# iPhone 3GS vs iPhone 4



## Rita (Apr 30, 2009)

I'm due for an upgrade and I've had the Blackberry Bold for two years. My sister and my Dad (who's 67) both have the 3GS and love it. My Dad just bought his and has raved about it. He wants me to get one so that way if he ever has a problem I can tell him exactly how to fix it! ;-) I've kinda wanted one for a while, but have been so undecided about which one to get. For you iPhone owners I need advice about which one you have, do you think it's worth the extra $$$ for the newest one? I appreciate all your advice and believe me it is definitely needed.

Thanks.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

I have a 3GS which I bought about April of last year.  It was my first smart phone.  I'm not techie so don't know how it compares to other smart phones.  Not interested in (and could not because of contract?) upgrading to iPhone 4.  I'm happy and satisfied with my 3GS.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

I had a 3GS and loved it, and wasn't interested in upgrading until Radio Shack had a good trade-in offer back in November/December.  When I compared my 3GS to DH's 4G for opening up an app, connecting to the internet, etc and saw how much faster his 4G was, I decided to make the switch.  But if I'd never made the comparison I wouldn't have known or cared - and the 3GS is a great deal these days at what?  $49?  (I didn't think I wanted an iPhone at all - within 24 hrs of finally getting one my husband was threatening an intervention - love it!)


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

Worth it for the camera quality alone.  I can't tell you how many 3GS owners I know who upgraded as soon as they could afford to once they saw the image quality the iPhone 4 produces.  I used to shoot professionally, and the images I can get out of this thing never cease to amaze me.  I kept thinking, "It's a camera phone, how can it possibly be that good?!"  LOL  Well, it can and it is.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I had the 3G and upgraded to the 4G last year. I like it much better. The screen quality is much better and the sound is clearer. I would go for the upgraded model.


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

What's the dollar difference? The iPhone 4 is worth at least $150 more to me than the 3GS, it's really that much better. The speed of the OS and the camera and screen resolution, specifically.


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## Rita (Apr 30, 2009)

Thanks for all the advice. I think I'm going with the 4 since the 3GS has been around for a while. If I'm going to have to sign up for another two year contract once again I would rather have the latest and greatest. One of my son's had a friend that showed me his 4 and I was really impressed with it. It's very sleek looking and he just kept singing its praises about how much he liked it over the 3GS. If anyone has any more comments or advice keep 'em coming.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

One thing to keep in mind is that new iPhones have tended to get announced in the summer (June I think?).  So if you're not in a rush you may want to wait and see what gets announced.

All I've seen officially announced is that the next iPhone will be on AT&T and Verizon at the same time.  And that this time the Verizon one will work in all the countries that the AT&T one does rather than being US only like current Verizon iPhones (due to the CDMA chip they use I think, where as AT&T uses GSM or something).  But if you're on AT&T and not Verizon that's moot.  Also moot if you don't travel internationally.

Another logical thing for them to add would be 4g data support which is a lot faster than 3g.  But that really only matters if you're in/near a big city that has been upgraded to 4g already.

I'm still on a 2+ year old LG Voyager and not on a contract.  I'm contemplating the smartphone plunge, but have a hard time justifying the data plan cost.  I'll be traveling all June, so I'll reassess when I get back and see if there's a new iPhone announcement and/or new Droid phones (I lean toward getting the latter if I take the plunge).


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## Rita (Apr 30, 2009)

Thanks Mooshie. I have read about the June releases, but then again I've read September to November. I'm not really in that big of a hurry so I think I'll wait and see if anything comes out in June. I'm on AT&T and where I live 4G isn't available yet.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Yeah, rumors have seemed to suggest a new one may be announced in June, but not come out until August or September.

My personal guess is that it won't be a huge upgrade and will be an iPhone 4gs rather than an iPhone 5.  I think there'd be more leaked by now if it was going to be a major revision, rather than just a tweak like going from iPhone 3g to iPhone 3gs.


