“Last week was a huge week for Apple. First the iPhone 4S was unveiled and met with criticism that it wasn’t an iPhone 5. Then Steve Jobs passed away,” Tony Bradley writes for PCWorld. “Then Apple and its wireless providers shattered previous records by pre-selling a million of the ‘disappointing’ iPhone 4Ss on Friday.”
“One thing that didn’t seem to get the attention it deserves is the iPhone 3GS,” Bradley writes. “The iPhone 4S has a variety of updates and improvements that make it a compelling, leading edge smartphone. The existing iPhone 4 will now be available for only $99 with a two-year contract. But, the big news is that people can get an iOS smartphone for free with a two-year contract with the iPhone 3GS.”
Bradley writes, “When customers with tight budgets are presented with a choice between spending $100 to get an iPhone 3GS, or walking away with an Android smartphone for free, many choose free. Now, those same individuals will be able to choose free and still get an iPhone.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Yep! My cousins bought 2 iPhone 3GSes at $45 dollars each at Walmart the day before they went to $0. A great device. A great price. Ultimate Android killer? You bet it is!!
Coupled with the $99 iPhone 4, you can still get an amazing, FaceTime enabled device very reasonably. Also comes with “Yep, I got an iPhone” bragging rights.
Bloodbath squared.
🙂 like!
3GS (S stands for sloooooooooow)
I disagree. My 3GS has been fine running the latest iOS. No speed issues, just lacking new features like Facetime, etc…
And I’ve read that iOS 5 actually boosts speed on the 3GS and 4. That’ll be interesting to see…
My 3GS has also been running the latest iOS, but has definite speed (responsiveness/lagging) issues. Every week or two I have to do a hard reset to bring the responsiveness back up to reasonable levels.
Whenever that happens with me, i just think back to how aweful the iPhone 3G was. Yep the S on 3GS pretty much means “standard”.
Only for a CEO.
For children of cash-strapped families it’s plenty fast.
Apple, I’m sure, knows what it’s doing.
Slow? Are you seriously comparing a crufty 28 month old phone that could use a software reset and a brand new phone with no baggage?
It’s going to be a slaughter… Anyone who bets against Apple is a fool… Siri has sealed the competitions fate… Try a steal Siri… Samsung is now in big trouble… A feature they can’t steal and they certainly can’t duplicate…adios
I’m still on my 3GS ( my contract is up in December) and I’m still amazed every day by what this phone can do.
IMHO opinion it still puts a lot of new smartphones to shame.
Sure, isnt the latest or greatest, but it will be a fine choice for someone who can’t afford a $199 or $299 up front payment
HA…I still have my iPhone Gen 1 Day 1….I keep thinking about upgrading but I keep toying with the idea of dumping the phone, getting a $9 flip phone added to the wife’s contract and getting a really nice touch. I find I am in a wifi zone 90% of the day and I don’t really talk to that many people on the phone.
Am I to understand that your original iPhone contract expired at the end of June 2009 and you still haven’t upgraded your phone??? If this is true, that means that you donated some $600 to AT&T since the expiration of that contract.
I still have mine too. I jail broke and unlocked it, and put a T-Mobile SIM in there. The phone still works great and holds a charge. I have and use an iP4, but it’s handy to have that 1st Gen iPhone for traveling and using local SIM cards.
I have not had to pay for an iPhone since purchasing the original. I have always been able to sell my old one and have more than enough to buy the 3GS, 4, and now the 4S. I almost make enough extra to cover the AppleCare.
It is just amazing how many people are blinded by the word ‘Free’, they’ll go for it, even if that ‘Free’ actually means (at least) $450… That is, actually, the amount of subsidy AT&T is paying to Apple for that phone, and that is the amount of money AT&T is getting from the consumer over the two-year contract (through the overpriced voice/data plan). In fact, carriers are making massive profits on the contract phones because very few people get a new subsidised phone immediately after they pay off their first one. Essentially, everyone who lets their contract expire is donating free money to their carrier (to the tune of about $20 per month, for a smartphone, or about $10 per month for a dumbphone).
A much better deal is a $650 unlocked iPhone plus a $50 unlimited pre-paid, no-contract plan (on T-Mobiile or AT&T).
It’s more like AT&T’s secret weapon since they’re the only providers of the 3GS in the United States.
True, but a win for AT&T is a win for Apple in this case…
AND the $99 iPhone 4s are on ALL THREE US carriers. Ummmm… bloodbath!
A win for AT&T but a bigger win for Apple, now the novice is hooked on their devices … forever.
The real question is: how does the 3GS stand up to those free Android phones? Some people will still probably be swayed by the moving wallpaper (a cool but utterly worthless feature on Android phones)…
And the 3GS kicks ass on iOS 5. “Like a brand new phone” has been the consensus.
Just saw an ad for a much faster 4G smartphone on ATT. I wonder how many will take old technology…
I just hope they all realize that 4G phones will only have 3 hours of battery life…
Apple has been planning this for quite some time and especially with creating the iPhone 4GS which only costs around $200 to manufacture.
Just imagine in 2 years time when the iPhone 4GS is offered for $0. It’s still going to be plenty fast, have a great camera + it will be the best built PHONE one can get for $0