Comments on: What is the difference between the iPhone and the iPhone 3g?

By: Rob A

Rob A — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:38:05 +0000

The 3G has all of the features of the original iphone, plus two others

1) Web browsing is 2.2x faster
2) There is an internal GPS

Everything else, including Microsoft Exchange, the app store, updated phone contacts, and all other changes are available to all iphone and ipod touch users with the 2.0 software.

The 3G iPhone phone service, however, is 10 more dollars a month than current customers.

By: Jenny C

Jenny C — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:10:38 +0000

Altho the upfront cost is cheaper the at&t contract is more expensive at $70 rather than $60 which allows them to recover the initial cut in price over the contract term.

However “Truth be told, the iPhone 3G is a better phone, at least judging from the specs. The added GPS chip and much faster Internet connectivity are worth the extra 40 bucks over two years.”
http://gretawire.foxnews.com/2008/06/11/apple-and-att-got-a-pricing-trick-up-their-sleeves/#more-8231

By: James B

James B — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:03:42 +0000

iPhone 3G has the 3G service versus EDGE. Makes the new iPhone much faster over 3G cellular networks.

And the plastic backing. Scratch-resistant.

And that’s about it. You will get everything else with the 2.0 update, including GPS.

By: sakazekillaz

sakazekillaz — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 01:44:29 +0000

First the differences…
1st gen iphone:
> GPRS/EDGE data service support
> ‘GPS’ location is derived from cell tower triangulation
> aluminum back cover
2nd gen iphone (3G):
> all the above data service plus 3G support, faster than EDGE
> true GPS built-in
> black back cover (rumored to be made of plastic/polymer instead of metal)

I believe the reason the 3G is cheaper is that apple is doing what other mobile phone manufacturers have been doing for ages – subsidizing the cost of the handset on new contracts. If you notice, there is an asterisk after the price on their page. Scroll to the bottom and you will notice in fine print, colored a shade darker than the background that a 2-year AT&T contract is required.

Remember that you paid the same price regardless if you purchased the 1st gen from the Apple Store or AT&T store. Obviously, no subsidizing going on there.

The following is what I was told or speculation on the employee’s part, so interpret it how you want to – this isn’t carved in stone. An Apple employee told my friend last week that regardless if they have it in stock or not, can’t sell the 1st gen. The employee further speculated that they are trying to ‘encourage’ the demand for the 3G which is past the critical stage already. She was there to replace her stolen iphone (with cash in hand) but walked out empty handed. She went to the AT&T and was encouraged to go with the Curve instead. Keep in mind that she is with AT&T.

Hope that cleared some things up and maybe riled up the conspiracy theorists a bit. Then again I could be wrong, I just passing along information I found thru popular wireless sites.

Have fun people.

By: kaitlyn

kaitlyn — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:59:36 +0000

The biggest and best difference is that the 3G is about twice as fast as the original iPhone. Also, the backing of the 3G is plastic so it doesn’t scratch as easily as the brushed metal. Apple has added a new App store to, and I’m pretty sure when you play games on it like Super Monkey Ball the game reacts to the movement of the iPhone. It seems kind of weird that Apple is making it cheaper with the AT&T two-year contract, but it really isn’t. Just look at the iMacs, when the new ones came out they were all in 20 inch screens or bigger, yet the cheapest one was still the same price as the 17 inch old iMac.