When I decided to upgrade my two-year old iPhone 3GS 16GB to the new iPhone 4S, I had to decide out what to do with my old phone. I could:
- Use it essentially as an iPod Touch (no phone service)
- Sell it
Unfortunately, I can’t use it as a backup phone since I’m also switching carriers — AT&T to Verizon — and the 3GS model is not cross-carrier compatible.
I don’t really have a need for another iPod, so I decided to sell it on the used market. But what’s it worth? A quick check with Gazelle.com surprised me. Even after the upgraded iPhone 4S announcement and release, my 3GS phone is STILL worth $120 — which means my net cost for the two-year old phone was not the original price of $199 — but only $79!
With this experience, I decided to bump up my order to the mid-level iPhone 4S 32GB at $299. I believe it will have a similarly strong resale value two years from now.
Sold!
Very cool. I recently sold two first generation iPhones for $100 each. Talk about holding a strong value over time!
I can appreciate buying the larger iPhone for speculative financial reasons. But is there any operational benefit to buying additional capacity, particularly in light of possible operating system upgrades? How likely is the average user in danger of running out of room?
I’m not sure what an “average” user’s requirements are. My guess is that 16GB is sufficient for most, but not all, users. That said, you never have have too much space. It’s just a question of how much you want to spend. Based on my experience, the higher capacity iPhone net costs are less than retail price differential.