Why is the iPhone 3GS 8GB Still So Popular?

iPhone 3GS 8GB deals

With the iPhone 5 now on the horizon, and the iPhone 4 a great success, why would you ever want to consider the three-year old iPhone 3GS? Well, actually in the third quarter of 2011 sales of this phone were more than any Android on the market. Clearly then, it is far from obsolete. So what is it that makes phone deals on the iPhone 3GS still worth considering three years on from its release?

iOS 5 Upgrade

First of all it's important to note that we're not talking about exactly the same phone from 3 years ago. The hardware is the same, yes, but it's been upgraded to the much more recent iOS 5. This includes goodies such as iMessage, which makes messaging between fellow iPhone users free since it travels over the internet connection rather than over your contract provider's network. It's based on RIM's very popular BlackBerry Messenger service.

Even better perhaps is the inclusion if iCloud storage which lets you wirelessly sync your data between all iOS devices that you own. In other words, if you download a tune from iTunes on your Mac, then you'll be able to access it straight away over iCloud on your iPhone, and visa versa of course. Not only is it convenient, but it means that if you lose or break your phone, you're not going to lose all of the data on it. In fact just about the only thing missing from is Siri, which allows you to control the phone with your voice.

Of course the iPhone 3GS is nowhere near as powerful as the iPhone 4, but what processing power it does have goes a lot further than you would expect. With only a 600MHz processor and 256MB of RAM, you might think you would be getting a slow and jittery phone. In fact it is quite the opposite. It's still very smooth, and only starts to struggle when you try to have multiple apps running at the same time. Surely it will be sluggish on games, though? No, not with the PowerVR graphics chip installed. Of course it won't be able to handle the latest 3D games, but just about everything else will continue to run fine.

The screen is 3.5 inches at the diagonal, which is typical, but the 320 x 480 pixel resolution is significantly less than the iPhone 4's resolution. Still, with a 3 year old phone you have to expect to make a few compromises.

Another feature which doesn't set the world alight anymore is the 3 megapixel camera, not when the top phones now have 8MP cameras and even budget Androids can stretch to 5MP. It also can't record video in HD, but again that's just a consequence of it being a 3 year old phone.

On the whole, this revamp of a classic phone is surprisingly successful and the mystery of why it continues to outsell Androids is not so stunning when you really look at it.

For the full specs, check out Apple's website.

Summary

Despite its age, the 3GS continues to perform well with some excellent updates to a classic phone. When it comes to value for money, it might even still be unbeatable.

So if you're looking to get on the iPhone bandwagon but can't afford the latest offerings, then it's definitely worth looking at the iPhone 3GS 8GB monthly contract deals to see if you can join the party on the cheap.  Also available: iPhone 3GS 8GB white deals.