Worth getting an iPhone? Also 3G vs. 3GS?

[Vonhelmet]

So, I picked up an iPod touch the other day, and so far I'm really impressed with it. I was always hesitant about getting an iPhone, due to the cost, claims of poor battery life and so on, but I'm seriously tempted now.

I don't want one on contract, as my current deal is fine and I'd prefer a one off spend and lower monthly costs, so I'm looking at a second hand iPhone, either from eBay or somewhere like cex.

Good idea? Bad idea?

Other questions...

1) just how bad is battery life on either the 3G or 3GS?
2) how bad is the 3G if you update to ios 4?
3) is the 3GS worth the huge price hike over the 3G? Whichever I get I'll only be after an 8gb model as I'll have the touch for all my music and any other heavy lifting.

Ta all.

 

[FreeStream]

On the bay of e the 3GS is going for anywhere between £20 and £100 more than the equiv 3G.

1. It will last you a day, this is typical for any powerful smartphone.
2. Some say it's ok, some say it's bad, i'd get a 3GS.
3. As above, if you play your cards right you can get a 16Gb 3GS for £250-300 which IMO is a bargain.

Debating wether to sell my 3GS for a i4 but I can't see the benefit!

 

[Vonhelmet]

In terms of battery life and smart phones, I'm currently using a Nokia E71, which has a huge battery. I generally get at least 2 days out of it unless I'm doing loads of GPS with it. I guess I don't have things like push notificatons to contend with, but even so.

The other thing I love on the E71 is the full QWERTY physical keyboard. I'm getting better with the touchscreen on the touch, but it's nowhere near as good as a physical one. Maybe it'll come with practise.

However, I'm also tempted towards the iphone just for convergence and consistency - having all my calendar and contacts synced across my devices is very desirable. I could use something like Missingsync on the E71, but it seems hacky compared to everything being done in the same systems.

 

[Jabbs]

As a guide my brother sold his 18 month old 8gb 3g for £180 on the bay a few days ago.

To Concorde Rules once you have used the I4's screen you won't look at the 3g/3gs the difference is quite astonishing when i was resetting my bro's 3g for sale i couldn't get how bad it looked so pixely, then there is the HD video recording and 5mp camera with flash which takes rather good pictures, picture i took below and a small video of one of the cats watch in hd.
http://img64.imageshack.us/f/img0027fgn.jpg/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV6Zs7k-V8A

 

[Nexus]

I'd go for the 3GS.

Had my 3G since launch and I certainly find it's not as speedy with the updates they've done to the OS & the launch of Apps that rely on it's processing power.

 

[macfanuk]

My fiance has a 3GS and it's brilliant. She'd be so lost without it now (in fact, the glass on the screen got smashed a few weeks ago and she really missed having the phone while it was getting repaired). As for the battery, it generally needs charging once a day BUT if you use the ipod function of it, it REALLY drains the battery so may last a couple of hours playing music at the most.

 

[Nexus]

I'd disagree with the above ^

It's using WiFi and 3G Data that really drains the battery.

I've been away on holiday and have switched WiFi and 3G off, due to it being unavailable and the battery will last a week, while still using it as an iPod.

 

[macfanuk]

I'd disagree with the above ^

It's using WiFi and 3G Data that really drains the battery.

I've been away on holiday and have switched WiFi and 3G off, due to it being unavailable and the battery will last a week, while still using it as an iPod.

Do you think it could be a combination of the 3G Data being active and using it as an iPod? As I said, it's my fiance's phone so just reporting what she's noticed. Might get her to try turning 3G off next time and see if that helps. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Mattus]

I wouldn't recommend a 3G these days. It's just not fast enough to run iOS 4 smoothly. The 3GS has twice as much RAM inside, and runs much faster - plus the price difference isn't that dramatic, as the 3G has held its value surprisingly well.

Using the iPod doesn't drain the battery much. In my experience, the things which kill the battery most are (in order) 3D games, GPS and surfing via 3G. Just having the 3G switched on doesn't seem to have much effect unless you're in a weak 3G signal area. In Oxford, I had to turn the 3G off because the phone was constantly switching between 2G and one bar of 3G, which ruined the battery life.

 

[Nexus]

Do you think it could be a combination of the 3G Data being active and using it as an iPod? As I said, it's my fiance's phone so just reporting what she's noticed. Might get her to try turning 3G off next time and see if that helps. Thanks for the suggestion.

I've had my 3G since launch and it's just what I've found.

If you use your phone everyday to make calls, surf the net a bit, watch videos and use some apps, then you will need to charge it everyday.

Also, if you've got the phone checking for e-mail, as do some apps with their notifications it will be using the data connection routinely to do so.

