anything else, I was used to the 3GS and its UI. Interacting with android was an adjustment but once I got how things worked, I liked it better then the iPhone. I have more options, more customization on the phone then the iPhone does. I've rooted it and loaded a custom rom, that really extends the power and performance of the phone.

Is it easy top synch with OSX? How does it compare with the 3G / 3GS?
Click to expand...
iTunes can be set to sync your contacts with google which I had done, and I use an app called doubletwist that basically allows syncing of your music and playlists to the android phone. So from that perspective its a seamless switch. More so because most of my stuff is not synced via the "cloud"

Also, is the battery life as much of an issue as publicised?
Click to expand...
My battery life is on par with my 3GS. I got a good solid day out of the 3GS and I'm getting a good solid day out of the N1. More so, I can easily extend the battery life with a 25 dollar replacement battery. I think google showed that you can have a replaceble battery and still not ruin any nice lines of the phone, in fact its a wonderfully looking phone in its own right :)
 
Yes its expensive but to me it's worth it regardless!!!

If you are not eligible for the upgrade price, paying the full amount is a tough pill to swallow, however, for as much enjoyment that my iPhone gives my EVERY DAY, I am buying anyway.

I will also "self justify" this by saying that my iPhone has saved me on countless occasions by reminding me to pay a bill so I don't incur late fees, so it's more than just an entertainment factor but a very practical one too!

It's not that your old iPhone wont do these things, I'm just saying don't feel so bad if you decide to treat yourself to the new one!

Selling your old one will help offset the cost of the new one.

I'm very excited for the new phone with iOS4.
 
At $599 you wont have to re-up your contract.
Click to expand...

Sorry, wrong.

Bought the 3GS last June. I am only a year into
a 2-year contract.

They want $600 and a brand new 2-year contract.

Says so when I check my eligibility on the Apple site.
 
NJRonbo said:
Sorry, wrong.

Bought the 3GS last June. I am only a year into
a 2-year contract.

They want $600 and a brand new 2-year contract.

Says so when I check my eligibility on the Apple site.
Click to expand...

Going on the AT&T site, says the exact opposite. I can get a no commitment iPhone for 600, i.e., no contact but still locked.
 
Why not sell your 3GS to make most of the money that it will cost to buy the iP4 at $599?

I wish we could get out of this routine of carrier subsidies (though i don't see it happening anytime soon). If iPhones were only sold unsubsidized through Apple, I doubt they would be sold at 600/700 price points. These are really just inflated prices used to let carriers sell phones subsidized and lock people into contracts.
 
iann1982 said:
Maflynn - how do you find the Nexus One?

Is it easy top synch with OSX? How does it compare with the 3G / 3GS?

Also, is the battery life as much of an issue as publicised?
Click to expand...

I also have a Nexus One. I will attempt to answer your questions in order.....

1. No it isnt. Its ok
2. Battery life is poor to average
 
Going on the AT&T site, says the exact opposite. I can get a no commitment iPhone for 600, i.e., no contact but still locked.
Click to expand...
Can't get that information their server is down.
Can connect to site but hitting upgrade tells me
to try again later.

I'm just giving you the message I got when I
tried ordering iPhone 4 from Apple and the applet
that connected to the AT&T site.

Makes sense. I am only 1 year into a 2-year contract.
They only allow an upgrade every 18 months. They won't
just let me off the hook with a "no-commitment" phone
without completing my contract obligation.

However, if you pay over $100 a month to AT&T
service that changes. They allow you to get a
no-commitment phone or a discount on the iPhone 4.

I don't pay nearly $100 a month in service to AT&T
 
profets said:
Why not sell your 3GS to make most of the money that it will cost to buy the iP4 at $599?

I wish we could get out of this routine of carrier subsidies (though i don't see it happening anytime soon). If iPhones were only sold unsubsidized through Apple, I doubt they would be sold at 600/700 price points. These are really just inflated prices used to let carriers sell phones subsidized and lock people into contracts.
Click to expand...

My iPhone is somewhat scratched up. Most I could get would probably be $250. I'm not one for selling items online.

Yeah, I'm just not feeling the iPhone 4 at $599. I don't know, the more I think about, the less inclined I am to get one. I felt completely different last year, adn spent $800 on two iPhone 3GS's. But this year, I just don't feel the same.

Next year, when iPhone 5 is out, I'll definitely be in again :).

It's a matter of principle. AT&T screwing their loyal iPhone customers. I can't believe that they never mentioned last year we wouldn't be upgrade eligible for 18 months after the 3GS purchase.

I still would have went with the 3GS as that was a huge speed improvement over the 3G :).

Edit: Also with me getting an iPad, the usage of my iPhone really has dropped dramatically.
 
That's the way it works from here forward.

You purchase an iPhone every year you are
screwed.

That is, unless you spend a lot of money each
month in service. Those people complete their
contract obligation faster.

I can live with my 3GS for another year and
ride out the contract. The iPhone 4 is a nice
improvement but not critical. In another year
we may have a 4G iPhone and the capability
to do network video calling. That would be
worth the upgrade at a discount price.
 
NJRonbo said:
Sorry, wrong.

Bought the 3GS last June. I am only a year into
a 2-year contract.

They want $600 and a brand new 2-year contract.

Says so when I check my eligibility on the Apple site.
Click to expand...

The early upgrade prices are 399/499. If you go that route you re-up for 2 more years and you take the new terms with the higher ETF fee.

If you buy the phone outright 599/699 then your current contract is unaffected and will expire next summer if you were a launch day 3GS. You still keep your lower ETF fee of $175.
 
Nope.

I was given only one option when I preordered
the iPhone both on the Apple site and at Radio
Shack when they verified....

A $599 phone with contract.
 
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