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Good time to buy a 3G(not S)?

freshj

freshj

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 25, 2007
79
9
Hi,
I need a new phone, the one I have is driving me up the wall. I'm thinking about getting an iPhone 3G as my mate who works for the Co-op bank get's 30% off for 5 friends on O2 contracts. however this only applies to the 8GB 3G, not the 3GS.

So basically, I was wondering if it's a good time to get one? The buyers guide says "Buy only if you need it - Approaching the end of a cycle" but I don't know if that only applies to the 3GS. It also says that they seem to be updated in June? Well June is a long time away. I wouldn't have thought they would update it for a while now right? I mean if they were going to, they would have done it before christmas no? And updating it soon after Christmas is unlikely right?

Also, do you think O2 are likely to offer any better deals when Orange roll out their iPhones?

The other question is does anyone know if it's likely that the 30% off is going to extend to the 3GS any time soon? Like if you work for O2 or the Co-op or something and have any ideas?

Thanks for any thoughts.

James.
 
Are you sure it's only valid for the 3G, not 3GS? My dad's using a 30% Friends and family and he purchased the 3GS on launch day. However, it is for the contract price not the purchase price of the phone.

Also, I doubt O2 will adapt their plans anytime soon.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Er when I asked, they said it was only for the 3G. Yes it is only for the contract price. What company does the person who gave you the discount work for?
 
Hiya,

The 30% discount was applied to new 3GS contracts for about the first 7-10 days after release however O2 pulled the offer due to shortages of the 3GS around release time.

They have kept on saying that the are going to re-introduce the offer however from what I have seen the offer is off until January 2010 at the earliest.

O2 won't offer any better plans than they have already as Orange have set thier contracts exactly the same as O2 so they won't see a need to do so.

Personally I wouldn't get the 3G (I'd wait until June/July 2010 for the new one)now unless you have an actuall need to get it...simply beacuse you'll end up with an iPhone that will be two models old in less than 7 months and you'd not be eligible for an upgrade until May 2011.
 
There are a lot of rumors that an 8GB 3GS is going to replace it by the end of the year.
 
freshj said:
Hi,
I need a new phone, the one I have is driving me up the wall. I'm thinking about getting an iPhone 3G as my mate who works for the Co-op bank get's 30% off for 5 friends on O2 contracts. however this only applies to the 8GB 3G, not the 3GS.

So basically, I was wondering if it's a good time to get one? The buyers guide says "Buy only if you need it - Approaching the end of a cycle" but I don't know if that only applies to the 3GS. It also says that they seem to be updated in June? Well June is a long time away. I wouldn't have thought they would update it for a while now right? I mean if they were going to, they would have done it before christmas no? And updating it soon after Christmas is unlikely right?

Also, do you think O2 are likely to offer any better deals when Orange roll out their iPhones?

The other question is does anyone know if it's likely that the 30% off is going to extend to the 3GS any time soon? Like if you work for O2 or the Co-op or something and have any ideas?

Thanks for any thoughts.

James.
Click to expand...

No offense but I think that would be retarded not to pay the extra money and get a 3GS.
 
I might buy another iPhone 3G (black) because I have a good LCD I can put in it.

Unfortunately, the LCD in the iPhone 3GS isn't very good (from all the ones I've seen in person) and I can't put an iPhone 3G LCD into an iPhone 3GS... the connectors aren't the same.

Therefore, I may buy an 8GB iPhone 3G so I can put a good LCD in it. Plus, I'd be able to run 2.2.1 still (my favorite iPhone OS).
 
I have faced so many problems with the piece of s*** called iPhone that I'd NEVER buy another iPhone again. After upgrading to the latest release of firmware from Apple my phone has been giving me so many problems and i've been bounced around like a tennis ball between Apple and AT&T, with each pointing the finger at the other, but neither of them fixing the problem and yet they still want my $$$. Why can't these idiotic companies make something that just works...so much for their claims of their stuff just working.....NOT!!!

Yes i'm frustrated and yes i'm venting..I have been patient enough way too long.
 
chandsa said:
I have faced so many problems with the piece of s*** called iPhone that I'd NEVER buy another iPhone again. After upgrading to the latest release of firmware from Apple my phone has been giving me so many problems and i've been bounced around like a tennis ball between Apple and AT&T, with each pointing the finger at the other, but neither of them fixing the problem and yet they still want my $$$. Why can't these idiotic companies make something that just works...so much for their claims of their stuff just working.....NOT!!!

Yes i'm frustrated and yes i'm venting..I have been patient enough way too long.
Click to expand...

