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iphone 4 still worth buying?

barebackbadger8

barebackbadger8

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 23, 2009
277
1
Wolverhampton, UK
hi
now this isnt for me, more for my brother (i have a 4s)
he as a htc desire s and wants an iphone 4 or 4s
now we have found a brand new sealed iphone 4 16gb for £280
he isnt bothered about siri or the 8mp camera just wants the os
so would the iphone 4 still be ok to buy?
 
What's that like $430 usd? Personaly I wouldn't pay it for an iphone4. Maybe a 4s after seeing what all iOS6 is leaving off the iPhone 4 but at this point and for that amount of money I would save a little more.
 
barebackbadger8 said:
hi
now this isnt for me, more for my brother (i have a 4s)
he as a htc desire s and wants an iphone 4 or 4s
now we have found a brand new sealed iphone 4 16gb for £280
he isnt bothered about siri or the 8mp camera just wants the os
so would the iphone 4 still be ok to buy?
Click to expand...

Yes that's a good price and it's 16GB the new ones in store are only 8GB.

Iphone 4 has the better battery and will get IOS6.

Much better than all your Android phones out there.
 
The 4 doesn't have Siri, will be lacking some great features of iOS 6 (like turn-by-turn and Facetime over 3G), and generally feels quite slow.
Wait until Sept-Oct when the new one comes out, then buy the 4S. With the 4, you're buying pretty old tech. It's still a great phone, but I wouldn't buy one now.
 
I'd purchase the Iphone 4S even on the eve of the Next Generation iPhone!

Why? I just gave up my HTC Thunderbolt recently to join my wife using the iPhone 4S. I wish I had done that a year ago but was just holding out for the iPhone 5 (or whatever they call it).

But I can honestly say - what a difference! Wish I had done it sooner - but never too late to make the switch.

The iPhone 3G and 3GS are still worth buying, why not the iPhone 4 or 4S? Buy what you can reasonibly afford - you won't be sorry. Apple products hold their value and why not get some real mileage out of it until you can upgrade it.

I say, Go for it!
 
I say any iPhone from the 3Gs and after is worth owning. Amazing to think the 3Gs after three years is still getting updated. The 3Gs is just as slick with its underclocked 600 MHz CPU than most Androids running a 1.2 GHz dual core CPU. The original iPhone and 3G with their underclocked 412 MHz speed and 128 MB of RAM became too slow after three years. But for over $400 for a iPhone 4? Look for it to be cheaper. You might need to wait after the next iPhone is announced once you see the 4 drop in value. Most folks would be upgrading from their two-year contract and just selling off their old 4.
 
I picked one up month ago for $210. And the iPhone (16GB) was spotless. Older couple upgraded their iPhones to 4S and they decided to quickly sell their old phones on CL. Basically my FIL got his Xmas gift early since I was able to unlock it for him. But my sister sold hers for $420 last week and it was not unlocked. So prices always float
 
cambookpro said:
The 4 doesn't have Siri, will be lacking some great features of iOS 6 (like turn-by-turn and Facetime over 3G), and generally feels quite slow.
Wait until Sept-Oct when the new one comes out, then buy the 4S. With the 4, you're buying pretty old tech. It's still a great phone, but I wouldn't buy one now.
Click to expand...

Siri, 3G Facetime, 8MP camera are not that important really. The Iphone 4 is very good if you don't want to fork out on a 4S and probably won't notice the difference.

The Iphone 4 is not old as the 4S does not have much else different feature wise.
 
cambookpro said:
generally feels quite slow.
Click to expand...

Your joking right?

----------
barebackbadger8 said:
hi
now this isnt for me, more for my brother (i have a 4s)
he as a htc desire s and wants an iphone 4 or 4s
now we have found a brand new sealed iphone 4 16gb for £280
he isnt bothered about siri or the 8mp camera just wants the os
so would the iphone 4 still be ok to buy?
Click to expand...

