Shall I upgrade to a iPhone 4 or wait for the 5...?

[Dan Turner]

I'm in a dilemma. My iPhone 3GS is starting to flag, it's over 2 years old and the battery doesn't last much more than a day now, plus it's picked up an annoying issue whereby I can't access the 'general' settings - it's probably a data issue but I just can't face a factory reset plus manually restoring all the data on to the phone which is what Apple support have suggested. I can upgrade at any time and an upgrade does seem to be in order.

On the other hand what i don't want to do is to upgrade to an iPhone 4 now and then have the iPhone 5 get released for the same price in a week's time (or for the price of the 4 to drop when it does).

But then iPhone 5 rumours have been floating about for ages, so who knows how long it will be before it's released......

So what would you do?

 

[professorhat]

The iPhone 5 (if that's what it's called) is now rumoured to be released in October. And then, it's likely that won't filter through so you can actually get your hands on one until December / January time.

Personally I'd wait as I'd be annoyed to miss out on getting the brand new phone just a few months before its release, but if you can't live with the issues for that long, you're probably best to trade in now. Or find an old phone and use that for a while until the 5 is released.

 

[Paul.]

All the rumors point to late sept/early oct, so not long to wait. There apears to be a 4s and 5 doing the rounds. The 4s will be the cheap iPhone, the same as the 4 with the a5 processor. The 5 will be close to 4 inch display, an MacBook air style aluminium wedge design with an 8megapixel camera. There are Chinese case designs out there which support the wedge shape big iPhone theory.

Take all this with a big pinch of salt, but I would wait untill early October

 

[bigboss]

Also bear in mind that the current iPhone 4 will become significantly cheaper with the arrival of the new 4s/5.

 

[Dan Turner]

Thanks for the replies. You're all making a lot of sense. I guess I just need to try and be patient, and put up with flakey 3GS for a little bit longer.
Cheers!

 

[ric71]

:type:

Thanks for the replies. You're all making a lot of sense. I guess I just need to try and be patient, and put up with flakey 3GS for a little bit longer. Cheers!

I was in the same dilemma and have been holding off for the 5 but when I took into account the projected iphone 5's tariff of at least £45 a month for limited data when I could get a 32g iPhone 4 with true unlimited data,1000min,3000 txt a month and will run the iOS 5 when released for £25 per month it was a no brainer!! Mind you I was desperate to get rid of my BB Bold and this is my first iphone so I am well chuffed with it. Will the 5 be that much better? Who knows maybe I will kick my self!

 

[Paul.]

Hmm, it's going to have to do something pretty spectacular for me to want to upgrade my 4. It's never felt slow, and 4" is in my opinion too big for a phone. But it's my 30th in December, and I do have a habit of buying myself presents

I'm curious if all the nuance word recognition stuff will be a software update in iOS 5 or a hardware update? The camera will be a big swing for me as well, I never carry a compact camera now. It's an slr or my phone, and arguably most of my favorite shots come off my phone.

 

[Lee H]

it's picked up an annoying issue whereby I can't access the 'general' settings - it's probably a data issue but I just can't face a factory reset plus manually restoring all the data on to the phone which is what Apple support have suggested.

You know you can back up the phone and then reinstall the software? That way you don't lose anything

 

[smuggs]

i have just rang o2 and said my iphone 3gs is 2 years old approx and he said 2 options were £42 a month carry on unlimited internet,1200mins,free o2-o2 and someother pointess things and get an iphone4 for free. october7th or wait till november 21st and they have a 3 week first in uk offer but the same price £42 he was only offering 500mb not unlimted and i will have to pay a 1 off payment of 100pound or cash my other iphone in which i want to keep. so will the 5 be worth 100pound and a few pennys when i go over the internet allowance over the 4

 

[Paul.]

Secret option C... Buy one of the many second hand iPhone 4s that will be going on ebay when the 5 drops, own the phone out right. Go on an 02 simplicity tarrif, and save yourself £15 a month.

Here is an artists rendering of what the 5 is going to look like, based on the dimensions from the leaked Chineese case designs etc

Thinner, bigger screen, slightly larger form factor, 8mp camera, faster processor, nuance speach recognition is the information from the more reliable sources. Some of the less reliable info points to iPad 2 style smart covers,

 

[Dan Turner]

it's picked up an annoying issue whereby I can't access the 'general' settings - it's probably a data issue but I just can't face a factory reset plus manually restoring all the data on to the phone which is what Apple support have suggested.

You know you can back up the phone and then reinstall the software? That way you don't lose anything

Lee - I've already tried that. I did a factory restore on the phone and then set it up as a new phone, and the settings menu worked fine again. However once I restored it from my back-up, I lose the 'general' option once again. Apple Supports suggestion was to do another factory restore but then manually re-populate all the data on the phone. I may try that if I hang on for the iPhone 5, but it's going to be a bit of a pain in the backside.

i have to say though, after seeing that picture that Paul posted I'm am even more tempted to be patient and wait for the 5.