What are your problems? If they persist, I recommend taking your iPhone into an Apple Genius Bar.
 
Get 3G, if you're not intrested in compass/video recording then go for it. ( Well you can get good video recorder from cydia also, not cyrecorder )
3GS is faster BUT 3G is fast enough.
 
TheSpaz said:
I might buy another iPhone 3G (black) because I have a good LCD I can put in it.

Unfortunately, the LCD in the iPhone 3GS isn't very good (from all the ones I've seen in person) and I can't put an iPhone 3G LCD into an iPhone 3GS... the connectors aren't the same.

Therefore, I may buy an 8GB iPhone 3G so I can put a good LCD in it. Plus, I'd be able to run 2.2.1 still (my favorite iPhone OS).
Click to expand...

WOW :eek:why don't you keep your current one??? Or upgrade to the 3GS, sure the colors might be a little bit washed out on the 3GS compared to the 3G, but for all the extra power I would say is a nice trade off. And that would fix your OS 3.X performance issues.
 
klamse25 said:
What are your problems? If they persist, I recommend taking your iPhone into an Apple Genius Bar.
Click to expand...

The major problems i'm facing (and so is my wife, with her iPhone) are that the phone just goes into the infamous "coma" mode, where nothing happens when you press the home button. Then there is the issue of dropped calls, dropped text messages. I have a land line and when my wife attempts to call me from her workplace, i'm sitting right there, with her iPhone on speaker; I can hear the call going out, but my iPhone will be quiet, sitting there and sleeping.

Taking the iPhone to the Apple store and to the AT&T technicians is a joke. Apple asks to swap out the SIM cards, which have been done 4 times now. AT&T says that the unit might be defective and that Apple should replace it. Between the two of them, all I can fret about is my dollars going down the drain. WTF is wrong with these idiots when the customer says that he is having a problem with the unit? I'm led to conclude that they just want to turn a deaf ear and let the warranty expire (in about 3-4 months) and then say that since the phone is out of warranty I'd have to purchase a new one. What else can be the reason for this goof up??

This whole experience is just frustrating!
 
don't buy the 3g, its pretty slow now compared to the 3gs

wait for a bit , the 8gb 3gs sounds like a good deal
 
Wait and see if an 8GB 3GS comes out by December. If not, go ahead with the 8GB 3G. After all, it's a steal now.
 
Thank you for helpful thoughts everyone.

Although it may seem "retarded" (thanks klamse25) to want the 3G over the 3GS, my main concern is money saving. I know it's faster and has more features but they're niceties not essentials for me (I don't do much compass reading). I'm happy to pay for the low end iPhone as I think it is a great product but I don't necessarily care about having the latest and greatest model. Plus, I want to use my O2 discount, which only applies to the 3G right now.

However, if Apple are about to phase out the 3G with an 8GB 3GS, I would obviously be happy to get that. So, does anyone think there is any substance to this rumour? If I had to guess (I'm not an industry expert) I would say that if Apple were going to get a new model out for the holiday season they would either have done it or will be doing it within days?

cap'njack, it's very annoying that the O2 offer was withdrawn from the 3GS! You say you think it might come back in Jan 2010, why do you think that and what are your sources for such information? I don't really want to wait until Q3 2010 for the new iPhone, my Sony Ericsson is driving me crazy, I need a new phone soon!

Thanks again for all your thoughts.
 
chandsa said:
The major problems i'm facing (and so is my wife, with her iPhone) are that the phone just goes into the infamous "coma" mode, where nothing happens when you press the home button. Then there is the issue of dropped calls, dropped text messages. I have a land line and when my wife attempts to call me from her workplace, i'm sitting right there, with her iPhone on speaker; I can hear the call going out, but my iPhone will be quiet, sitting there and sleeping.

Taking the iPhone to the Apple store and to the AT&T technicians is a joke. Apple asks to swap out the SIM cards, which have been done 4 times now. AT&T says that the unit might be defective and that Apple should replace it. Between the two of them, all I can fret about is my dollars going down the drain. WTF is wrong with these idiots when the customer says that he is having a problem with the unit? I'm led to conclude that they just want to turn a deaf ear and let the warranty expire (in about 3-4 months) and then say that since the phone is out of warranty I'd have to purchase a new one. What else can be the reason for this goof up??

This whole experience is just frustrating!
Click to expand...

Are you running the latest software? Mine hasn't had the "coma" issue since the last update.
 
my 3g is fine. not that I wouldn't rather have a 3gs, but my 2 year agreement on my 3g will run out just in time for the next iphone, which should be a much larger leap forward in comparison to the 3g to 3gs gap (or virtual lack thereof)
 
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