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## Rita (Apr 30, 2009)

I went to the AT&T store yesterday pretty much determined to buy the iphone 4, but after talking with the sales person she talked me into waiting because of what she had heard about the new one coming out next month and she had heard that it would be so much more better than the 4. So I figure if I wait it's no big deal and if it actually doesn't come out like she expects it to I'm not going to be upset. I talked with her about the droids, but we were both in agreement that there were still too many bugs that needed to be worked out. I've seen the "so called" leaked pics of the newest iphone and if they are for real I really like the looks of it. What does everyone else think?


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Oh, I forgot one big thing.

It's worth waiting a bit more to see what happens with the Kindle app.

I think the new Apple rule change where they can no longer have the app work the way it current does (jump out to safari to buy books) unless they add in-app purchasing (which Apple takes 30% of) happens in June.  

If you want the Kindle app on your phone, I'd wait and see what happens with that.  They either have to change to meet the new rule, find some workaround or pull the app form the iOS platform.

My guess is that Amazon will just pull all purchasing options from the app (no jump out to safari) and you'll have to go to Amazon manually and buy the book and then download it through the archive.  If so, no big deal.  But I could see Apple changing the rule again to thwart that method too.  So that's another thing that has me waiting a bit longer to get a smartphone.  I also want to wait and see how the 2nd gen of 4G Android phones turns out since current ones like the Thunderbolt are pretty glitchy.


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## Rita (Apr 30, 2009)

I won't have any use for the app on my phone. I did try it on my Blackberry Bold and couldn't stand to read on such a tiny, bright screen. There will be no replacing my Kindle! ;-) I'm kinda anxious to see what Androids come out next as well as the iPhone so I'm going to try and be patient and wait and see what kind of goodies come up. Hopefully the wait won't be too long! I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE gadgets!!!


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Fair enough! 

The Kindle app is one of the main reasons I'm considering a smart phone as I'd love to have it available when I get stuck waiting somewhere etc.  Being male, I don't have a purse (and hate wearing a backpack etc. when out and about) so I seldom have my Kindle with me.  I wouldn't read on it regularly though, as the screen is so small.  Just here and there when I had time to kill.  Glare doesn't bother me as I read a good bit on my iPad with no problem (newspapers, library e-books etc.).


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## Rita (Apr 30, 2009)

Well Moosh I can understand why you would need the app considering you couldn't easily take your Kindle every where. I've seem man purses before and they aren't cool!  LOL!!!


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Exactly!


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## Rita (Apr 30, 2009)

mooshie78 said:


> Fair enough!
> 
> The Kindle app is one of the main reasons I'm considering a smart phone as I'd love to have it available when I get stuck waiting somewhere etc. Being male, I don't have a purse (and hate wearing a backpack etc. when out and about) so I seldom have my Kindle with me. I wouldn't read on it regularly though, as the screen is so small. Just here and there when I had time to kill. Glare doesn't bother me as I read a good bit on my iPad with no problem (newspapers, library e-books etc.).


What kind of smart phone are you considering?


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Rita said:


> What kind of smart phone are you considering?


Either a 4G Droid (but want to wait for the next wave since the first gen ones are apparently kind of glitchy) or the next iPhone. More likely Droid as I'd prefer something more open and customizable than the iPhone, and Apple's policies about the in-app purchasing etc. (that are affecting the Kindle app and others) irk me.

It's also dependent on what the new tiered data plans Verizon comes out with are like. I'm not willing to switch carriers as my girlfriend and most of my friends and family are on Verizon so I don't want to lose the unlimited in network calling.

Mostly I want to see what the lowest tier is when the new plans are announced. I don't need much 3G data since I'm near wifi most of the time and wouldn't use it to stream video or music anyway--just for e-mail or looking up an address or sports scores when out and about etc.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I am a longtime Sprint subscriber, and will be replacing my EVO 4G with the EVO 3D when that phone is released in a few weeks.  Obviously I am an Android guy. There are other threads around on Android vs. iPhone, in short I like the ability to customize my screens.


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