iPhone for $175 or iPhone 3G for $200?

[fivepoint]

I sold my iPhone for $415 on eBay about a month ago. I am anxious to get one back. I have the opportunity to get a used first generation model in excellend condition for $175 from someone, or - obviously - to get a new one for $200.

WWYD? (what would you do?) Why?

 

[mark34]

You're kidding right? Unless you never leave your home or a hotspot, clearly the 3G!!! For $25 more? yeah, easy decision

 

[PCMacUser]

3G baby, 3G.

 

[Jeremy1026]

I say buy the 1st gen and list it on eBay. They are selling for about $350. Then buy the 3G

 

[fivepoint]

You're kidding right? Unless you never leave your home or a hotspot, clearly the 3G!!! For $25 more? yeah, easy decision

No... I'm not kidding.

• The 3G is $15 extra per month (with the same texting capabilities, or $10 without) That translates into $360 over the course of 2 years.
• I don't have a 3G network in my area of the U.S., so that feature is worthless to me. Just like the vast majority of Americans.
• The 3G requires an additional 2 year commitment and a subsequent inability to get more subsidized phones in the near future. If Apple comes out with a new iPhone one year from now, we all won't be elligible for an upgrade, and will have to pay full price ($600?)
• The 3G's back isn't nearly as scratch-resistant as the first generation. I HATE scratches!
• They run the EXACT same software. The only real difference is 3G and GPS. GPS is the only one that matters for me...

I'm not biased (I seriously haven't made up my mind, and want your guys' input) but just trying to tell you why 'I AM SERIOUS.'

I say buy the 1st gen and list it on eBay. They are selling for about $350. Then buy the 3G

Very intriguing idea. I wonder if the price of the 1st generation models will go down significantly after the 11th?

 

[Jeremy1026]

Very intriguing idea. I wonder if the price of the 1st generation models will go down significantly after the 11th?

Probably not, since the reason they are selling so high is because they can be unlocked (staying off of 2.0) and they are selling over seas to countries without iPhones (or iPhone 3Gs.)

 

[fivepoint]

I think I KNOW the smart choice would be to get the 1st Gen model, but I WANT the 2nd gen model. I think buying both, and selling the first over ebay is the way to go! If the lady I've been talking to has the original box and everything, I could maybe make this work.

What do you guys think?

 

[Loonytik]

I think I KNOW the smart choice would be to get the 1st Gen model, but I WANT the 2nd gen model. I think buying both, and selling the first over ebay is the way to go! If the lady I've been talking to has the original box and everything, I could maybe make this work.

What do you guys think?

Buy the 1st Gen iphone and see how much the 2.0 upgrade and the new apps change things. Then make your decision on whether to keep it or sell it. If you dont have 3G anywhere near your area you will just be paying a premium price for no reason. Your car GPS will be better than the iphone GPS for turn by turn anyway.

 

[Jeremy1026]

Buy the 1st Gen iphone and see how much the 2.0 upgrade and the new apps change things. Then make your decision on whether to keep it or sell it. If you dont have 3G anywhere near your area you will just be paying a premium price for no reason. Your car GPS will be better than the iphone GPS for turn by turn anyway.

Only problem with that theory is that if you upgrade, the value drops considerably. The reason they are selling so high is because you can't get one in many foreign countries. So these people are buying them unlocked so they can use them. 2.0 = locked phone (until it gets hacked) so no value.

 

[fivepoint]

Buying the old one would save me $25 up front, and $360 over the next two years.

Buying the new one would give me GPS.

Maybe its as simple as asking myself if its worth $360 for 2 years of GPS service.

 

[dstrauss]

Buying the old one would save me $25 up front, and $360 over the next two years.

Buying the new one would give me GPS.

Maybe its as simple as asking myself if its worth $360 for 2 years of GPS service.

I think the comparison needs to be the 16gb 3g - why - because I added just one program this morning, Texas Hold'em, and it chewed up 127mb. Don't get me wrong, it is incredible (graphics, speed, game play), BUT these program are real programs on top of a real OS, so you will need a lot more space than mobile users are used to.

 

[freyes01]

Buying the old one would save me $25 up front, and $360 over the next two years.

Buying the new one would give me GPS.

Maybe its as simple as asking myself if its worth $360 for 2 years of GPS service.

Can you just use an external bluetooth GPS? you can get it for $30

 

[off in the wood]

Buying the old one would save me $25 up front, and $360 over the next two years.

Buying the new one would give me GPS.

Maybe its as simple as asking myself if its worth $360 for 2 years of GPS service.

