Iphone 4 or 3GS?

[Major Sparky]

Ok, so for a long time I've only ever owned a non-smart phone. My latest one is a HTC Freestyle. This phone has a lot of nice features for a non smart phone, but it's really slow and a pain to use. Recently the screens been acting up and I think it's time to find a new phone.

At first I was thinking about just buying another non-smart phone. But honestly I'm tired of these phones as none of them have ever been very good to me. So I have started to think about getting an Iphone.

However, because I'm not up for renewal on my contract with AT&T yet, I'm going to have to pay the full price for a new phone. So I'm definitely not getting an Iphone 4s. I've found a new 8G Iphone 3GS on amazon for about $200. 8G is fine for me since I still have my iTouch to hold all my music. However if I got an iPhone 4 I'd have to look around on eBay for a decent used one. The max I'm looking to spend is $250, and even that's stretching it.

Honestly, I really love the interface of the iTouch and I want a phone like that. Also, I'm up for renewal on my contract in about 9 months. So I'll just be using the phone until then so keep that in mind.

So, is the iPhone 4 worth the extra money even though the condition won't be as good?

Oh, and one last question. For both the iPhone 4 and 3gs, how many text messages does it hold for each contact, and how many does it hold in general.

 

[Intell]

Which generation iPod Touch do you have? The 3Gs would be fine as long as you know its limitations and you're not expecting too much from it.

 

[Major Sparky]

I have the 3rd generation iTouch. Which I believe was released around the same time as the 3GS. So I'm expecting the 3GS to be comparable in performance to my iTouch, which I'm really happy with.

 

[cyks]

If you're looking to upgrade in 9 months, there will likely still be (some) resale value on the 4... while the 3GS' would be minimal, not that that should be your deciding factor.

Also, do you currently use your phone as a camera - or think you would given the chance? Besides the retina display, the camera took a significant jump in improvement from the 3GS to the 4.

 

[Major Sparky]

No I don't really use the camera that much, I don't take a lot of pictures, and when I do I have an actual camera to use.

I'm also not terribly worried about resell value either.

 

[PatrickW98]

4s

 

[Major Sparky]

4s

I've already said I can't get the 4s.

 

[cyks]

I think it's already clear...

You don't care about the extra power or resolution - since you're already happy with your iPod Touch, you don't care to use it as a camera, and you're not concerned with resale value.... sounds like the 3GS is a perfect phone to both tie you over and get you more familiar with iOS.

 

[Major Sparky]

Alright! Well thanks for the help. I'll grab the 3GS in the next week and when my contracts up for renewal get the iPhone 5 if it's out.

 

[Sedrick]

Nine months is a very long time using a cell phone. You should try to swing a 4, but if that's out of your range, a 3GS will hold you over.

I got a 4 a year ago for $275, 32gig off ebay.

 

[Bugeyeblue]

I buy and sell a lot of stuff on Craigslist. As long as the seller would meet you at a carrier's physical store to activate the phone for you, there's really not a lot of risk. And you could probably get a 4 for $250 easily by now.

 

[pk7]

Oh, and one last question. For both the iPhone 4 and 3gs, how many text messages does it hold for each contact, and how many does it hold in general.

iPhone can hold 75,000 text messages/iMessages in total (sent and received).