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I love my 3GS but on reflection its not worth upgrading for in my opinion.

N

needthephone

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 4, 2006
813
0
sydney
I love my 3GS to bits, couldn't be happier with it. It's fast, has a great camera and the voice control is useful.

BUT if I am being totally honest with myself I think good as it is it just is not worth upgrading from a perfectly good 3G for.

My wife has my 3G so its not wasted but deep down I wish I had waited for what is to come.

Its good but its just more of tha same and I hope apple do something major next time. I'll get that of course!
 
Wow, I can't imagine having to go back to the slow-as-**** 3G. The 3GS was well worth what I paid for it (about $500) and if I could go back in time, I would absolutely do it again.
 
If they had done a simple or slight case redesign, it would've all of sudden become "something major" for all of the ambivalent 3G owners.

That said, next year might be just a case redesign and a couple of new features like the 3G over the original.
 
Well it's a good thing your 30 days ain't up, so you still have time to take it back. You must not use your iPhone very much because I've noticed a difference in my JB 3gs and my wifes JB 3g.
 
Buy a new case. Bam! Major upgrade.

The camera to me is the biggest feature.

Other than that, the apps run the same, but load faster. Websites load faster. As it stands now, there's not much difference between the 3GS and 3G if you're not huge into the camera. I'm not surprised if people feel they would have been happy with the 3G -- until new apps come out. It's basically like buying a PS3 when it first came out to run PS2 games.
 
impatient bastage that I can be sometimes, I'd rather go back to my Palm Pilot Pro / Nokia 8260 than go from a 3GS back to a 3G.

with the way I use my phone the speed improvement in app switching is everything to me.
 
I noticed an enourmous difference between the 3g and the 3gs in performance (both freshly formatted).

I cna play games side by side and can see my 3g stuttering away randomly whereas my 3gs is smooth.

browsing speeds are so much faster rendering. apps load faster. obvious better camera, love the video recording.

defo worth it. paid 538 for 32gb white with 02 simplicity and sold my 16gb for hlaf the price of the 32gb and cancelled my old o2 contract. good price for upgrade :D:apple:
 
I'm waiting for the next version in 2010 (and am not eligible for an upgrad until then anyway), but I'm really looking forward to the voice recognition feature. How has that been working for most people? One of my complaints with the iPhone 3G is that it's almost impossible to do two things at once with it (okay, like drive....:)).
 
I upgraded from a back 16 GB 3G to a white 16 GB 3G S and couldn't be happier. I purchased the new one for $215 total with tax plus the $18 upgrade fee on the next bill and sold my old 3G on Craigslist for $300 cash.

The speed, improved graphics, camera and voice control were all well worth the 30 mins worth of work to sell the phone and actually make money on it. Even if I had to shell out $75 or so on my end to cover the difference it is still well worth it. And after hearing how much improved 3.1 will be I can't wait.

Oh and off topic but my battery life did suck in the beginning, 1% per hour, I had 3G, location on, brightness 45% with auto dimming and push e-mail only on. After a full week now and a full cycle of the battery its now 1% every 2 hours.
 
Maybe this is why you shouldn't upgrade phones every year. I certainly wouldn't spend even another $300 next year if I could get the next model at that price. Really, the only problems with my EDGE phone was the limited storage (8GB) and lack of 3G.

For me to upgrade from this thing, it would take at least a 64GB model and 4G without losing battery life and AT&T actually having a little 4G service around here. After checking 3G speeds locally, I would just settle for those to consistently top 2Mbps everywhere I go. When I travel to highly populated areas, the speed falls under 1Mbps. That's not good for $30/month.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
If they had done a simple or slight case redesign, it would've all of sudden become "something major" for all of the ambivalent 3G owners.

That said, next year might be just a case redesign and a couple of new features like the 3G over the original.
Click to expand...

I view the upgrades from the original to the 3G (3G, GPS, case redesign) to be pretty substantial. As great as voice control, a faster processor, better camera, etc are, I don't think they cary as much weight. Imagine the iPhone without the now standard core of 3G and GPS.

I've used a 3G S and I loved how fast it was, I could really tell a difference going back to my 3G. That said, they didn't do a big overhaul with the iPhone, just the natural upgrades that many electronic devices get (bigger hard drive, faster processor, better software). Doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary. I mean, they have to upgrade something worthwhile to make it sell.
 
I remember reading a review of the 3GS and someone likening it to buying a faster car. Once you see how much greener the other side is, you don't want to go back.

It is what it is. The 3GS is a very worthwhile upgrade, but only if you can get it for the fully subsidized price. $300 for 32GB of internal storage and twice the performance will change the iPhone experience for every user. While it sucks that it took Apple 3 iterations to get the original idea working right, having an iPhone that doesn't lag or doesn't crash when there's too much going on is more than enough for me to upgrade, and I'm not a heavy user by any means.

