Is iP4 a big enough upgrade from a 3GS?

[MrMister111]

I am in UK, contract with a 3GS 16Gb runs out in June 2011. I'm thinking of getting an iPhone 4 from Apple direct (£499) and then selling/recycling the 3GS (£230). then when next iPhone comes next year, get a new contract with it.

So...
Is the iP4 a big upgrade to the 3GS in usage, I've looked on Apple site for comparison etc etc, but wanting to know from real people who've used it and the 3GS.

I like the look of the camera and HD video, I like taking pics, and always have my phone with me.

maybe other option is buy an iPad, instead, but then wouldnt get the money off the 3GS, and was hoping to hang on for the iPad 2 to see what that brings.
cheers

 

[esadb]

I owned a 3G and it was a great improved. Speed wise.

Big improvement is the Retina display and its just amazing. But speed wise i dont know how much MORE of an improvement you'll see with the i4 compared to the 3GS.

But if you have a 3GS id hold of until buying the iphone4. But your plan sounds pretty good if you can break even next year and getting the new iphone with a new contract id say do it.

 

[MrMister111]

I think it would be a big upgrade from a 3G defo, a lot more features than 3G.

I would still have to pay for the iPhone 5 on a new contract, prob about £200, so would think I wold get about £250 for the iPhone 4 in June/July next year, so wold sort of break even.

SO whats good about your iP4 then?

 

[esadb]

Well like i said the screen is amazing, the cpu speed of it is a huge improvement of the 3G.

512mb ram you honestly dont notice any lag of any kind its very quick and prompt.

camera is great and the video recording is 720p. Here is a video i uploaded thats the max quality on youtube so it wasnt compressed or anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lhFd_3x8b4&fmt=22

One thing that pissed me off about my 3G was the fact that if I wanted to open something it would take like 5seconds while the i4 is instant. I dont have to wait for my camera app to open to snap a quick picture. Again the main thing is the speed of it.

Also the look of the phone itself looks far more classy than the previous generations.

And of course once jailbroken it can be customized quite a bit without any performance loss. Even tho mine is not customized crazy I have a few things that i want and need.

 

[MrMister111]

cheers for replies, thats the thing though, if its only speed increase, then its a little expensive upgrade for me. Also I wont be JB it, prefer it vanilla. Not sure what JB brings, apart from free apps

 

[netdog]

Faster. Gorgeous pictures. HDR is really nice. Very fast camera. Great screen. Lovely build quality and materials.

Yes, it's a big upgrade. I didn't bother with the 3GS.

 

[Tu13es]

I just ugpraded from a 3GS to a 4. For me, the screen alone was worth it. I absolutely _love_ this display. Speed, camera, size, battery improvements are icing on the cake. But that's just me.

As for jailbreaking, the biggest thing is it allows you to do more than what Apple says developers can in the SDK. Not to mention the level of customization of pretty much everything.

 

[esadb]

brings a lot stuff dude.

My number one thing was if im reading a email, get a text message.. want to reply.. It changes me from email over to the txt app..

What i use is BiteSMS allows me to quick reply on the spot in a small window. Its an amazing app! I think 98% of jbers jailbreak just for this App.
http://www.bitesms.com/main/more_features

Also on the lockscreen you can have notifications by using LockInfo.. Another wicked app. You can see your emails, texts, tweets, rss feeds, weather right from the lock screen no need to unlock the device.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB0OXM-wxZQ

And there there is SBSettings that let you turn off features with just a swip across the status bar like wifi, 3G, data, Location, PUSH, any other thing you can think of pretty much without having to go into the Settings..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lALQeebNzB4

Also MyWi which lets you create a hotspot (wireless router) pretty much that your laptop can connect to and use your 3G connection to browse the internet if you cant find a wireless connection..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRmwJLTHOXo

And there is many more, but those are some really useful ones that everyone has pretty much.

 

[MrMister111]

mmm, I think if I had a 3G thn its a defo to upgrade, from a 3GS I need someone to give me that push. So Tu13es, compared to your 3GS, what are pics and video like?


Have you printed any out? displayed on a big eg 40" LCD, can you see the difference?

Did you buy the iP4 outright from Apple? what did you do with your 3GS's? trade/sell, how much we taling?

cheers

 

[Tu13es]

mmm, I think if I had a 3G thn its a defo to upgrade, from a 3GS I need someone to give me that push. So Tu13es, compared to your 3GS, what are pics and video like?


Have you printed any out? displayed on a big eg 40" LCD, can you see the difference?

Did you buy the iP4 outright from Apple? what did you do with your 3GS's? trade/sell, how much we taling?

cheers

I haven't printed any out or looked at them on a significantly larger screen. There's definitely a difference, though. There are plenty of reviews out there that directly compare the cameras.

I did an early upgrade on my contract (so $200 discount from full price). Once the JB comes out, I'll sell my 3GS.

 

[jplusc]

I would say that if you take photos with your phone or do a lot of reading/browsing on it, it is worth the upgrade. The screen and camera would likely be worth while. Other than that, speed wise honestly I don't notice a huge difference. I was very happy with my 3GS but once you get used to the 4's screen its hard to go back.

The battery life is much better as well, not sure if you have any concerns with your 3GS on that front.

 

[MrMister111]

camera is great and the video recording is 720p. Here is a video i uploaded thats the max quality on youtube so it wasnt compressed or anything.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lhFd_3x8b4&fmt=22

That looks smooth, bt I noticed tat the light of he whole movie was fluctuating when panning, did you notice this?

I would say that if you take photos with your phone or do a lot of reading/browsing on it, it is worth the upgrade. The screen and camera would likely be worth while. Other than that, speed wise honestly I don't notice a huge difference. I was very happy with my 3GS but once you get used to the 4's screen its hard to go back.

