iPhone 4 or 3GS

[snorkel]

My iPhone 3G is nearing death (3G chip dead, headphone jack half-broken, most things that involve touch and accelerometer fairly broken) and I have a $100 Apple gift card, so it is time for a new phone.

1. iPhone 4 - Advantages are basically the advertised features, namely the beautiful screen. I don't really care about 'facetime' or HD video recording because I'm sure both will be marred and sub-par. The disadvantages I perceive are that a. it looks less comfortable (in a pocket) than previous iPhones and b. the widely-publicized antenna reception problem. Apparently it is particularly obnoxious to hold in the left hand, since the thumb naturally falls someplace where it causes the signal to drop (I'm left-handed). apple is holding an event this week to address the issue, but I have a feeling Jobs will reality-distort it into thin air  

2. iPhone 3GS - Advantage of being stable (and can still put iOS 4 on it, to my knowledge), disadvantage of getting jewed out of some update/new feature within 6 months for not having the most recent model


32gb 3GS's appear to be selling for ~$300 on eBay (for some reason Apple now sells 3GS in 8gb only). 4 would be the same price or $100 less with the gift card.

Another major consideration is that iPhone 4 is sold out everywhere until at least later this month. Please don't recommend an Android phone unless you know of one with a smaller form factor and more internal storage (hint: there aren't any)

[Feynman]

Sell your iPhone 3G: $200
Buy iPhone 4: $200
Total cost to you: $0

Trust me, the iPhone 4 is a huge jump from the iPhone 3G and totally worth the 200/300 dollar upgrade. Everything you do is faster, and the iPhone 4 is extremely stable. Battery life is much better, I can now use it without the anxiety of thinking about losing battery. Multitasking just works, and after experiencing all this you will never be able to go back to a previous model. Holding it at first may feel funny, but you will get used to it after a week and grow to love it, remember the original iPhone? Get the free bumper Apple is offering to iPhone 4 customers if the grip bothers you.

[snorkel]

Sell your iPhone 3G: $200
Buy iPhone 4: $200
Total cost to you: $0

Trust me, the iPhone 4 is a huge jump from the iPhone 3G and totally worth the 200/300 dollar upgrade. Everything you do is faster, and the iPhone 4 is extremely stable. Battery life is much better, I can now use it without the anxiety of thinking about losing battery. Multitasking just works, and after experiencing all this you will never be able to go back to a previous model. Holding it at first may feel funny, but you will get used to it after a week and grow to love it, remember the original iPhone? Get the free bumper Apple is offering to iPhone 4 customers if the grip bothers you.

No I will not put a goddamn case on my iphone, if I wanted a large phone I'd get an Evo 4G (which I've heard is fairly bad, or at least not great). 

If the left-hand thing really is a problem, that is a major concern. I guess I need to test one and evaluate the form factor up close.

[Andrios]

What did you do to that poor iPhone that it's nearing death?  I have a 3G, also, and I've dropped it countless times, and it's just fine...

[Feynman]

I too refuse to use a case. The reception thing isn't a problem. It's only a problem if you're holding the phone in portrait with your left hand and you're jerking off to a picture of a girl who's much younger than you and you're about to orgasm and you grip the phone tighter do you actually lose service.

Who holds their phone that tightly?

[Andrios]

I too refuse to use a case. The reception thing isn't a problem. It's only a problem if you're holding the phone in portrait with your left hand and you're jerking off to a picture of a girl who's much younger than you and you're about to orgasm and you grip the phone tighter do you actually lose service.

Who holds their phone that tightly?

i fkn lol'd

[applesauce]

I'm in a similar situation. My 3G is slowly dying... battery life is under 1.5 hours with continuous use, screen is shattered, the back is cracked, the headphone jack only plays left ear, and the lower right hand quadrant of the touchscreen occasionally goes unresponsive. But I'm getting an iPad in a month, so I'm going to keep using this until it dies for good, and then decide whether I want a new iPhone or if the iPad is good enough that I can just get a shitty smartphone and save some cash.


I would go with the 4 if I were you. I've used one a couple times and the reception seemed to be basically a non-issue. The people I know who have them seem to agree. Also, THE DISPLAY IS SO PRETTY.

[rdl]

I too refuse to use a case. The reception thing isn't a problem. It's only a problem if you're holding the phone in portrait with your left hand and you're jerking off to a picture of a girl who's much younger than you and you're about to orgasm and you grip the phone tighter do you actually lose service.

Who holds their phone that tightly?

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/07/19/how-steve-jobs-turned-a-finger-spot-into-a-death-grip/

[snorkel]

I would go with the 4 if I were you. I've used one a couple times and the reception seemed to be basically a non-issue. The people I know who have them seem to agree. Also, THE DISPLAY IS SO PRETTY.

Yeah I don't doubt it's a media hype thing, but it would also not be unreasonable at all for apple to produce something like that... and yes jesus I might actually start using it for videos (720p in that resolution) and VNC for accessing my home network and servers

[snorkel]

Ahh Motorola Droid X / Android 2.2 = portable hotspot. That's a big seller, I will use it relentlessly for using laptop in random places

edit: yes I had not inspected the Droid X before.

- CDMA/verizon (better 3g/everything)
- same form factor as iphone, a few mm taller but as slim
- Android 2.2 which looks nice to use
- Create wi-fi hotspot from 3g
- HDMI TV-out
- 8gb internal + SD expansion, so at least 32gb + 8gb, possible 64gb + 8gb
- Camera/720p recording will probably be slightly better than iPhone's
- Only $270, with a short 1yr contract too.


It's such a hard decision that I'll have to go extensively demo an iPhone 4 and Droid X. I think I'll end up with the Droid, though, because I really liked the first droid, even with its clunkiness and primitive Android (it was just a very solid phone, I felt like I was actually using a small computer).

[applesauce]

If tethering is a big deal to you, remember now that you're moving into the city, the USI service is an option. It's only like $15 a month, I think, and is somewhat fast.