Keep original 2G iPhone or upgrade to 3GS

[bigdaddymac]

Now that my initial excitement from WWDC has died down, I think I'm going to stick with my 2G, at least until I see exactly how much faster the 3G S actually is. Speed is the only reason I could think to upgrade. However, I remember when the 3G came out, doing side by side date transfer rates with my 2G, in Manhattan, and there not being that much of a speed difference - with my 2G often downloading faster, actually. And, the great majority of the time I use my iPhone for web browsing, I'm on wifi, which is faster than 3G.

We're going to get the 3.0 software, so 2G owners are getting most of the important upgrades anyway (like copy/paste, for ex.).

Do I really need a camera that's a megapixel or so better? Is video recording that much more important to me? I have a great digital camera that does both things way better than any iPhone will do. I mainly use the iPhone for random, fun pics, where the clarity isn't a huge issue anyway. And if it's day light, the pics are great as is.

GPS? I live in New York City, and don't really use it, I can tell where I'm walking. If I'm in a different city, I've found that the Google Maps directions work just fine. In my car, I already have a GPS system.

Compass? What are the practical, realistic uses for a compass? Maybe if I'm hiking a lot? But then, I already have a compass for hiking.

Voice control? Are you really going to use it? I remember when I downloaded the Google App with voice control for searches. I thought, man, I'm going to use this all the time. After a day or two, I never used it again, and continued to type all my searches. It's a fun thing to play with, but for every day use, I just don't see it.

More space? Well, this is a personal issue. I've never filled up my iPhone completely, it's been easy just to tweak my iTunes so that the TV shows, movies, music, etc, that I want on the iPhone, are on it when I want them to be on it. I plug the iPhone into my computer daily, just to charge it anyway, so I don't even think about the space. Is it truly necessary for you to have endless hours of entertainment on the phone, when you know that after 8 hours or so, you're going to have to plug it back into your charger or computer anyway? And that then it's simple to just tweak whatever media you have on there.

The hardware just isn't different enough, at least in my view, to justify the upgrade. Now, maybe I'll see the actual phone and feel differently, but for now, I'll hold out for the big hardware upgrade - like a front facing camera, for ex.

Anyone else feeling like they'll stick with 2G, now that the initial excitement has died down a bit?

 

[Cloudane]

Sticking with 2G has been a very viable option. I did when the 3G came out, despite it being a free/cheap upgrade that could be done early, as I was happier with the build quality of what I had. Also, to get value out of Apple, 1 generation does not generally deliver enough new features to be worthwhile. 2 generations arguably does, but you can easily get away with 3.

Definitely fancy the better camera and the GPS though, and they've answered the question of whether they'll be reverting to metal backs, so I will likely be going for it.

Upgrading from 2G to 3G can be done early, I suspect 2G to 3GS is the same, but no doubt it doesn't apply if you're looking to "upgrade" to PAYG instead of taking out a new contract.

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

Twice the RAM
Twice the CACHE
More Processor Power
Video Camera
Voice Control
Compass
Headphones with Volume Control
1 Extra MP on the Camera
Auto Focus
Better Battery Life

How do you not see this as a significant upgrade??? I'm stoked about this! Can't wait for the 19th!

*List courtesy of Rat-Boy

 

[bigdaddymac]

Twice the RAM
Twice the CACHE
More Processor Power
Video Camera
Voice Control
Compass
Headphones with Volume Control
1 Extra MP on the Camera
Auto Focus
Better Battery Life

How do you not see this as a significant upgrade??? I'm stoked about this! Can't wait for the 19th!

*List courtesy of Rat-Boy

In terms of the speed (Cache/Processor) - we'll see. It sounds good, but I didn't notice much if any speed increases with the last switch to 3G, so I want to see some real world specs with it.

Video Camera - Yes, this is nice. But the quality will be mediocre. I just don't have much use for it personally.

Voice Control - Seriously, will you use it? Is it that hard to press the song title you want to listen too? Don't get me wrong, it's a cool feature, but I see it as something I'll play with for a few days, but not really use that often.

Compass - Again, it's cool, but what are real world, practical uses for this? Are you getting lost walking around your neighborhood? OK, so maybe you want it for a hike, but, even then, how often are you hiking? And, if you're that big of a hiker already, then odds are you have a compass by now.