 

[jokerpaulonline]

In my opinion, apple would be daft not to bring the Iphone 5 out to get the christmas market, so should not have long to wait now

 

[Anonymous]

At getting yaself prezzys o n ya own bday. I do the same and my mate thought it was od lol. Glad to know I aint the only one. Iphone 5 as gud as it will be do remember Apple do have a habbit of using old components on the inside. Yes indeed they do get great performance from these old components with their games machine uniform styled approach to there product (What I mean is I always thought apple design their products like a games machine.... every Ps3 will play the same software and other services in the same way.). The big plus point is that Apple can make their product more stable as a robust product as every Iphone will have exact same performance unless yours is busted or watever. I am more interested in this laser touch screen they are rumoured to be putting on the Iphone 5. Having said that mate in your position I would try a top Android phone instead. I say this as u already have an Apple phone and yes u want more the same. But look at the alternatives now. First u will get the latest components in a top android phone and some individuality Apple just can't do with there boring controlled approach of releasing a phone every couple of years. Also the google Android system has a semi uniform approach on its OS. U have the Atrix Carbon fibre case, gorilla glass screen, finger print reader and is the fastest phone currently and will still be quicker then IPhone 5. Also there is the LG 3D phone which is amazing with the 3D screen. I can't believe What hi fi havent reviewed it yet as a mulit media entertainment device. It is more then a gimmick screen is great. Also there is the 5 star omnia S 2 which what hi fi gave 5 stars. These top android phones are similar on performance and dont forget all the android phones will eventually get version 2.3... This will enable the dual core tech in the phones to really kick in. I would say the sound quality for music is better on iphone but that itunes software and having to convert tracks and the Itunes slowing up computer. For me they ruined their product with this system of theirs. Android is simple plug n play copy and paste whatever you like quickly. Apple have had to change the design of the phone for the 5 bit more then they probably wanted as the Iphone 4 had design faults (the bad reception ariel system who cud forget). They have gone towards the older designs again which I dont think they really wanted to do. If you get the android based phone you will have both types of phones to play with. The phone operators are being very generous at the moment with top android phones giving you the better tarriffs and better data tarrifs for alot cheaper. I have had Blackberry, Iphone 3GS and now I got Android. I probably would never get a bb again and I suppose I could be tempted by some of apples products at some point aswell. I just wouldnt wait around for phone upgrades paying extra to your network for nothing for the next 3 months mate. Dont underestimate the Androids people!

 

[Paul.]

Looks like October 4th is anouncement day (subject to change). It was anounced in the Wall Street Journal, they have a very strong track record with Apple rumors (very likey Apple PR leaks it directly to them, they are the only people who get SJ interviews).

http://allthingsd.com/20110921/apple-to-hold-special-event-on-october-4/

They have gone towards the older designs again which I dont think they really wanted to do.

Not sure How true that is. In a perfect world I think they would designed a solid aluminium back (they like to have their design philosiphy uniform across all products) like the original iphone, but that was never ideal due to the poor reception properties of aluminum. Apple own a lot of patents for (or have licensed for comercial use) 'Liquid Metal' which has the ability to transfer mobile signal as well as plastic. This is why the iPhone 5 is able to have a solid metal back, wheres the origional had a black plastic bottom and the 4 had its own design.

 

[6th.replicant]

Not sure How true that is. In a perfect world I think they would designed a solid aluminium back (they like to have their design philosiphy uniform across all products) like the original iphone, but that was never ideal due to the poor reception properties of aluminum...

IME, the aluminium unibody HTC Legend may have many faults but poor reception has never been an issue (assuming Vodafone actually has an antenna in the area... :wall

 

[Paul.]

The arial is in the black plastic bit at the bottom, just like the original iPhone, not in the aluminum bit. The 5 should (could) in theory be seamless like a wifi only iPad.

 

[Dan Turner]

Thought I'd report back with what I decided, but also ask a question. On balance as much as I would have liked to wait for the '5, given that the handset cost is almost certainly going to be higher, plus the value of my old 3GS will probably drop when the '5 comes out, I decided to go for the 4, as having recently splashed out on an iPad i can't really justify spending hundreds on a new phone. I may be a little bit gutted when the 5 does come out, but the 4 is a lovely bit of kit and i'll get iOS 5 when it comes out anyway.

So - my issue is this. My music library is almost all stored in AIFF format as I use a single library stored on my NAS as my iTunes and Sonos libraries when listening at home. When I copy music over to my iPhone, in AIFF format I can't fit very much on it. If I select the option in iTunes to convert everything to 128kbps AAC as it's copied over then I can fit in a huge amount more, however ideally I woud like to store my music on my iPhone in higher quality. It's a real shame that iTunes doesn't offer you a range of options for the quality level when copying across to your portable device. Does anyone know of any way around this? I want the library in AIFF, I don't want to have to maintain 2 libraries, but I want to copy stuff over to my iPhone at 320kbps AAC preferrably - any way of doing this?

Thanks

Dan

 

[Lee H]

Hi Dan,

I use ALAC. You get a lot more than with AIFF space wise.

As for the conversion, try using MediaMonkey. It'll transcode on the fly whilst synching up with your iPhone. This way, you only need one library.

 

[Dan Turner]

Thanks Lee. I use AIFF as space isn't a worry at home. I'll check out media monkey - so you can use that in place of iTunes to sync your iPod/phone? What about all the other stuff that the iPhone needs to sync with iTunes for (apps, notes, calendar etc)?

Cheers

 

[TALON1973]

anyones opinions on what i'll be able to get an iphone 4 for to buy outright new ? once the 5 is out of course

 

[John Duncan]

You can have mine for 250 quid...

 

[Anonymous]

Apple have really managed to get hold of people where it hurts, and squeeze. I have a friend who will be upgrading to the 5. When I asked why, she said "Because it's the new one". She has had hers (4) for around 6 months, and does nothing but Twitter, Facebook, Angry birds, music and telephone/texts (amazingly enough).

Do they impregnate them with some kind of hallucienagen?

 

[John Duncan]

I have a friend who will be upgrading to the 5.

No you haven't.

 

[bigboss]

You can have mine for 250 quid...

Please note House rule no. 11