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When would I feel the 3GS lack of power?

D

Denis54

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 24, 2011
101
0
I am on a prepaid plan and I only use a few minutes every month.

I would like to get a smartphone and a cheap data plan so that I could use the Maps app when I am on the road. I plan to get the Virgin Canada $10 a month for 100 MB data plan.

I also want to be able to use Navfree (a GPS app) when I travel abroad.

Given the limited use I plan to make of the phone would it matters if it is less powerfull than the 4 or 4S?
 
I like you was not eligble to get a iPhone. Keep your eyes peeled on craigslist because I dont think you would be happy for the 3GS. You can get a 4 for $200 in toronto.
 
Denis54 said:
I am on a prepaid plan and I only use a few minutes every month.

I would like to get a smartphone and a cheap data plan so that I could use the Maps app when I am on the road. I plan to get the Virgin Canada $10 a month for 100 MB data plan.

I also want to be able to use Navfree (a GPS app) when I travel abroad.

Given the limited use I plan to make of the phone would it matters if it is less powerfull than the 4 or 4S?
Click to expand...

If you aren't planning on gaming you won't feel much.

Web pages will load a bit slower, apps will dump their state more often because the memory is half of the newer iPhones.

Running multiple GPS apps will slow down even the 4S.
 
If you wait until the next model iPhone comes out, you will have ample opportunities to find iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models after people dump them. Do NOT waste your time with a 3GS. I mainly say this because you will miss out on the Retina display, which is well worth the extra $2 it'll cost you.
 
Michael CM1 said:
If you wait until the next model iPhone comes out, you will have ample opportunities to find iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models after people dump them. Do NOT waste your time with a 3GS. I mainly say this because you will miss out on the Retina display, which is well worth the extra $2 it'll cost you.
Click to expand...

Agreed, this is the best advice. Wait until prices on the 4 drop.
 
Michael CM1 said:
If you wait until the next model iPhone comes out, you will have ample opportunities to find iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models after people dump them. Do NOT waste your time with a 3GS. I mainly say this because you will miss out on the Retina display, which is well worth the extra $2 it'll cost you.
Click to expand...

Yea, that's a good advice. The retina screen is worth it.
 
Haha, the good ol' 3GS. The jewel of the iPhone line. I remember when it first came out. Other phones couldn't hold a candle to it, and it is so far the only iPhone to support 4 major iOS versions. Look how far it's come. It will be a bit of a bummer to see it discontinued. 256 MB of RAM and a 600 MHz single core processor could bring it this far, at least. :apple:

Sentimental rant aside, OP, you will definitely see the 3GS's lack of power. Especially when running multiple apps. The aforementioned hardware specs are a bit of a bottleneck with the newer iOS versions. I'd say get a 4 or 4S (definitely a 4S or higher if you can) after the new iPhone comes out and prices go down, as everyone else has suggested.

EDIT: the 3GS also lacks Apple's trademark features, such as FaceTime, retina display, and more to come I would imagine.
 
Last edited:
Denis54 said:
I am on a prepaid plan and I only use a few minutes every month.

I would like to get a smartphone and a cheap data plan so that I could use the Maps app when I am on the road. I plan to get the Virgin Canada $10 a month for 100 MB data plan.

I also want to be able to use Navfree (a GPS app) when I travel abroad.

Given the limited use I plan to make of the phone would it matters if it is less powerfull than the 4 or 4S?
Click to expand...

You will be feeling it next month!
 
The 3GS is perfectly fine for normal use, and is more drop-proof than the 4/4S. The 4 is only marginally faster, but has a better screen and double the RAM, so you have to somewhat mind what's running on a 3GS. I say buy what you can get a good deal on.
 
You'll definitely feel it when multitasking...my 4 slows down nowadays when I have a lot going on.

Also, you'll be missing that retina display. That would be my main reason not to get the 3GS, other than that, its a usable phone.
 
Don't get an iPhone 4. It's comparable to the iPhone 3G in terms of being out-paced by the (s) upgraded models. I only still have mine because I've had it since November of '10.
 
Love the stylings of the 3GS, the white was my favourite iPhone. That said, iOS6 will likely slow things to a crawlllll
 
I love my 3Gs. One really, really neat thing is that some of the older 3Gs iPhones will have an untethered jailbreak on iOS 6 thanks to their old bootrom. They'll also have verbose boot and real boot logos. I wonder if Apple will discontinue the iPhone 4 and keep the 3Gs around for iOS 7. Unlikely, but it would make it even easier for the iPhone to get into ultra low cost markets. It'd also make lots of people, namely iPhone 4 people, really unhappy.
 
My mom is still on a 3GS, and I've used her phone on iOS 5 with no issues whatsoever. You're not 3D Gaming, you really don't have much to worry about. GPS apps even still work just fine, including turn-by-turn apps like Navigon etc.

I AM feeling slowness on my iP4 though, but I filled the poor thing up to the brim with music, so it has no "wiggle-room" for even any software updates...you have to perform them on the computer.
 
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