Headphone with Voice Control - I guess it's nice, but worth a new 2 year contract with ATT? Worth and extra $200 - $400 in hardware upgrade? I can adjust the volume just fine on my 2G.

1 Extra MP on the camera - OK, nice, I guess, but will the random photos you take with the iPhone, rather than your digital camera, really see that massive of an increase in quality? Maybe if the new iPhone came with a flash.....but is 1 MP worth the hardware costs, higher data fees, and locking into a new contract?

Autofocus - That's helpful. Though I dunno, my 2G seems to focus ok now....

Better battery life - This is always a plus. But, is it that great of an improvement? I guess I'm never away from a charger for that terribly long, where I've had my 2G run out of gas more than just a few times.

Show me significantly improved picture/video quality, a flash, a front facing camera for video chat, a thinner design, etc., some significant hardware improvements, (and perhaps the end of the ATT monopoly) and then I'm definitely on board. I am an early Mac adopter and love buying their new products. But for now, unless I can be convinced otherwise, I'm sitting tight, as my 2G works just fine.

 

[TapHappy]

Very well put. I'm leaning toward keeping my Original iPhone too.

In terms of the speed (Cache/Processor) - we'll see. It sounds good, but I didn't notice much if any speed increases with the last switch to 3G, so I want to see some real world specs with it.

Video Camera - Yes, this is nice. But the quality will be mediocre. I just don't have much use for it personally.

Voice Control - Seriously, will you use it? Is it that hard to press the song title you want to listen too? Don't get me wrong, it's a cool feature, but I see it as something I'll play with for a few days, but not really use that often.

Compass - Again, it's cool, but what are real world, practical uses for this? Are you getting lost walking around your neighborhood? OK, so maybe you want it for a hike, but, even then, how often are you hiking? And, if you're that big of a hiker already, then odds are you have a compass by now.

Headphone with Voice Control - I guess it's nice, but worth a new 2 year contract with ATT? Worth and extra $200 - $400 in hardware upgrade? I can adjust the volume just fine on my 2G.

1 Extra MP on the camera - OK, nice, I guess, but will the random photos you take with the iPhone, rather than your digital camera, really see that massive of an increase in quality? Maybe if the new iPhone came with a flash.....but is 1 MP worth the hardware costs, higher data fees, and locking into a new contract?

Autofocus - That's helpful. Though I dunno, my 2G seems to focus ok now....

Better battery life - This is always a plus. But, is it that great of an improvement? I guess I'm never away from a charger for that terribly long, where I've had my 2G run out of gas more than just a few times.

Show me significantly improved picture/video quality, a flash, a front facing camera for video chat, a thinner design, etc., some significant hardware improvements, (and perhaps the end of the ATT monopoly) and then I'm definitely on board. I am an early Mac adopter and love buying their new products. But for now, unless I can be convinced otherwise, I'm sitting tight, as my 2G works just fine.

 

[amsukalski]

I'm also sticking with my original iPhone, hoping next year there were will other carrier options. AT&T is the only carrier in my area that doesn't have 3G. I'd like to avoid paying to 3G service without being able to use it if I can.

 

[heatasmallhouse]

The other day while driving in a car with a friend who has the 3g. I hit the current location button on my 2g and his 3g (with GPS) at the same time. My 2g found us quicker.

I also loaded digg quicker on my 2g.

I don't know if its a freak happening, if the 3g network was taxed at that time, or what, but that along with the fact that the plastic back still feels ludicrously cheap (and creaked when I held it against my face to make a call) just adds to my belief that newer does not equal better, especially in make and reliability.

There is really only one reason to upgrade from the 2g for me, and that's the ability to tether. I know EDGE is slow, but let me use it to tether. I did pay 600 bucks for the phone.

Plus when 3.0 comes out, just like 2.0, I will feel like I got a new phone for free. In my opinion, 3.0 holds more significant usability upgrades that the 3gs hardware.

Plus, in this economy, my bill going from 72 a month after taxes to 87 makes no sense. And getting locked in for 2 more years with AT&T when there might be a cheaper iPhone option in a year with competition between carriers driving the price down?..no thanks, I already paid $600 for a $200 phone two years ago and now I have a mortgage.

I'll just enjoy my awesome, reliable, metal backed 2G and use the money to keep my Netflix service going.

