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iPhone 1 or iPhone 3G?

daneoni

daneoni

macrumors G5
Original poster
Mar 24, 2006
12,036
1,957
So i've just got off the phone with my dad and he's told me he wants my current iPhone 1 because its unlocked and will work anywhere (he travels a lot) and also since you cant buy one without activating in store (he doesn t live in this country). He's willing to give me £100 for it

Now this means i'll have to replace mine but im torn between getting another iPhone 1 from ebay and unlocking to use on my current simplicity tariff and continue as normal or just biting the bullet and going for a legit 3G iPhone since i can just about afford it.

Thing is i passionately hate lenghty 18 month contracts and i'd rather stick with my simplicity tariff, save £180 (online £25 simplicity) & have the flexibility to cancel anytime i want compared to a normal 35/18 month lockdown tariff but going for iPhone 1 means i have no warranty if anything goes wrong and i have to deal with hacking tradeoffs even though somewhat fun (no visual voicemail, have to wait for workarounds of each software update etc). Question then becomes are all these tradeoffs worth £180?.

Now getting the legit 3G means all the perks but i have to shell out £180 extra which is significant for a student (booze money) and will be locked to an 18 month contract but hey at least i can upgrade to new iPhones for subsidized prices even though it means i'll be locked in for another 18 months yet again (starting to feel like Rogers' 3 yrs contracts). Also i'm not really a fan of the 3G iPhone design nor its yellowy screens.

Im kinda torn, then again i could just get the BlackBerry Bold sim free but thats kind of unlikely

Suggestions?
 
I've been having the same dilemma. Essentially what it has come down to is how important is 3G data? My answer is that it's not worth the extra money. So, personally, I'd stick with the 1st gen iPhone. All the perks of 2.0 firmware, none of the extra costs
 
I'm not familiar with the exact conversion rate between USD and GBP, but unlocked 2G iPhones are selling for $500 on eBay. You have a particular reason for giving your dad such a steal? ;)
 
Beric said:
I'm not familiar with the exact conversion rate between USD and GBP, but unlocked 2G iPhones are selling for $500 on eBay. You have a particular reason for giving your dad such a steal? ;)
Click to expand...

Haha yeah simply cos he's my dad. Familial discount i suppose.
 
Go 3G, it comes out to be the same price as it would be from verizon or anywhere else, and once you use a 3g speed, it's hard to go backwards.
 
Beric said:
I'm not familiar with the exact conversion rate between USD and GBP, but unlocked 2G iPhones are selling for $500 on eBay. You have a particular reason for giving your dad such a steal? ;)
Click to expand...

Just for a reference not meant to be smart @$$ or anything but use the x2 rate, I think the exact is ~1.9 right now :)


I am also in a bind here, I like the look of the 3G and I like having everything new, however, I could probably get a iPhone 1G for very cheap, and seeing as how I can get a contract with the first gen, right now, and end up paying so much less in the long run I am pretty torn. The GPS is one feature I'd really like to have, but the "find me" feature has saved my friend and I before, it's just a little more difficult to use.
 
1st gen. iPhone all the way!

My advice to you is to go for the 1st gen iPhone. I say this for many reasons. I personally think the original iPhone looks better. People have said that it feels sturdier than the iPhone 3g. Another thing is that people are making a big deal out of 3g but do not understand that it will drain the battery much much faster. Also don't forget that you will be probably paying for 3g even though not many places have them (at least not in the US). Many people are currently complaining about issues with the 3g iPhone. A common complaint is the yellowish tint that the iPhone 3g has. Even though an Apple spokesman said it was a deliberate move, I personally do not like it. In fact if it was "deliberate," Apple would have not released a "fix" yesterday addressing the issue.

Finally, when you travel, you want to carry that beautiful piece of technology with you right? Even though some people don't travel much, its good to know that all you need to do is swap sim cards. Honestly, I could afford the iPhone 3g and a two year contract with AT&T. But why should I tie myself to a 2 year contract for 3G? I am very satisfied with my UNLOCKED 16GB iPhone. I travelled to a bunch of places with it and it has been working flawlessly with every sim card.

In the end, the decision is yours of course but I thought I would state my opinion.

Good luck with the decision.
 
A 3G iPhone works with simplicity out of the box due to the new 2.0 firmware accepting any o2 SIM.
 
There are numerous reasons to choose the 1st iPhone.

3G pros:
First, 3G - I don't use 3G - it's too expensive in my country and Wi-Fi is just enough for me.
Second, GPS - I don't need it so bad.
Third, Battery Life - Sure, battery life might be better on the 3G - but that's never been a problem for me with the 1st gen.

3G cons:
It's the plastic back on the 3G that kills me - aluminum looks and feels much classier. First gen is also completely flat, it weights a bit less, it's a bit smaller, it's easy to unlock, it has a dock in the box by default (yes, you can do without it, but it's a cool and very convenient accessory).

Conclusion:
If you don't need the GPS and/or 3G - go for the first gen.
 
