The best time to buy an iphone was Launch day for the iPhone 4. Come 10/14/11, the only thing you'll miss is Siri and that's it. As a launch day 3GS adopter Ive stayed on the sidelines waiting until my contract expires for......another spec bump of last year's phone. Sigh.
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Fellow early 3GS users, we are stuck again in the "S" cycle
- Thread starter SiMBa37
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S isn't so bad, it means that many of the kinks have been worked out.
If you got iPhone 4 instead of iPhone 4s then you'd have to deal with things like potential antennae issues, and also the majority of your app icons not yet designed for retina display.
If you got iPhone 4 instead of iPhone 4s then you'd have to deal with things like potential antennae issues, and also the majority of your app icons not yet designed for retina display.
It is pretty easy to sell your phone and buy a new phone out of contract for under 200$. Last time I did this I ended up making money.
I hear you, and part of me wishes I'd bit the bullet, sold the 3GS and picked up a 4 last year like I was planning to...until Antennagate made me pause, and by then the backorder wait times killed my chances.
Although the 4S is a great upgrade coming from a 3GS, and I feel like I'm 95% sure to get one, I have a couple of nagging worries...
- Apple will bust out with the fabled iPhone 5 next year and make us "off-year" upgraders feel like crap again, except this time AT&T won't pull our upgrade eligibility ahead and we'll be stuck paying a lot more for the phone we felt we should have had this year.
- The competition from Android (and WP7) now is vastly fiercer than it was in 2009, and I find myself wondering what I'm missing. Wouldn't it be nice to just drag and drop files to the phone, enjoy a 4.5" screen, send HD video to my Samsung TV via Allshare...and so on?
But my wife is an avid Apple user, we've got an iPad at home and I've got three and a half years invested in the Apple mobile ecosystem. It makes just thinking about switching a tough call. And yet, I don't buy media from iTunes and I'm a dyed-in-the-wool PC user myself. I could keep my 3GS another year, but it's 27 months old and is showing (and feeling...and acting) its age. I'm torn.
I guess I'll have to make my mind up by Friday. And even if I do submit a pre-order, I'm going to keep one eye on the Nexus Prime announcement next week...just in case.
Although the 4S is a great upgrade coming from a 3GS, and I feel like I'm 95% sure to get one, I have a couple of nagging worries...
- Apple will bust out with the fabled iPhone 5 next year and make us "off-year" upgraders feel like crap again, except this time AT&T won't pull our upgrade eligibility ahead and we'll be stuck paying a lot more for the phone we felt we should have had this year.
- The competition from Android (and WP7) now is vastly fiercer than it was in 2009, and I find myself wondering what I'm missing. Wouldn't it be nice to just drag and drop files to the phone, enjoy a 4.5" screen, send HD video to my Samsung TV via Allshare...and so on?
But my wife is an avid Apple user, we've got an iPad at home and I've got three and a half years invested in the Apple mobile ecosystem. It makes just thinking about switching a tough call. And yet, I don't buy media from iTunes and I'm a dyed-in-the-wool PC user myself. I could keep my 3GS another year, but it's 27 months old and is showing (and feeling...and acting) its age. I'm torn.
I guess I'll have to make my mind up by Friday. And even if I do submit a pre-order, I'm going to keep one eye on the Nexus Prime announcement next week...just in case.
Neither the 3GS nor the 4S are incremental upgrades. In both cases you have a brand new phone on the inside. Sure, the chassis is the same; but a faster processor, more memory, better GPU? Those are the changes that really affect how you use a phone.
I have never regretted buying the 3GS, and I will not regret buying the 4S.
I have never regretted buying the 3GS, and I will not regret buying the 4S.
What's in a name?
Apple could have called this iPhone the iPhone 5 if they wanted to.
Dual Core A5 would be enough for me.
Things I'm happy about
Much faster though battery life increases
Better Antenna
Better camera
Bluetooth 4.0
Same case (means existing accessories and cases will work)
Siri
Apple could have called this iPhone the iPhone 5 if they wanted to.
Dual Core A5 would be enough for me.
Things I'm happy about
Much faster though battery life increases
Better Antenna
Better camera
Bluetooth 4.0
Same case (means existing accessories and cases will work)
Siri
Yup. I'll hold onto my 3GS another year to get onto a proper upgrade cycle and get a properly upgraded phone (bigger screen, more durable build, true 4G/LTE tech, thinner form factor).
This "S" garbage is stealing from customers -- getting them to sign 2 year service agreements to buy phones that are recycled from the previous cycle.
This "S" garbage is stealing from customers -- getting them to sign 2 year service agreements to buy phones that are recycled from the previous cycle.
What the hell makes you think that next year's iPhone will have any of those things?
Statements like this drive me crazy, it is not stealing from anyone. you do not have to buy it, no one is forcing you to do so.
It is a product either you buy it or you do not.
Totally agree with this... The 4S is going to be a huge improvement over my 3GS and a lot of those iPhone 4 problems have been worked out... also, I see myself using Siri a lot, so I couldn't be happier.
Now I just have to stay up until 3:01 a.m. on Friday morning to preorder (eastern time.)
Does battery life really increase though? The 3G talk time goes up by 1 hour, yet the standby time goes down by a staggering 100 hours!
Source: http://www.apple.com/iphone/compare-iphones/
To me that seems like that bigger processor definitely is curtailing battery life?
Don't know about you, but I've rarely seen iPhones last over a day or 2. Neither of those quite hits even the 100 hours lost.
Doesn't seem like the iPhone is ever truly in standby, so not really a big deal
I don't care. It is still a major upgrade from my 3GS.
Besides, I consider the 4S a supercharged iPhone 4 and I have no problem getting an improved iPhone 4
I know right, thats about 4 days! if you haven't used your smart phone over those 4 days, something is wrong. heh
Same boat here. My 3GS is long in the tooth. Instead of switching to Android though, I will consider buying a used iPhone 4 32gb and remain out of contract. Then dumping that thing when the iP5 comes out. Hopefully, Lining me up for the redesigned phones
My other choice is to buy a 64gb 4S w/contract and sell that when the next phone is releases. But this seems like more of a hassle, especially since I will probably lose my unlimited plan if I go this route.
I like the new 4S, but I don't "pay $400 and be stuck with it for 2 years" like it.
All I was really hoping for was a bigger screen.
True story
I called my mom last night who's had her 16gb iPhone 4 for UNDER a year & she's eligible for the upgrade (as am i)
and i told her to preorder get the 4s and i'll sell her 4 for her to be a wash for her.
Does she need all the bells & whistles... No
But i can't feel good about paying a bill every month knowing there is someone else paying the SAME THING & i dont have access to it