does the 1st gen iphone have any pros over the 3g?

[SuSHi]

outside of the contract, and being completely jailbroken is there anything else better about the 1st gen over the 3G?

can't decide which i want

[v1etnammer]

Well, if you are buying non-contract, it is a HELL of a lot cheaper, and can do almost as much as the newer one. The first one has the metal backing which is much classier looking, has better battery life, is smaller and would mean a much cheaper plan. The only reason to upgrade to the 3G version is if you are not in hot spots the majority of the day, absolutely need GPS (since the first has google maps) and need a standard jack for headphones (you can just cut away some of the rubber on normal ones to make them fit into the original iPhone). The newer iPhone also claims to have better call quality (reception and voice quality). Overall, the older iPhone isn't much worse than the newer one and when you compare value (if you're buying non-contract) then the older iPhone wins hands-down.

[gw3ndolyn]

Well, if you are buying non-contract, it is a HELL of a lot cheaper, and can do almost as much as the newer one. The first one has the metal backing which is much classier looking, has better battery life, is smaller and would mean a much cheaper plan. The only reason to upgrade to the 3G version is if you are not in hot spots the majority of the day, absolutely need GPS (since the first has google maps) and need a standard jack for headphones (you can just cut away some of the rubber on normal ones to make them fit into the original iPhone). The newer iPhone also claims to have better call quality (reception and voice quality). Hmm, the older iPhone also comes standard with the wall-charger adapter, whereas you have to buy that seperately with the newer one. Overall, the older iPhone isn't much worse than the newer one and when you compare value (if you're buying non-contract) then the older iPhone wins hands-down.

The 3G iphone has better battery life. Where did you get your info from? I have the 1st gen iphone and the 3G iphone. It depends if you turn off 3G or not on the 3G iphone. Also, the second iphone has much louder and clearer speakers and it does come with a wall charger. All of the 3G iphones come with a wall charger. And why would you "cut some rubber away?" to fit earphones onto the 1st gen iphone? lol.. you think people will buy earphones and cut em away to fit it? lol. there are things called adapters.

[Kasakato]

The 3G iphone has better battery life. Where did you get your info from? I have the 1st gen iphone and the 3G iphone. It depends if you turn off 3G or not on the 3G iphone. Also, the second iphone has much louder and clearer speakers and it does come with a wall charger. All of the 3G iphones come with a wall charger. And why would you "cut some rubber away?" to fit earphones onto the 1st gen iphone? lol.. you think people will buy earphones and cut em away to fit it? lol. there are things called adapters.

Isent half the point of the 3G iPhone to use 3G? What good is it with 3G turned off. Using an adapter is ********, it adds bulk and cost to the phone. Cutting away the rubber neck is a neater and somewhat cheaper solution.

[KelvinK]

its thinner

[BrianJai]

When loadin applications or loading in anything theres a youtube video they show both side by side and the older 1st gen iphone loads a bit faster. thers like a 0.5 - 1 sec delay. on iphone 3g lol

[v1etnammer]

The first iPhone gets 7 hours of talk-time compared to the 3Gs 5 (with 3G on, which is the point of the phone) and yields same audio/video playback and internet usage. That's why I said better battery life, although it is hardly better. Also, it does come with a wall charger, sorry about that. I read that it didn't and you had to pay $30 for one, I forgot where I did though.

[SuSHi]

i don't plan on getting a data plan, i have access to the internet almost all the time already

it's mostly for phone/mp3 player functionality for the most part, i don't want to be charging it every night for sure so battery would be an issue

would either have issues with going overseas? i thinking about moving to the UK for a year to work out there and would like to make use of it while i'm out there

[aznangel]

no issues...
iphones are quadband so you should be fine as long as you choose a gsm provider

[v1etnammer]

If its just for the MP3/phone function, then go on and get the first one. If you don't want to charge every night, then the iPhone might not be the ideal choice. With regular usage (music/video, calling, sms and especially if you use wifi) I would suggest a charge every night or it might die on you the next day. That's my gripe with the iPhone, there is no removable battery.

