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iPhone 3G vs 3G S, is it worth it?

H

halogram

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 19, 2009
8
0
Norway
I am considering an iPhone for the first time. But I wonder if I should go for the 3G 8GB model, or the 3G S 16 GB model.

Most of the phone usage will be:
SMS
Mail
Twitter
Facebook
and other applications that do not require network connection.

Some web browsing
Some picture taking

Rarely any games will be played.

So I just wonder what you people think..... Is the 3G model more than ok for my kind of use? Or do I really have to go for the 3G S and thus use more money?

Sincerely thank you for all thoughts and replies in advance :)
 
jmann said:
The 8GB 3G sounds like a better fit for you. Are you going to be storing much movies or photos? I think that the 3GS is a bit unnecessary (but nice) since you aren't going to be using very many intense applications. :)
Click to expand...

No movies.
Some photos.
Some music too, but not too much since I have an iPod Classic already.

I have not been able to try out the phones that much, so I am not able to tell if the speed difference is that important to me.

Besides, the world keeps on moving and new iPhones will come, so I am not sure if the 3G S is worth it right now? Of course I could be wrong. New software could perhaps ditch the 3G model and only support the 3G S?

Just guessing here.
 
I lean towards "yes"

My reasoning is you may change your usage... If you start using more graphic intense apps, then the added speed of the 3GS will be greatly appreciated. Also, if you jailbreak, the 3GS speed will help a LOT if you use the backgrounder app, themes, etc. Also, the 3GS will let you use the 7.2 mbs network when it's available in areas. That coupled with my logic that you should buy a refurbished 3GS at the lower price since that's what you'll be getting anyway if you ever have to exchange it at the genius bar. (new cover and new glass)

There you have it... Best luck to you!
 
Question...

Are you an AT&T customer? If not, don't forget to ask a friend that uses AT&T Wireless or someone on here that does to do the refer a friend program through AT&T, you'll get a $25 credit and they'll get a $25 credit to when you switch to AT&T Wireless.
 
I always buy the best I can afford at the time but that's because I tend to keep things for ages. If my iPhone broke right now I'd buy a 3GS because I'd be happier with it for longer.

My brother on the hand just bought a 3G, but this is the 3rd phone he's bought in the last year.
 
megapopular said:
Are you an AT&T customer? If not, don't forget to ask a friend that uses AT&T Wireless or someone on here that does to do the refer a friend program through AT&T, you'll get a $25 credit and they'll get a $25 credit to when you switch to AT&T Wireless.
Click to expand...

I live in Norway :) So no AT&T here :)
 
In terms you can really understand: 3GS er verdt oppgraderingen som nevnt over, pga farten, raskere nett og et bedre kamera, samt videokamera med VGA-oppløsning.

And for you other guys: I agree with the dude who mentioned the speed, and the 7.2mbps, its freakin' brilliant!

I would choose a 3GS over a 3G any day. I'm on my 3rd iPhone now (went from 1. gen, to 2. gen (3G) to 3GS, and I'm as happy as I can ever be with a phone :)
 
it really depends on you, from your description a 3g would be jsut fine, but then again, a 3gs WOULD be nice. if the price difference isnt too much for you, i suggest the 3gs. (although i have the 3g right now and i am a happy camper)
good luck!
 
16GB 3GS since you have an iPod Classic. If your media library is not that big, then you can stick with the 16GB 3GS. I personally have a 32GB 3GS and because my media library is much larger, I have a 160GB iPod Classic. :)
 
fredriku said:
In terms you can really understand: 3GS er verdt oppgraderingen som nevnt over, pga farten, raskere nett og et bedre kamera, samt videokamera med VGA-oppløsning.

And for you other guys: I agree with the dude who mentioned the speed, and the 7.2mbps, its freakin' brilliant!