If I was 18 again, and had crazy disposable income from a summer job, I'd probably buy it because it was shiny and new. But now, doesn't make sense.

 

[alecapple]

Thanks

I think this thread just saved me $300 plus an extra $10 a month for the next two years.

When I watched the 2008 WWDC Keynote, I immediately thought that an iPhone for 200 dollars was a steal, and that I was going to be waiting in line for one at my local apple store. But then when I came down from the apple high, I realized that it would be a dumb thing to do considering the horrible build quality and the increased cost in data per month, and I don't even have 3g service in my town. The amazing build quality of the first gen. phone is really what sold me in the first place, I mean I liked the fact that I actually had a phone with a real metal back, plastic will always look cheap, and when I pay 200+ dollars for a phone I don't want it to look cheap.

Then when i watched the 2009 Keynote, i saw the release of the 3G, and again riding that apple high, I said to myself, I need to have one of those. I mean the speed increase of general use would be amazing, and the better camera, with focus, and video capabilities, were the reasons I would have upgraded, but the increased data plan was the killer, I mean why the hell should I pay for 3g service when I don't even have it (talked to at&t last year and we were supposed to have it in november of last year... still don't).

I feel that if I wait another year that it will be a worthwhile upgrade, after two years with the same phone design they should change it, and better technology might allow for a metal backing again, all the possibilities for the new iphone, and being able to tell at&t that i need my number transferred, and being able to tell them to F!@# off, will be worth the wait.

I'll put the money towards my new Uni-Body Macbook Pro.

 

[dacreativeguy]

Now that my initial excitement from WWDC has died down, I think I'm going to stick with my 2G, at least until I see exactly how much faster the 3G S actually is. Speed is the only reason I could think to upgrade. However, I remember when the 3G came out, doing side by side date transfer rates with my 2G, in Manhattan, and there not being that much of a speed difference - with my 2G often downloading faster, actually. And, the great majority of the time I use my iPhone for web browsing, I'm on wifi, which is faster than 3G.

We're going to get the 3.0 software, so 2G owners are getting most of the important upgrades anyway (like copy/paste, for ex.).

Do I really need a camera that's a megapixel or so better? Is video recording that much more important to me? I have a great digital camera that does both things way better than any iPhone will do. I mainly use the iPhone for random, fun pics, where the clarity isn't a huge issue anyway. And if it's day light, the pics are great as is.

GPS? I live in New York City, and don't really use it, I can tell where I'm walking. If I'm in a different city, I've found that the Google Maps directions work just fine. In my car, I already have a GPS system.

Compass? What are the practical, realistic uses for a compass? Maybe if I'm hiking a lot? But then, I already have a compass for hiking.

Voice control? Are you really going to use it? I remember when I downloaded the Google App with voice control for searches. I thought, man, I'm going to use this all the time. After a day or two, I never used it again, and continued to type all my searches. It's a fun thing to play with, but for every day use, I just don't see it.

More space? Well, this is a personal issue. I've never filled up my iPhone completely, it's been easy just to tweak my iTunes so that the TV shows, movies, music, etc, that I want on the iPhone, are on it when I want them to be on it. I plug the iPhone into my computer daily, just to charge it anyway, so I don't even think about the space. Is it truly necessary for you to have endless hours of entertainment on the phone, when you know that after 8 hours or so, you're going to have to plug it back into your charger or computer anyway? And that then it's simple to just tweak whatever media you have on there.

The hardware just isn't different enough, at least in my view, to justify the upgrade. Now, maybe I'll see the actual phone and feel differently, but for now, I'll hold out for the big hardware upgrade - like a front facing camera, for ex.

Anyone else feeling like they'll stick with 2G, now that the initial excitement has died down a bit?

I used to carry a phone, a camera, and an ipod when I went on trips back in the fanny pack era. It is a lot easier to just carry one device now that does it all.

 

[chelsel]

sticking with 2G for now

I'm sticking with my 8GB 2G for now... I'll probably keep it until it dies. The assisted GPS in the 2G phone is "good-enough" for most of my needs.

 

[jeffmgr]

2 G owner

And if you really needed that video feature you could always jailbreak your 2g phone and get MMS, SSH, and cut & paste...without having to buy the new 3GS....

 

[Galley]

To me, the 3G wasn't that much of an upgrade from the original iPhone; the 3G S is.