Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Who else is collecting iPhones in every form factor?

J

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Original poster
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,390
New Sanfrakota
I have the original iPhone (8 GB), 3GS (32 GB) and am now using the iP4 (32 GB). I'm keeping one in every form factor and sell the others (between myself and my wife). If the iPhone 5 comes out next year in the same form factor (like 3G to 3GS), I'll sell our iP4s and so on.

It's pretty cool to have one in each design version. My observations so far:

Original iPhone: Superior build quality and the most substantial/durable iPhone, but slipperiest in the hand.

iPhone 3GS (and 3G): Most comfortable in the hand but subpar build quality. Most uniform in terms of looks (and photographs the best).

iPhone 4: Build quality as substantial as the original but apparently less sturdy. The best-wearing iPhone (no scratches on the Apple logo or stainless steel frame after a couple weeks unlike the previous versions' Apple logo and chrome bevel).
 
I'm just as guilty.
 

Attachments

  • photo.JPG
    photo.JPG
    54 KB · Views: 255
I'm not collecting all of them, but I have no intention of ever giving up my original iPhone. I bought it about an hour after they went on sale back in 2007, which, as the years go by, kind of makes it one of the first iPhones in history. Only thing is, I seem to have lost or thrown out the box. I keep hoping I'll run across it somewhere, but I generally like to keep things lean and therefore don't play the pack rat game. So I guess I accidentally threw it out. Bummer.
 
Lol...I have been looking for a nice/cheap 2G to start rounding out my collection.

I still think the first gen was the nicest. :)
 
Can't say that I am, I sell the old phone to recoup some of the expense for my new one.
 
I can't say that I am.

I tried collecting video game consoles and they just collect dust and sit in a box somewhere in my garage. I had all the Nintendo home consoles and maybe had like 14 different systems (including portables). Even bought a Sega Saturn for $25 @ GameCrazy about six years ago that I never really used at all. I still have my Atari Jaguar in its box that I got for Christmas of 1993. I did the same for cell phones for awhile, but now just want to sell them. My Sanyo phone's battery from 2004 no longer charges. I like to be a minimalist and no longer a rat pack. I may keep my iPhone 4 though. My first gadget/cell phone of the new decade. I will just pony up for the battery replacement every 3-5 years or whenever the batt no longer charges. I say the batt loses its capacity about 10% every year which puts it at 10 years depending on how many charges you have with it and the conditions you put it in.

But I do agree with everything the OP said about each form factor. The best to hold for a long time seemed to be the 3's for that curved back, but it felt the cheapest. The OG was easily the most durable and immune to fingerprints on the back. The Apple logo (like the chrome bezel) on the 2G did scratch though. I think the 4 is the best looking and feels like a $1000 phone, but it isn't the most comfortable to hold for a long time, nor is it the most durable because how easy the glass breaks on either side. It also is a fingerprint magnet like the 3's, but at least the back isn't prone to scratches like the 3's.

There is pluses and minuses to everything. Trade-offs. Beauty and perfection is subjective. Could completely mean something different to somebody else.

No right or wrong. Just preference.
 
If I didn't need the money from selling my old iPhone to buy the new one, I'd be doing this too.

*jealousy*
 
No, 3GS is my first iphone. I love technology and electronics but there's no tech that I really collect.
 
rotobadger said:
Lol...I have been looking for a nice/cheap 2G to start rounding out my collection.

I still think the first gen was the nicest. :)
Click to expand...

Agree! I still have the box and all the inserts and keep it in a nice Vaja case in a drawer. It still looks new. I can still use the dock for my new phone too!
 
Well it is good to see that Apple is making their boxes smaller and smaller every generation.
 
Savor said:
I tried collecting video game consoles and they just collect dust and sit in a box somewhere in my garage. I had all the Nintendo home consoles and maybe had like 14 different systems (including portables). Even bought a Sega Saturn for $25 @ GameCrazy about six years ago that I never really used at all. I still have my Atari Jaguar in its box that I got for Christmas of 1993.
Click to expand...

OMG I bought a Sega Saturn about two years ago along with Night's into Dreams, Christmas Nights and the special controller. I had seen the game on a podcast and it looked so cool. I never played it - but my daughter did!
 
Take a picture and sell it

I sell my stuff on eBay to pay for the new. The 3GS was my first iPhone. When I sell my phones I have taken as nice of a pic I can get and then save them in a special folder. I have pics of an old blackberry, a moto razr, a few nokias, and the like. It's fun to look back and see the phones I have owned. I am not much of a collector so the pics are fine. Take up less space plus I get the money from the sale.
 
2g - handed down to younger brother
3g - christmas present to mom
3gs - birthday present to dad
4 - current phone

so far, the 3gs was the biggest improvement
 
sk2sep2304 said:
2g - handed down to younger brother
3g - christmas present to mom
3gs - birthday present to dad
4 - current phone

so far, the 3gs was the biggest improvement
Click to expand...

Why do some people think 3GS was the biggest improvement? It added a freaking compass and basic video. And obviously it was faster.

The iPhone 4 is also faster, added HD video, front camera, LED flash, gyroscope, all new design, 40% longer battery etc

The 3Gs was a clone of the 3G that had video and a compass.
 
maddux2005 said:
Why do some people think 3GS was the biggest improvement? It added a freaking compass and basic video. And obviously it was faster.

The iPhone 4 is also faster, added HD video, front camera, LED flash, gyroscope, all new design, 40% longer battery etc

The 3Gs was a clone of the 3G that had video and a compass.
Click to expand...

The original iPhone was the best because it was new. The 3GS was the best iPhone (until the 4). The reason people tend to like the 3GS the best is because the speed actually made the phone usable. It got SO old waiting for the camera app for example, to open on the 3G. On the 3GS it was speedy. In fact, my wife's 3GS boots her (admittedly) iPhone 3.1.2 faster than my iPhone 4 boots up. The 3G took forever to turn on.
 
Well I have owned multiple versions of each iPhone, I don't keep them though as I sell them in order to raise money to buy the next version
 
I have my 2G, my current phone actually, along with the box. And I do have a 3GS with its box and my iPhone 4 will be here Friday, so I'm guilty of this also :)
 
I don't have the need to buy a new phone every year, but I'm keeping my 3G when I get my 4.
 
My husband and I have 2 of the 2g, one 3gs and two iPhone 4's (as soon as my is delivered). I'm hoping that when my mom or in-laws upgrade from the 3g that we can talk one of them out of it. My mom still has the black iPhone bag from the original launch, it's pretty sweet.
 
I have one sealed iPhone box of each generation. I'm going to ebay them in 20 years. (jk, although that probably wouldn't have been a bad idea, maybe..)
 
I have each of the iPhones, and don't plan to stop "collecting" them.

Also, i have al the boxes, as well asa all of the inserts. The only thing i have used from the box is two of the chargers of the 4 iPhones i have had. Can't wait to see my collection in a few years time :D

How times will have changed.

Oh, and my first gen still runs 1.1.4 LOL!
 
i cant sell mine. Just cant, not that i literally cant, i just dont want to.

I have a 3G & a 3GS at the moment, waiting for the white iPhone 4 then i will complete the set (minus the original)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back