iphone upgrade - is it worth waiting till 4g release?

[MooMinCow]

I want to upgrade to a 3GS iphone and was wondering if its worth waiting till the 4g is released to see if Orange will offer better deals on the 3GS tariffs?

What do you think?

I'd wait. The 4G is going to be out any day now and that's bound to change things.

Thanks Snorbs - have got till August so will sit tight (but really really want one!)

Can't believe Orange are charging £45 a month (if you want the phone free!) as my bills normally only average £25!

And apparently the 3G model is out of stock and they aren't getting any more in so looks like that's being phased out and replaced by the 3GS as base Iphone

The Apple conference starts tomorrow, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, so you can probably expect some announcement of the 4G iPhone with whatever improvements they've made, though the launch date is likely to be after the USA, perhaps on the anniversary of a previous iPhone release...

Of course, "tomorrow" means today, though at the time of writing, for someone in California, it would still be 'tomorrow' - Monday - for the start of the conference. I guess there may be live coverage from some Apple (or other) websites after 17:00 UK time (09:00 Pacific)

I had started to write this before midnight, but I wanted to check the launching costs for the iPhone from O2 back in 2007 to respond to MMC's comment...

No. The only thing so great about the 4 is the operating system and you'll be able to upgrade your 3 to a 4.

The launch date is expected to be end June beginning of July for US. And I would bet UK will be at least a month past that.

So if you want it now (like I did) get it now.

Unless the "leaked" iPhone info (about a 5 MP camera, and shape, etc) actually has any truth.

If I were in the market to afford one, I'd wait at least to see what is announced this week, and whether any of the new model will be evaluated for magazine reviews...

Not all the features of the iPhone 4.0 software will work on the 3G though, which is why I was thinking of either getting a 3GS or waiting fo a possible iPhone 4. I'm not sure exactly which 4.0 features won't work, Apple have just said 'many will' but multitasking won't.

Now DH has given me an iPad, I can't justify upgrading anymore, but then I shouldn't need to, as my iphone now will really only be used for phone, texting & as an iPod.

Thanks for the replies... think I'll wait another few weeks then (I've waited this long so another few weeks won't kill me I guess!) and until next payday as I might go for the cheaper £35 per month tariff and just pay the £89 for the phone.....

Yes, in some ways paying something for the phone (rather than a 'free' phone) may save cash, but once your contract comes to an end, you could always consider moving to another network (if that doesn't muck up other things which depend on you using Orange).

You can move your number so it will still work on another network, but you may find an alternative network offers more in the overall package for the same money.

Several networks say "unlimited" but the small print indicates they have a monthly limit of say 500 MB or maybe 1 GB. O2 doesn't have that restriction (and it might be hit if you happened to use your iPhone to listen to a radio station several hours/day, for example).

4g has just been announced - coming on 24 June, though I assume that's the US date.

And maybe Steve Jobs was right about Flash...

Apple is refusing to allow Flash (and Java) to go on the iPhone etc because Apple wants to retain complete control of what applications can be run on the thing. It's a so far wildly successful attempt at vendor lock-in and hence protection of revenue streams. It's nothing to do with security.

24 June for UK as well apparently.

I agree he may well be using the security problems as an excuse, but that doesn't mean he's wrong about them.

I spend enough time at work sorting out problems with dodgy software, so I actually quite like the fact that I know my iPhone is unlikely to to get screwed up by an app - it means I can put a new app on with a reasonable confidence that it will work even if there's no reviews of it. And they're not exactly expensive are they? If you don't like the way Apple does things, don't get an iPhone: there are plenty of alternatives.

Given Flash is used on so many web sites, that even Mac users are likely to visit, it puts paid (albeit via a third party) to claims that Macs are "invulnerable" to getting a virus.

I know it is unlikely, there are lots of infected Macs, but far from impossible, since different pages can be loaded depending on the O.S. of a visitor to a website, which means that some Mac-specific nasty could be put onto Macs.

As for the view from Steve Jobs, well, he's entitled to say whatever, but I have to think that some 'policy' decisions on what Apps can and cannot be included for download seems not to be related to 'keeping customers safe' but on some other criteria...

Apple has sometimes blocked competitors, seemingly because they are competitors, and in the case of some audio streaming app, gave a specious argument about network traffic (since they had accepted a video streaming app).

Then there's the furore over Sports Illustrated (and Playboy to name just 2) being allowed to have apps showing girls in bikinis while Apple 'banned' other firms. Nasty whiff of backhanders on that story, while Apple seems to have some 'moral crusade' (presumably to be seen as "family friendly" in some of the more puritanical homes in the USA).

Glad to see that latest release of Android already has Flash 10.1 in it, though clearly whatever the flaw is, Adobe needs to fix it, and fast!

"I know it is unlikely, there are lots of infected Macs" should have had no comma!

"I know it is unlikely there are lots of infected Macs"

Good example of why pedants are right to insist on accurate punctuation!