I think my biggest complaint about the 1st and 2nd gen iPhones was the fact that it almost felt like the phones were never there when I needed them. When I needed to place a call fast, I would have to wait for the pokey 400 Mhz processor to open the phone app and allow me to navigate to the right contact and hit call (which would take 3-5 secs just to begin initiating the call.). Paying $300 for a phone that no longer has any of those issues is good enough for me.
 
I wasn't too excited at first about the upgrade to the 3G from my original iPhone (I loved that thing).

I had to test one of my apps on my old phone after using my 3G and I couldn't beeeeelllllliiiieve how slow it felt - it was painful. It felt like when I go from my MBP to the computer I'm forced to use at work :p

Comparing the two the difference is huge - made the upgrade worth it.
 
I brought the original 1st gen iphone back on the launch day.
Didnt decided to upgrade when their was a big rush on the 3g.

Can someone explain whether the people who brought the iphone 3g
when it came out had to buy the handset as well? I had to buy the handset and
the contract.

Bit dissapointed that they couldnt let the original iphone owners upgrade
to the 3GS the same way people upgrading to the 3G.
(talking about 1st genners, contract expired)

Is it worth it. Im pretty upset. 18months using the phone and it
feels like ive been kicked in the nuts.
 
I can only speak about the upgrade from the 2G original iPhone as I never did upgrade to the 3G (AT&T didn't have great 3G coverage in my area until this year) and I must say this is a HUGE upgrade form the original iPhone...it is like night and day...the speed, the graphics, the camera, it has been a truly remarkable upgrade. I could NEVER go back to my old 2G...as much as I loved it compared to this new 3GS it is PAINFULLY slow in every aspect...
I couldn't be happier with my 3GS...
 
The 2G-to-3G or 3G-to-3GS major revision argument should be irrelevant. It is no reason to not add new features and stay competitive.
 
Ronnoco said:
I can only speak about the upgrade from the 2G original iPhone as I never did upgrade to the 3G (AT&T didn't have great 3G coverage in my area until this year) and I must say this is a HUGE upgrade form the original iPhone...it is like night and day...the speed, the graphics, the camera, it has been a truly remarkable upgrade. I could NEVER go back to my old 2G...as much as I loved it compared to this new 3GS it is PAINFULLY slow in every aspect...
I couldn't be happier with my 3GS...
Click to expand...

But all that money for what those first 3g owners got for free.

For the people with out of contract 1st gen iphone, the upgrade
to the 3gs shouldnt have to be payed for. In my dreams though.
 
I love how some keep saying "3gs isn't a big upgrade from 3g"..... They must not have a 3gs because it is a HUGE upgrade. (IF you do like the op and you're satisfied then me thinks you're nuts) The speed alone is 100% worth it for me. Add in the better camera and video I'm sold. OMG they look the same, no front facing camera (tweens love it) no flash (worthless on a cell phone cary a freakin camera) blah blah blah.... get's old. I tried updating my wifes 3g and I was ready to put a bullet in my head...... Soooo slow. Cydia opend in about a minute and a half which was fine when I didn't know what I now know. But now I know you know ;)

JimmyKirk said:
But all that money for what those first 3g owners got for free.
For the people with out of contract 1st gen iphone, the upgrade
to the 3gs shouldnt have to be payed for. In my dreams though.
Click to expand...
Not to be rude but what are you talking about? I paid for my 3g and I paid for my 3gs.... kinda lost with your statement.
 
ppilone said:
I wasn't too excited at first about the upgrade to the 3G from my original iPhone (I loved that thing).

I had to test one of my apps on my old phone after using my 3G and I couldn't beeeeelllllliiiieve how slow it felt - it was painful. It felt like when I go from my MBP to the computer I'm forced to use at work :p

Comparing the two the difference is huge - made the upgrade worth it.
Click to expand...


I agree. I upgraded from a 1st Gen 8GB phone to a new 32GB 3GS and talk about the grass is greener on the other side. I saw the difference immediately but going back to my 1st Gen which is a glorified (I love that phone) iPod Touch now made me realize just how bloody slow that things was. It was painful waiting for apps to open and firing up Safari was like trying to pour frozen honey out of a jar.

For 1st Gen owners upgrading to the 3GS it is a huge jump. But I can understand how upgrading from the 3G model may not have as much bang for the buck.

I will say the voice control feature is huge. Being able to dial a number without going through menus while dodging crazy drivers on Los Angeles freeways is priceless.
 
VenusianSky said:
The 2G-to-3G or 3G-to-3GS major revision argument should be irrelevant. It is no reason to not add new features and stay competitive.
Click to expand...

Exactly, but some peeps are arguing it is not enough of an upgrade for a 3G owner to take the plunge.

I hummed and hawed, and in the end, put in my order with Rogers for the new 3GS. I only pay $199, and get twice the storage of my current 3G. I'll hand down my 3G to the wife, and it's win-win :)
 
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