The new iPhone 3GS has arrived, but Apple fans keen to upgrade are raging about the high cost of moving across. So is the new handset worth the fuss or are there better alternatives out there? Mobile phone expert James Parker explores your options...

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Community

No, there aren't any better alternatives out there. The iPhone IS the best phone to have at the moment irrespective of price. You get what you pay for, MONEYsupermarket.... with cheap price comes cheap product.

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Coyote

It's also worth noting that 02 are doing nothing new or discriminatory here - they are treating their iPhone customers in exactly the same way as other customers at 02. The iPhone IS worth the wait, it's significantly faster than the outgoing 3G handset, and is the best in its class for what it offers. If you want one, you're going to have to wait, just as if you had another contract with another handset.

Of course, the other option is to download V3.0 software on your existing handset - it's a free upgrade and arguably more important than simply buying the 3Gs

Interesting article, but it kind of missed the point.

This was supposed to be about the iPhone 3GS but ended up being about O2's bad service.

Now I know that these two names go hand in hand (where is the anti-competitive lobby when you really need 'em?) but if you address the actual functionality of the new handset, it is superb.

Obviously it is all about the speed, but it is also about the improved camera, the many updates and performance increases of the OS (which can be shared with the 3G community) and the better battery life. Answering the question set above, I would have a harder time justifying the costs of the new 3GS over the recently acquired 3G. I have a 3G which I have loved from the moment I switched my entire business to Apple back at the start of the year. The support savings alone (over £1k per month) have more than justified the switch and the up-time on the PCs is simply staggering.

As with any new device, the cost of upgrading needs to be examined on a 'need' basis rather than the 'fad' or 'geek' factor. If you simply want the newest version, then sorry, but you're stuck with O2's singularly awful conditions (aka: rip-em-off and leave-em). As for charging for tethering, this is simply unacceptable and should be investigated by OFCOM as much as anything else. The small print says that if you go for tethering, you loose your allowance under the mobile contract, so where's the benefit?

The iPhone is simply the best SmartPhone available in the world and the others are playing catch-up - very badly. The closest rivals in the form of the Nokia and the Palm Pre are nowhere close to the iPhone and the App Store. Put another way, the iPhone is now in its fourth iteration whilst the others are struggling to get their firsts out of the door. Having been a Windows Mobile officianado for years, prior to which I was a Palm-nut, I am now a firm convert to the Apple world and will not be looking back. If only we could resolve the issues with CPW and O2, the world would be complete for the iPhone community.

SHARK!

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