If you are worried about running out of power between chances to get to charge, then simply turn off Data, WiFi & 3G, or put it in Flight Mode.

I'd say it's pretty rare that most iPhone users are very going to be away from the chance to charge it for very long though.

 

[FreeStream]

To Concorde Rules once you have used the I4's screen you won't look at the 3g/3gs the difference is quite astonishing when i was resetting my bro's 3g for sale i couldn't get how bad it looked so pixely, then there is the HD video recording and 5mp camera with flash which takes rather good pictures, picture i took below and a small video of one of the cats watch in hd.
http://img64.imageshack.us/f/img0027fgn.jpg/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV6Zs7k-V8A

It's nice, but it's not worth the £200-240 I'd have to pay to upgrade.

And the camera is a moot point, I have a few £k of Digital SLR, I rarely, rarely use my 3GS camera (less than 100 shots since launch...)

On the whole the i4 really isn't worth the upgrade cost to me. Waiting for the i5

 

[Vonhelmet]

Right, so the 3GS sounds like it's worth the money. Looking on ebay, I can get an 8Gb for £200-£250 if I get lucky, which is fine. Time to start selling a few bits and bobs to get some funds together...

One last question - a lot of the phones on ebay are locked to a particular network. How hard is it to unlock an iphone these days? I'm not in a hurry to "jailbreak" it if that's going to mean faffing around every time Apple release new software for it. Is it possible to unlock it easily?

 

[FreeStream]

Right, so the 3GS sounds like it's worth the money. Looking on ebay, I can get an 8Gb for £200-£250 if I get lucky, which is fine. Time to start selling a few bits and bobs to get some funds together...

One last question - a lot of the phones on ebay are locked to a particular network. How hard is it to unlock an iphone these days? I'm not in a hurry to "jailbreak" it if that's going to mean faffing around every time Apple release new software for it. Is it possible to unlock it easily?

O2 will unlock it for you for free or a few quid (I think it's like £10 or something), it takes a few days but then it's fully unlocked.

Don't know about other networks however.

 

[Vonhelmet]

O2 will unlock it for you for free or a few quid (I think it's like £10 or something), it takes a few days but then it's fully unlocked.

Don't know about other networks however.

Sounds fair enough - £10 is definitely worth it considering the premium that unlocked phones go for on ebay.

I'm on O2 anyway, so that should be fine.

 

[Blackhawk47]

For some reason i thought you had an iPhone.

Basically, Id go with the 3GS. I had a play with one recently and compared to my 3GS it is a lot more snappier and definitely the right choice if your going with iOS4.

 

[lewism]

I bought an Iphone 2g two months ago and it works fantastic. My friend has the i4 and yes while its all shiney and new we can both use the same apps but the speed at which he can do things does show up mines a bit.

If i was you i'd go with the 3gs, i can get 2/3 days out of my phone without a charge and having 3g would be a nice touch. I also got mines unlocked by o2, it costs £15 but i got a pay and go simcard and put £20 in it so i have a backup sim. You have to use it for a couple of calls/texts so the sim is identified with the phone.

 

[sarge78]

+1 for the 3GS, it's still a good all rounder.

Also, if you don't mind a new contract check out the latest deals for the Desire and Galaxy S. Tough to ignore a high end free phone with a v.cheap contract.

I bought an Iphone 2g two months ago and it works fantastic. i can get 2/3 days out of my phone without a charge

I usually get 8+ days usage from my old 1st gen now (Just using it for minor phone/email/text/web browsing)
It's still a cracking phone (aluminum backs <3) and thank goodness they didn't wack iOS4 on it
________
YAMAHA YA-3

 

[McPhee]

Don't buy a 3G.

I've got one and cannot wait to get rid. Since iOS4 was released the phone has become a nightmare, it stalls and slows at random intervals. I've even missed calls because the phone stalls sometimes when I 'slide to answer'.

Just waiting for the next crop of phones to come out and then I'm jumping ship. Will downgrade to 3.x and sell the handset to my mum (it ran fine on 3.x, I've just not got around to downgrading yet).

 

[Blackhawk47]

Don't buy a 3G.

I've got one and cannot wait to get rid. Since iOS4 was released the phone has become a nightmare, it stalls and slows at random intervals. I've even missed calls because the phone stalls sometimes when I 'slide to answer'.

I've found the slider to stall but the call actually goes ahead even though it appears the slide to answer thing is stuck.

 

[alfalavala]

Got the 3GS when it came out and still get good battery life from it. I doubt a 3G will support iOS5 (w/e) so a 3GS should have a bit more longevity.