Subjective question, it's really what your brother wants. Sure it's ok if he just wants the 4 and he's happy with that.

Most people here are fanboys which would say to buy the latest no matter what. It's really just what works best for you.

The new sealed 4 sounds like a good deal. (People from America, people's attitude towards phones are different internationally. Most people purchase phone outright here in Australia.)
 
No. It may not be a great comparison to a brand new one, but my old iP4 feels fairly sluggish. Animations are sometimes jerky, and there is usually some keyboard lag. 4S feels much faster.
 
Savor said:
The 3Gs is just as slick with its underclocked 600 MHz CPU than most Androids running a 1.2 GHz dual core CPU.
Click to expand...

You bet it is. I wouldn't trade mine for any of the galaxy phones with their choppy interface that some of my co-workers own. One even turns his off because the battery doesn't last through the day :eek: I could never put up with that.

OP, the 4S is a better choice, but that seems like a fair price if it's factory unlocked. Is it?
 
Internaut said:
The Apple phones are not good value when bought outright. You need to to seriously consider the total cost of ownership on whatever available plan suits you best. In the UK at least, the network subsidy can be significant and a real financial benefit; if you understand it.
Click to expand...

Was cheaper for me to buy mine outright. I don't make that many calls so for £10 I get 500mb and 300 texts. No contract could match that value for me
 
Internaut said:
The Apple phones are not good value when bought outright. You need to to seriously consider the total cost of ownership on whatever available plan suits you best. In the UK at least, the network subsidy can be significant and a real financial benefit; if you understand it.
Click to expand...

thanks all
he as ordered a 3 micro sim for 1month rolling sim for £12 a month - gets 300 mins, 3000 texts, 1gb data
so £12 x 24 (typical uk contract)= £288
iphone 4 new = £280
Total = £568

cheapest equivalent contract
£27 x 24 = £648
iphone 4 = £49
Total = £697

also the advantage of doing it our way, he isnt tied into any contract (apart from the 30day notice period)
 
That was my thinking and hence why I bought outright. Well thought out mate
 
cambookpro said:
No. It may not be a great comparison to a brand new one, but my old iP4 feels fairly sluggish. Animations are sometimes jerky, and there is usually some keyboard lag. 4S feels much faster.
Click to expand...

It is much faster than the 4. That is just a fact.
 
If I had to buy an iPhone 4, I'd wait the release of the next iPhone. I expect the price to drop "dramatically".
 
I got a 4 about 6 months ago for $100. Granted, that was with a contract, but still was a huge savings. And yeah, when the next one comes out the old prices will drop again. However, it seems your bro got it all worked out.
 
The i4's viability depends on how you use your phone.

Just know that under the hood the i4S demolishes the i4.

Use both and the i4 is clearly the weaker all around performer.
 
JSadler said:
I got a 4 about 6 months ago for $100. Granted, that was with a contract, but still was a huge savings. And yeah, when the next one comes out the old prices will drop again. However, it seems your bro got it all worked out.
Click to expand...

I got mine for $50 last month at bestbuy
 
Ouch. I'm not sure if he needs all the new features and all that, but after hearing what the update leaves out for older phones, I'd grab the 4s. Maps with turn by turn by itself is a huge deal
 
Before the convention I would have said yes. But I'm a bit concerned at how Apple is releasing updates for their products. Some features not going over to iPhone 4, ton's of features not going over to the 3GS but they still update it, iPad 1 not getting iOS 6 which is faster than the 3GS, iPad 2 not getting Siri which has the same core A5 processor as the iPad 3 and the list goes on. It may not be fragmentation but it sure is selective upgrading and I bet iPhone 4 will be next years 3GS. It will get iOS 7 but will only see a fraction of updates.
I think it all depends on the user really. My wife loves her iPhone 4 and I'm giving her an opportunity to upgrade to the Samsung S3 before unlimited data is gone but she does not want to. If it was me I want the latest and greatest.
 
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