[nabs-l] IPhone 4S vs. IPhone 5: Experiences?

Marc Workman mworkman.lists at gmail.com
Sun Jan 6 04:38:26 UTC 2013


Hi Chris,

The point I am making is that you did not just pay $229 for your new iPhone. At that price, I'm pretty sure you bought a new contract. Unless you bought an unlocked used phone and are on a pay-as-you-go plan, you are locked into a contract, and you have to factor that into the cost of the phone. Even a free iPhone 4 is only available on a contract, so I'm pretty sure your iPhone was purchased as part of a contract renewal. In other words, you paid $229 up front plus whatever you must pay per month for the next couple of years. The price you pay up front is not the real cost of the phone; the real price is the cost up front plus the cost of the entire contract. If you factor the entire cost of the contract in, it doesn't make a lot of sense to go with the cheaper phone, unless of course an extra $100 up front is a significant financial hardship.

If I'm wrong and you are not on some sort of contract, let me know. It would surprise me if you were able to get a brand new iPhone 4S without a contract for $200.

As for purchasing the iPhone 5, there is also the fact that a newer phone will almost certainly last longer and will have a higher resale value.

From my perspective, I think it always makes sense to pay the extra money up front for a newer phone if you are getting the phone on a contract, assuming this is financially possible, and this includes renewing contracts as well.

Best,

Marc
On 2013-01-05, at 8:41 PM, Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:

> Marc,
> 
> 	Frankly, I was surprised that iOS 6 ran on the 3GS. I agree that iOS
> 7 will probably not run on that phone whenever that version comes out.
> 
> 	As for the discussion of "iPhone 4S vs. iPhone 5,) I purchased my 4S
> after the 5 had come out. Marc, your statement below is probably correct if
> you are buying the phone and a new contract at the same time. This would
> also depend on which carrier you are using and what their prices are. I
> already had a contract with Verizon before I purchased my iPhone, so it was
> not as expensive as it would have been had I switched carriers or bought a
> new contract along with buying my iPhone. Along with Verizon's upgrade fee
> of $30, my iPhone 4S was $199. So, I paid $229 plus tax for it in total. I
> would recommend doing this, as most of the changes made in the iPhone 5 are
> visual in nature.
> 
> Chris Nusbaum
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Marc Workman
> Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2013 9:29 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] IPhone 4S vs. IPhone 5: Experiences?
> 
> I think Arielle is right that, besides an overall redesign of the phone, the
> biggest changes are a larger screen and a somewhat better camera. However,
> there are also processor and ram improvements that will future proof the 5
> more than the 4S.
> 
> Something to think about is that if you are buying the phone on a contract,
> then the real cost of the phone is roughly $2000. The money you pay up front
> is the cost of the phone after it is heavily subsidized. The monthly phone
> bill is the real cost of the phone, and it is how the phone companies make
> money off you. So the difference is not $100 versus $200, it is $2000 over 2
> years versus $2100 over 2 years. I think when you think about it in this
> way, it makes more sense to shell out the extra hundred up front, unless of
> course this would cause a serious financial hardship. This point only
> applies, however, if you're buying the phone on a contract.
> 
> Apple is very willing to stop supporting older phones. I'll be quite
> surprised if IOS 7 runs on the 3G s. There are features of IOS 6 that are
> already not available on the 3G s or even the 4. So for that hundred
> dollars, you're essentially buying at least an extra year of life for your
> phone.
> 
> Lastly, if you sell your phone in 2 years or so, you'll get more for the 5,
> perhaps even $100 more.
> 
> So while I wouldn't recommend the 5 over the 4S for voiceover/accessibility
> reasons, I would recommend spending the extra hundred if you can afford it
> for a bunch of other reasons.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Marc
> 
> 
> On 2013-01-05, at 6:52 PM, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Misty,
>> I have a 4S, but my sister's boyfriend, who is very techie, says the 
>> most significant improvements in the iPhone 5 are in the screen and 
>> camera. So it sounds to me like it's probably not worth the $100 
>> extra, unless you care about photo quality.
>> Arielle
>> 
>> On 1/5/13, Misty Dawn Bradley <mistydbradley at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi all,
>>> I am planning to get an IPhone at the end of this month, and with 
>>> Cricket I have the option of a 4S or a 5, although the 5 is $100 more
> than the 4S.
>>> Have any of you noticed any differences between the IPhone 4S and the 
>>> IPhone 5, either good or bad? What are your experiences with both? I 
>>> have looked at reviews for both, and, other than a faster chip, some 
>>> changes in the size and the type of charger it uses to charge, and 
>>> better screen and camera/video recording capabilities, a lot of other 
>>> specs seem to be about the same. I am trying to decide whether the 
>>> extra $100 is worth spending for the 5 or if I am better off with the 
>>> cheaper 4S. I will most likely go in to the store and see if they 
>>> will let me look at both, but I am just wondering what the 
>>> experiences are of those who have used either phone as a voiceover user?
>>> Thank you,
>>> Misty
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