Well, there is always the potential that 3g will be available to you within those 2 years. If that happened then you could rationalize it as $360 for 2 yrs of GPS and potnetially 1-2 yrs of 3g service

just another way of looking at it

 

[Ninja Guidan]

I think I KNOW the smart choice would be to get the 1st Gen model, but I WANT the 2nd gen model. I think buying both, and selling the first over ebay is the way to go! If the lady I've been talking to has the original box and everything, I could maybe make this work.

What do you guys think?

Didn't you just sell your 1st Gen model? Now you want it back?

 

[fivepoint]

Didn't you just sell your 1st Gen model? Now you want it back?

I sold mine for $415 the day before the 3G came out. It was the smart thing to do, especially since Apple and AT&T had stopped selling them a few weeks earlier and there was a huge demand for them. It was a 5 month old used phone, and I sold it for $15 more than MSRP over eBay.

The next day, everyone thought the first generation would be worth about $100-$150 because of the huge price drop in the 3G. They didn't go down quite that far, but the value has gone down quite a bit, and will probably continue to go down because of this.

I call it good timing. It's very important in sales/marketing. I will end up saving around $200 because of it. Not bad for only being without an iPhone for 30 days.

 

[PCMacUser]

[*]I don't have a 3G network in my area of the U.S., so that feature is worthless to me. Just like the vast majority of Americans.

Okay, that was the vital piece of info you should've mentioned first! Buy the 1st Gen.

 

[yode]

well since the 2.0 got hacked and unlocked already, it won't be long until the iPhone 1 drops in price. The iPhone 3G is already being offered in many countries worldwide so most people are going to be looking for unlocked 3G's.

 

[Mikey B]

i'm definitely not feeling compelled to upgrade to the 3G. i've been running 2.0 all day and i'm loving it. so far the extra costs don't seem worth it to me. i like the looks of the first gen much more. i also don't want to be tied to a subsidized phone that much, especially if Apple's going to be coming out with a new iPhone every year.

if you're worried about having "last year's technology," don't be. that's a crock. the 2 phone are identical except for the 3G network and GPS- hardly new innovations.

if i didn't have an iphone already, i'd be all over the 3G. since you have the opportunity to get either, it probably just comes down to money.

 

[citron230]

WWJD? He would buy a 3G! Duh.

 

[iCantwait]

No... I'm not kidding.

• The 3G is $15 extra per month (with the same texting capabilities, or $10 without) That translates into $360 over the course of 2 years.

• 
  
  
  bout 50cents a day

 

[Romanesq]

another view

well since the 2.0 got hacked and unlocked already, it won't be long until the iPhone 1 drops in price. The iPhone 3G is already being offered in many countries worldwide so most people are going to be looking for unlocked 3G's.

The demand for the used iPhones was the fear I believe that the 3g was unlockable and might remain so for a period for 2.0.

But more importantly, I think it was the reality that you can't go into a store buy six of them and take them home and ship them anywhere in the world.
What happened is AT&T said hey Apple, be a partner and make everyone sign a contract before they leave the store.

No more at home activations.

With a non-contract driven 3g Iphone going for $1,000 in Beligum well, yes there should still be a demand for a while. How long I don't know but it's still there.

Ebay can show you that and it will be interesting. The demand seems pretty strong as there are only a relative handful of phones available.

 

[Romanesq]

different boat here....

i'm definitely not feeling compelled to upgrade to the 3G. i've been running 2.0 all day and i'm loving it. so far the extra costs don't seem worth it to me. i like the looks of the first gen much more. i also don't want to be tied to a subsidized phone that much, especially if Apple's going to be coming out with a new iPhone every year.

if you're worried about having "last year's technology," don't be. that's a crock. the 2 phone are identical except for the 3G network and GPS- hardly new innovations.

if i didn't have an iphone already, i'd be all over the 3G. since you have the opportunity to get either, it probably just comes down to money.

Since the NYC region is thoroughly covered with 3G, it's definitely a plus. But as much if not more is the reports of the improved sound quality. I noticed coming from T-mobile that the sound was just not as good. Also, coming from the 8GB at launch I really want the 16GB having perused the apps only briefly. I already lined up about 10 and it's only the beginning of that exploration.

It's great that everyone can get 2.0 but I think the real buzz coming will be with the apps. I'm pretty excited to control my stereo with my phone as I have all the equipment in one room and my computer running the songs off a hard drive in another. It's delivered via Airtunes with a glass toslink cable from Airport Express to a Lavry DA-10 DAC. And it sounds great. I don't even get any skips either.

So this is just the beginning of the new world. And it's not all 3G either. The apps are going to destroy the mobile competitors. It's really the pure beauty of 2.0 IMHO.