The battery life is much better as well, not sure if you have any concerns with your 3GS on that front.

I do a lot of browsing on it, at home even, when watching TV etc, and at work (shhhh). I have to charge my 3GS everyday I say.

 

[mad-dog-one]

I got a warranty replacement of my iP3gs a week before the iP4 was released. I got an iP4 about a month after they were released, but after a couple of weeks, I returned it because of dropped calls that I seldom experienced with the iP3gs. Although I like the retina display and the newness of the iP4, I did not find the differences in function between the iP3gs and iP4 to be sufficient to justify the additional $300 cost and restrictions of a new 2 year contract.

 

[nlkccom]

The screen alone is worth the upgrade.

 

[esadb]

That looks smooth, bt I noticed tat the light of he whole movie was fluctuating when panning, did you notice this?

Yah i did notice that. I dont know if it has something to do with the fact that the sun was starring right down at me at the beginning there and then as i start turning the sun is in my back. Really dont know..

Again its just a phone, and for that the quality is superb i think.

 

[Compile 'em all]

The screen alone is worth the upgrade.

This. I think once you use an IP4 for a while, going back to a 3Gs is pretty much unbearable.

 

[Jordan921]

I upgraded from a 3G and it was a really big upgrade. Speedwise you might notice big increase from a 3GS. But the retina display and battery life increase should be good enough to upgrade.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

To the OP...

The one thing I would point out is that you stated that your upgrade date was June 2011. If you can stick with the 3GS for the next 8-9 months, you'll be eligible to upgrade to the next incarnation of the iPhone as opposed to the iP4. Actually, you'll be able to upgrade before that, but I'm just talking about when your contract ends.

I've still got the 3GS and my girlfriend recently got the iP4 and I can honestly say, yes, it's an upgrade. The screen is amazing and it's wicked fast opening apps. I could upgrade in January to the iP4 if I want, but I'm gonna wait until next summer and see what the next iPhone is like before jumping in.

I'm in NO WAY slighting the iP4...it's AMAZING. But I'm perfectly happy with my 3GS right now. That being said, I try and never use her iP4 because when I go back to my 3GS screen, it looks horrible...lol. If I don't know what I'm missing then it won't bother me!

 

[bern43]

I just upgraded and for me it was completely worth it. The screen is amazing. The camera is improved. And overall the phone seems to be operating a bit faster than my 3gs. I miss my jailbreak though.

 

[MrMister111]

To the OP...

The one thing I would point out is that you stated that your upgrade date was June 2011. If you can stick with the 3GS for the next 8-9 months, you'll be eligible to upgrade to the next incarnation of the iPhone as opposed to the iP4. Actually, you'll be able to upgrade before that, but I'm just talking about when your contract ends.

I've still got the 3GS and my girlfriend recently got the iP4 and I can honestly say, yes, it's an upgrade. The screen is amazing and it's wicked fast opening apps. I could upgrade in January to the iP4 if I want, but I'm gonna wait until next summer and see what the next iPhone is like before jumping in.

I'm in NO WAY slighting the iP4...it's AMAZING. But I'm perfectly happy with my 3GS right now. That being said, I try and never use her iP4 because when I go back to my 3GS screen, it looks horrible...lol. If I don't know what I'm missing then it won't bother me!

Yah I know, but what I was thinking was get the upgrade then in June 2011, it will be th same price anyway. I was going to buy the iP4 sim free direct from Apple store, so my contract wont be affected, still stop on the same contract for next 8-9 months.

then when next iPhone comes, upgrade/new contract and sell iP4, to put towards upgrade cost of new handset.

 

[Mochi Hana]

The screen alone is worth the upgrade.

This, 100%. Also, I got a nice overall speed boost with the iPhone 4.

 

[Anthony T]

The main improvements are the screen and the camera. The screen is simply amazing on the iPhone 4. Best phone screen I've probably ever seen. The camera is phenomenal as well, and both of these features are way better on the iPhone 4 than they are on the 3GS.

I have yet to FaceTime with anyone. But if you're someone who likes to take a lot of pictures/videos on your phone, I'd say the upgrade is worth it.

If you don't care about the screen or camera, and won't use FaceTime, then I'd just keep the 3GS.

 

[calvy]

The main improvements are the screen and the camera. The screen is simply amazing on the iPhone 4. Best phone screen I've probably ever seen. The camera is phenomenal as well, and both of these features are way better on the iPhone 4 than they are on the 3GS.

I have yet to FaceTime with anyone. But if you're someone who likes to take a lot of pictures/videos on your phone, I'd say the upgrade is worth it.

If you don't care about the screen or camera, and won't use FaceTime, then I'd just keep the 3GS.

To this list I would add that the battery is much better on the iPhone 4

 

[MrMister111]

mmm, today is the last day for iPhone 4 case program to. How much do you think I would get for an excellent condition 3GS 16Gb Black, with Apple warranty till Dec 2010 still on? (in UK)

then I know if I can afford the iP4?

cheers

 

[kre62]

mmm, today is the last day for iPhone 4 case program to. How much do you think I would get for an excellent condition 3GS 16Gb Black, with Apple warranty till Dec 2010 still on? (in UK)

then I know if I can afford the iP4?

cheers

I'd hold off. The i4 is nice and all, but its projected that it isn't running at it's full speed, maybe 800mhz or so. Don't be fooled by the A4 marketing, it uses the same core processor as the 3GS, just a slightly higher clock rate. The 3GS feels almost as fast as the i4 because it has half the pixels to push. The next iPhone will probably have a dual core cortex A9(speculation) and no antenna issues. You might as well wait at this point.