Wow it seems a lot still prefer iPhone EDGE over 3G and with good reason after all the only true difference is GPS (Locate me works just fine for my needs) & 3G (O2 coverage sucks anyway). Its not a real upgrade merely one designed to get people to buy more phones by answering their 3 major complaints: No 3G, no GPS & too expensive
 
16GB iPhone EDGE for £380?

I was just wondering if an 16GB iPhone 2G BNIB still shrink wrapped is worth £380?
 
I'm having a similar debate.

First, I was content on getting a Touch 16GB and upgrading to 2.0. Then I thought about getting a 3G iPhone, having service for a month and then cancelling. Now I'm reading about iPhone 1st gen unlocked and how that's a viable option.

Touch: It would be cheaper and easy to purchase

3G iPhone: GPS (does it work w/o cell service?) and better battery life, brand new

1st gen iPhone: Unlocked to use as phone, I'm gunshy of Ebay, don't want a used one

Does anyone have any advice on this? I wouldn't mind a 1st gen iPhone unlocked if it was never used and not purchased through ebay.
 
arnette said:
I'm having a similar debate.

First, I was content on getting a Touch 16GB and upgrading to 2.0. Then I thought about getting a 3G iPhone, having service for a month and then cancelling. Now I'm reading about iPhone 1st gen unlocked and how that's a viable option.

Touch: It would be cheaper and easy to purchase

3G iPhone: GPS (does it work w/o cell service?) and better battery life, brand new

1st gen iPhone: Unlocked to use as phone, I'm gunshy of Ebay, don't want a used one

Does anyone have any advice on this? I wouldn't mind a 1st gen iPhone unlocked if it was never used and not purchased through ebay.
Click to expand...

I've been looking around online, and I haven't seen any real unopened 1st Gens. I think the best bet is to go for the 1st gen, and try to find a friend or someone who upgraded.
 
Rhosfelt said:
I've been looking around online, and I haven't seen any real unopened 1st Gens. I think the best bet is to go for the 1st gen, and try to find a friend or someone who upgraded.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't need to be 'unopened' as a person would need to unlock it somehow. I occasionally see ebay postings where the seller claims it was only opened to unlock the phone. But again, I despise ebay and just can't buy one from there.

Oh, if I only had friends who were as geek-friendly as me.
I wouldn't mind paying the extra to end service for a 3G iPhone. They will eventually be hacked/jailbroken anyway I'm sure (months from now). I'm more interested in all the other functionality other than the phone. An unlocked phone would just be a sweet, added bonus.
 
Rhosfelt said:
380 pounds seriously? That's a lot you might want to look into open boxed phones, but with clear pictures so you can tell it is really in pristine condition.
Click to expand...

So too much, MSRP is 329 so he's adding £51 pound rarity tax. To be honest i'd rather get an unopened fresh phone than an opened one i'm not really a fan of used products. Someone just tried to sell me a 8GB iPhone 3G for £400 excl shipping. I was like seriously?
 
Bobjob186 said:
Go 3G, it comes out to be the same price as it would be from verizon or anywhere else, and once you use a 3g speed, it's hard to go backwards.
Click to expand...
*
I would have to disagree...I really don't see the huge difference between 3g and edge...I thought it was going to be super speed...that said I say go with the 3g, I actually like the design better, to me it looks nicer, the white one looks really nice!:apple:
 
daneoni said:
So too much, MSRP is 329 so he's adding £51 pound rarity tax. To be honest i'd rather get an unopened fresh phone than an opened one i'm not really a fan of used products. Someone just tried to sell me a 8GB iPhone 3G for £400 excl shipping. I was like seriously?
Click to expand...

Yeah I understand about the unopened part, but I think I've come to the fact that I'd rather go a little cheaper because people with the iPhones could get a new one for $200 (100 pounds) so I shouldn't pay more than that. Just because it is completely unused doesn't make it worth 3x as much.
 
daneoni said:
Its not a real upgrade merely one designed to get people to buy more phones by answering their 3 major complaints: No 3G, no GPS & too expensive
Click to expand...

Wow, now answering to consumer feedback = not a real upgrade? I disagree. Apple should continue listening to consumer feedback and implementing features that are most requested (copy&paste...non AT&T exclusivity...etc)
 
Let's Sekuhara! said:
Wow, now answering to consumer feedback = not a real upgrade? I disagree. Apple should continue listening to consumer feedback and implementing features that are most requested (copy&paste...non AT&T exclusivity...etc)
Click to expand...

You misinterpret, i meant the upgrade wasn't a complete overhaul/redesign...revolutionary merely evolutionary. In essence its what iPhone 1 should have been from the start.
 
daneoni said:
You misinterpret, i meant the upgrade wasn't a complete overhaul/redesign...revolutionary merely evolutionary. In essence its what iPhone 1 should have been from the start.
Click to expand...

I was going to say that the OP was merely stating that he thinks it's a phone 1.5 (just added something to sell some units before they really change it).

I feel the same way, but I waited for the new version only to be slightly disappointed that there were only what 2 major changes?
 
Rhosfelt said:
I was going to say that the OP was merely stating that he thinks it's a phone 1.5 (just added something to sell some units before they really change it).

I feel the same way, but I waited for the new version only to be slightly disappointed that there were only what 2 major changes?
Click to expand...

Amen
 
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