iPhone advice please: 3GS, 4 or 5? Limited budget!!

[Fillybuster]

At the moment, I have a work blackberry (locked down, so no use for apps but free calls, texts & work email), and an old Samsung which I use for apps, photos and mobile data. I don't have a contract, just use the 10 /month pay as you go from sainsburys.

I recently bought an iPad Air and would quite like an iPhone, especially since my Samsung is creaking. I can buy a reasonable condition iPhone 3GS on eBay for around £70....will that do, or do I need something better? I don't really want to spend much money but equally don't want to buy something totally obsolete!

Thanks in advance

As far as I'm aware the iPhone 3gs is discontinued so I wouldn't buy one because you soon won't be able to update it if you still can already. £70 is also expensive for one considering you can buy a second hand iPhone 4 for about £100. Check local selling sites too and i would recommend an iPhone 4 or 4s, it's perfect for what you need

I had a 3GS but know have a 5. For all intents and purposes it's the same phone. I only upgraded as my 3GS eventually gave up the ghost.

Cheapest is the 4/4S 8gb but if you can get a larger memory. The 6 is due out later this year, if you can wait there'll be some good deals out very soon, in fact they may have started.

I definitely wouldn't get a 3GS - it can't be updated to iOS 7 and will be getting slower and slower and also the camera is rubbish.

I'd say a 4S would probably be best if you don't want to get a variety of 5.

Thanks...so, the main difference between the 3, 4 & 5 is the operating system?

I found the difference between my old 3gs and my new 5 quite impressive. My 5 can do so much more. However it's not very different to the 4, so if you're on a budget the 4s might be your best bet.

Can you get one on contract? You can get some cracking deals now.

3GS has a rubbish camera and because it's old it can only run ios 6 whereas everything else is on ios7. Not sure when the 4 won't update to latest ios - I know there's going to be ios 8 at some point relatively soon. Once the phone can't update the latest ios you start having issues with updating apps and general slow working.

The other difference is that the 5 series uses the same charger connector (lightning) as the iPad air, which is useful