[ykshum]

Isent half the point of the 3G iPhone to use 3G? What good is it with 3G turned off. Using an adapter is ********, it adds bulk and cost to the phone. Cutting away the rubber neck is a neater and somewhat cheaper solution.

if OP is considering iPhone and iPhone 3G at equal value, most likely he is not too interested in the 3G component..

[v1etnammer]

if OP is considering iPhone and iPhone 3G at equal value, most likely he is not too interested in the 3G component..

If that's the case, than he shouldn't even consider the iPhone 3G. He wants to buy out of contract, meaning he's going to pay an extra $400 for...GPS (but he would have google maps), marginally improved battery life and a flush headphone jack.

[ykshum]

If that's the case, than he shouldn't even consider the iPhone 3G. He wants to buy out of contract, meaning he's going to pay an extra $400 for...GPS (but he would have google maps), marginally improved battery life and a flush headphone jack.

you may have just answered OPs question unknowingly :D

[Coolme]

Advantages of 1st gen iPhone

1.) Extened battery pack for iPhone like this (there are others too): http://www.mophie.com/products/juice-pack/?pod=iPhone can only be used on the 1st gen iPhone (the 3G iPhone has a tapered back, and the iTouch has the headphone jack on the bottom)

2.) It's more durable compared to 3G (from videos of drop tests of the iPhone and iPhone 3G)

[SuSHi]

i wouldn't have to buy out the contract, someone in my family would take it over while i'm gone because it's a really good plan and i'd want it for when i came back

[Brandon]

I'm assuming that third party apps are going to die down for jailbroken iPhones. For instance, a popular program before AppStore was Sketches. It's now only available on AppStore (for new versions) and it's no longer free. I don't know what's going to happen to future apps (like if you can get them using other sources, etc).

[flexwong]

pros of the 3G iphone:

- 3G
- A-GPS
- supposed better battery life

no improvement areas:

- still no A2DP for bluetooth headphones
- no video recording still
- no copy and paste still
- no MMS still
- 2mp camera still with no flash
- locked to carriers
- plastic covering
- no haptic feedback still

so basically, if you can live without 3G and GPS, go with the first gen iphone. you'll save yourself from having to sign a 3 year contract and what not. and you can also get the 2.0 firmware on the first gen so it basically runs the same as the 3G one.

[v1etnammer]

The iPhone 3G has been unlocked, its just not been released yet, so technically you don't have to be locked into a carrier.

Either way, if you are going to lock into a contract anyways, get the iPhone 3G since its cheaper, if not get the original. That's basically all it comes down to.

[flexwong]

The iPhone 3G has been unlocked, its just not been released yet, so technically you don't have to be locked into a carrier.

Either way, if you are going to lock into a contract anyways, get the iPhone 3G since its cheaper, if not get the original. That's basically all it comes down to.

as with all rogers/fido phones though, if you unlock the iphone your warranty is automatically voided.

[Brandon]

pros of the 3G iphone:

- 3G
- A-GPS
- supposed better battery life

so basically, if you can live without 3G and GPS, go with the first gen iphone. you'll save yourself from having to sign a 3 year contract and what not. and you can also get the 2.0 firmware on the first gen so it basically runs the same as the 3G one.

3G was the only reason why I switched over from my first gen iPhone. The GPS functionality is okay, but not great. IMO, if you plan to use cellular data on your iPhone, get the 3G model... if not, the other reasons are pretty small.

Internet on my EDGE iPhone was pretty crappy, it would be an experience full of errors due to long loading times (timeouts for websites, email and Youtube). Speed test wise, latency is just as high with EDGE as 3G, but when it comes to transferring data it's about 10x faster for me (in Ottawa).

[sungfra]

Not much of a diff if you dont have a data plan. Rather save the money and get another phone.