Get our new Windows 7 eBook (PDF) for $7 with 70+ Tips. Download Now!

iPhone 3G Or The 3GS - Which Is Really Better?

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
by Matt Hartley

It’s a question that a lot of people are still asking themselves. Should you upgrade to the iPhone 3GS? For personally, this is an easy no as I am not eligible for an upgrade, which means I am stuck with the 3G for a bit longer. Sad, but I have learned to live with it.

Yet as I read through reviews like this one, where the two phones are compared side by side, I find myself thinking it is just not that big of a deal. First off, am I correct with the news that there is STILL no MMS? Also, due to the marriage here in the States with AT&T, it seems that any potential for screaming data speeds are held back despite the 3GS being capable of 7.2 Mbp transfer speeds.

In the end, the reports are that it has video functionality and it is a little faster. Also the battery is a little better. Wow, I guess overall the phone is marginally better over its predecessor. I enjoy my 3G quite a bit, but I have simply not read a darned thing that has me thinking that the new 3GS is anything to lose sleep over.

6 Comments

MicroZealous

July 2nd, 2009
at 2:00pm

Dude -

A. Why so hostile? So you don’t / can’t upgrade - whatever - no need to justify it by being so bitter. Sorry you don’t see a damned thing to loose sleep over - but chill.

B. I think that - right or wrong - the value of the GS over the G is going to be something we realize and appreciate in 3 months not now. AT&T obviously moves a little slower than Apple - but MMS is coming (and it’s free). GPS turn by turn is coming, push improvements are coming, and most important, applications that will leverage the new graphics capability and speed are coming. And when all that hits, you’ll be looking at a 3GS and checking the couch for spare change.

Now, you might say that you’ll wait until all that stuff that is coming actually hits before you spend the $$ for the GS. Fine - but just don’t be one of those that starts bitching when you are 6 months into your contract extension when the 4G comes out next year.

Course something lells me you won’t need much of an excuse to bitch about something…

Zach Cheatham

July 2nd, 2009
at 2:03pm

I fully agree with you on this. The 3G S is cool but not worth the upgrade if you own a 3G and not eligible for an upgrade.

3GS Owner

July 2nd, 2009
at 3:25pm

Haha, quit sour-graping and rationalizing just coz you can’t get one. It’s awesome, and worth the upgrade.

Matt Hartley

July 2nd, 2009
at 3:42pm

To be crystal clear - I am perfectly able to upgrade on another line on my Family plan. At no time did I give the indication that I am some how “bitter”. It’s not a priority for me ATM, end of story.

As for the issues being reported: poor battery life, limits on abilities put into place by AT&T, don’t know what to tell ya. It is what it is. If folks are fine with it, awesome. If not, feel free to “whine” along with me in my choice to not be an early adopter. ;)

Daniel

July 4th, 2009
at 6:05am

3GS is much, much better with twice the RAM! (256MB vs 128MB). This update was desperately needed in my opinion since the old 3G barely had enough RAM to run more demanding programs and often needed to be rebooted due to applications which leak memory and applications which fail to return memory for use by other applications. The faster processor is a nice upgrade also and was probably needed to increase the amount of RAM.
I suspect that soon applications will come out that are so RAM demanding that thay will only run on 3GS without constantly crashing the iPhone. It’s probably just a matter of when Apple decides to allow it to happen. Once thay do, updates to current applications could also demand RAM beyoned the old 3G’s capabilities!