Upgrading to iPhone 3G?
how many of you upgraded your generic 1st generation iPhone to a 3G? Do you like it better? and why? Is it a good idea to upgrade now or is it better to wait until after January. Rumors are that after jan. apple will create a new iPhone with video clips and increased battery life with a better resolution camera. What do you think?
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6 Answers
There is always something better that’s coming around the corner when it comes to computers and cell phones. You are basically “leasing” technology since as soon as you get something it’s obsolete. So it all hinges on when you need it. If you wait long enough there’ll always be something new.
It also took Apple 18 months from announcing the 1st iPhone to bringing out the 3G, so they might not make another one for 8 or so months.
However, the 1st Gen and 3G are basically the same phone with some extra antennas shoved in!
I wouldn’t bother.
What will be the average cost for upgrading ?
The retail price for the 8GB 3G is $199 up front plus a two-year contract that is $15 more per month. The difference in cost for the monthly comes out to $360, so if you’re already on a plan on a 1st Gen (non-subsidy) iPhone the total cost of ownership is:
$560 for the new hardware (not including new accessories like chargers that are all new for the 3G)
Plus the purchase price of your original iPhone minus the resale price (assumiong you’re selling your original).
I paid $500 for my original and sold it for $350; so the net difference cost to me was $150 plus the $560=$710 total cost to upgrade (not including monthly mobile charges of original iPhone which hovered around $35/mo.)
Woah wait!! $710 to upgrade to 3G??!
I thought it was just $199–299??
$199—$299 up front;
You are also locked in to a new, 24-month contract, the data package costing $15 more per month than the data plan for the first gen iPhone (2.5G with EDGE); they justify that the HSDPA/UTMS 3G bandwidth and data transfer necessitates the price increase.
$15 per month additional x 24 months = $360
$360 + $199 = $559, plus the loss you will take in the resale of your used 1st gen handset. If you paid $500 for it, and sold it for $350, you net a loss of $150 for that year of use; tack that on to the purchase price for the new handset, gives you the total cost of ownership.
$559 + $150 = $709 for the 8GB and $809 for the 16GB iPhone.
Don’t be so shocked…take a look at the “non-contract” prices for any smartphone and you’ll see they range anywhere between $600—$1100 and up (esp. Blackberries). FYI
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