I would choose a 3GS over a 3G any day. I'm on my 3rd iPhone now (went from 1. gen, to 2. gen (3G) to 3GS, and I'm as happy as I can ever be with a phone :)
Click to expand...
Is this the new rumoured Tiger Woods iFart app? I heard it runs fine on a 3g.
 
Haha, I guess you can say that, but when I'm writing in Norwegian, and some words might look like they're something else.

Otherwise, it means the same as speed ;)
 
Go with the 3GS. I've had a 3G for about 15 months now. With the new firmware versions, it is miserably slow. In fact, I find myself not doing things on it occasionally because I know I'll have to wait and I hate waiting for my phone. Things like lag when you're typing and applications taking a while to load are the types of things I'm talking about. I've used the 3GS as well and it is considerably faster. If I was starting from scratch right now, I'd definitely go with the 3GS, but since I'm still under contract I'll wait until the next version comes out before I upgrade.
 
My recommendation to you is to look at Apple's site and see the differences between the G and GS. Then go to the store and try it out for yourself. You should not be looking to anyone but yourself as to which you want to buy.

I will say that I would seriously look at the GS because it has 2x the RAM. At some point or another Apple will do multitasking (probably OS 4.0) and the earlier models simply won't have enough RAM to accomplish it.
 
The iPhone 3G doesn't run OS 3.0 very well. I would skip it since it's dying technology.

Not even sure why Apple thinks they can still sell the iPhone 3G now.
 
Let's say you were shopping for a new laptop. You just plan to surf the web, use Microsoft Office, and do a few other basic things. You might want to do more with it, once you've had it for a while, but who knows. You go to the store and they have two models to choose from.

The cheaper laptop is $2000. It's a little pokey at opening up apps, pauses sometimes when you click on something, but it generally meets your needs.

The more expensive one is $2100. It's lightning fast. It opens up apps quickly, responds immediately when you click on something, and runs everything very well. It has plenty of power for whatever you want to do on it, including additional features that may become available in the future. It also has more bells and whistles, including a video camera.

Which would you chose?

Remember, when you buy an iPhone, you're not just buying the hardware. You are also committing to a $79/mo minimum voice and data plan for two years. So the dollar amounts I listed above are the real ballpark that you're in. $100 more doesn't seem like so much in that light, does it?

If it were me, I'd kick in the extra hundred bones for a device that performs massively better, and has the video cam, autofocus, and other additions (which is exactly what I did).
 
The 3Gs is worth it

the 3gs is worth the extra money......it is much smoother and faster running. not to mention the video camera with the one touch youtube feature. I sold my flip mino when i got the 3gs......its well worth every penny
 
I would get the iPhone 3GS I was going to get the 3G but i decided to spend the extra £100 and buy a 3GS. I am very glad i did.
 
Buy the 3GS. You will notice a speed difference if you buy the 3G. Mobile Safari is a lot faster on the 3GS than the 3G when scrolling. On th 3G you have to wait for the page to refresh (checker board pattern) becauce of the RAM limitations on it. The 3GS has plenty of RAM so it refreshes the pages as fast as you can scroll. Even if you've never used a 3GS the 3G will feel slightly laggy when doing certain things. Also the 3G doesn't support 7.2mbps 3G networks.
 
QuarterSwede said:
Buy the 3GS. You will notice a speed difference if you buy the 3G. Mobile Safari is a lot faster on the 3GS than the 3G when scrolling. On th 3G you have to wait for the page to refresh (checker board pattern) becauce of the RAM limitations on it. The 3GS has plenty of RAM so it refreshes the pages as fast as you can scroll. Even if you've never used a 3GS the 3G will feel slightly laggy when doing certain things. Also the 3G doesn't support 7.2mbps 3G networks.
Click to expand...

Also, the 3G runs 3.1.2 slower than it should. The previous major OS 2.2.1 was much more responsive. I don't really mind that I don't have a 3GS because I'm using 2.2.1 and it makes my iPhone fast enough to me until Apple comes out with the next model.
 
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