Is it silly to buy an iphone 4 at this time?

papoosue

I have been dithering about getting either an iphone 4S/5 or Galaxy S3 for ages now - what stops me is that I really don't want to have a contract (or pay huge amounts for insurance). I currently have a Galaxy Ace, which is great but the lack of internal memory means it is a pain!

Anyway, a friend of mine has an iphone 4 they are selling and I thought that might be an inexpensive way to have an iphone and not spend tons on insurance either....or am I wasting money buying an iphone 4 now?

d123

No, it's still a very good phone and probably a more sensible buy for the budget conscious user.

If buying second hand, don't pay too much though, an unlocked iPhone 4 shouldn't cost more than £140-150 in good condition, if its locked to a network or less than pristine, cheaper still.

papoosue

d123 wrote: »

No, it's still a very good phone and probably a more sensible buy for the budget conscious user.

If buying second hand, don't pay too much though, an unlocked iPhone 4 shouldn't cost more than £140-150 in good condition, if its locked to a network or less than pristine, cheaper still.

Thanks, that is helpful My friend is asking £140 ono, so I reckon I could probably get it for a little less as it is locked to Vodafone. I imagine my friend could perhaps have it unlocked for me?

Buzby

Yes, if you are paying that amount, get him to have it unlocked first. It probably will be done at no cost to him.

Cocobay71

Tesco have iphone5 on a contract at the mo for £99 up front cost for the handset then the usual monthly tariff. Might help...

NFH

Just bear in mind that when the next iPhone is released (iPhone 5S or whatever it might be called), it will take the existing price point of the iPhone 5 and Apple will drop the prices of all the other iPhones. Therefore you might want to hold back until the next iPhone is released (probably between July and October).

Buzby

Following that reasoning, you might as well never buy, as the next model will be along, eventually. As to the cheap contract option, this is never a great idea. Folk are sucked into contracts attracted by the price and bling, forgetting they have neither clairvoyance as to what will happen in 2 years, and how the slightest misconception will affect their credit file for 6 years.

If you don't have to, you don't need to. Go SIM 1-month, or PAYG and stay in control.

gjchester

papoosue wrote: »

Anyway, a friend of mine has an iphone 4 they are selling and I thought that might be an inexpensive way to have an iphone and not spend tons on insurance either....or am I wasting money buying an iphone 4 now?

There's nothing wrong with the iPhone 4 but Apple have a history of supporting three models of iphones, when the Iphone 5S or 6 is released the 4 will probably fall off support.

That won't mean it will stop working, just there will be no more updates and features coming to the phone.

When will it be, only Apple knows. but again historically Apple update the iPhone yearly and the next one is likely to be announced sometime between June and September 2013

NFH

Buzby wrote: »

Following that reasoning, you might as well never buy, as the next model will be along, eventually.

No, the reasoning is to buy just after a new iPhone is released rather than just before.

d123

gjchester wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with the iPhone 4 but Apple have a history of supporting three models of iphones, when the Iphone 5S or 6 is released the 4 will probably fall off support.

That won't mean it will stop working, just there will be no more updates and features coming to the phone.

Except they are still supporting the 3GS (which makes 4 models currently supported), so there is still life in the 4. I think it's pretty safe to assume it will get iOS 7 and at least one major revision after that, at the least.

d123

papoosue wrote: »

Thanks, that is helpful My friend is asking £140 ono, so I reckon I could probably get it for a little less as it is locked to Vodafone. I imagine my friend could perhaps have it unlocked for me?

Get your friend to contact Vodafone, or go into a Voda shop and ask them to process the request. It's simply a matter of plugging into iTunes to get the unlock after its processed, if its their old contract phone it will be free to do as well.