buying an iphone - what to consider?

sporina

So I am buying a smart phone for the 1st time actually - but I know that i defo want an iphone. I am considering the 4s. But I want a really good camera - does it have panorama ability?
I will be buying it 2nd hand - from a store who says that they buy the down grades from stores - what do i need to look out for?
it will have a 6 month warranty.
What points do i need to consider?
Should I consider an iphone 5 or other?
I want a sat nav and good camera etc.
Not into games.

Zcott

A 4S is ok but will probably run slowly with iOS 8 being released this summer. I'd suggest getting an iPhone 5 instead because it's one version newer and is just a solid device. It runs iOS 7 well, has built in sat-nav and will do panoramas. Camera is good, although not quite as good as the iPhone 5S.

con___manx1

sporina wrote: »

So I am buying a smart phone for the 1st time actually - but I know that i defo want an iphone. I am considering the 4s. But I want a really good camera - does it have panorama ability?
I will be buying it 2nd hand - from a store who says that they buy the down grades from stores - what do i need to look out for?
it will have a 6 month warranty.
What points do i need to consider?
Should I consider an iphone 5 or other?
I want a sat nav and good camera etc.
Not into games.

I'd get d 4s if for some reason you damage d screen on it it's cheap to be repaired 50 in certain places .samsung Galaxy's iphone 5 5 s 5 c your talking up to 150 t get it fixed. I no u don't plan t break you screen but a lot of people are not aware of this. You can get a 4s for 200 second hand.

sporina

con___manx1 wrote: »

I'd get d 4s if for some reason you damage d screen on it it's cheap to be repaired 50 in certain places .samsung Galaxy's iphone 5 5 s 5 c your talking up to 150 t get it fixed. I no u don't plan t break you screen but a lot of people are not aware of this. You can get a 4s for 200 second hand.

thanks.. yep I think I will go with the 4s for now.. as its my first..

the shop in town as i described are selling 4s's for 350e but I see on donedeal, there are phones for 250e - average - is it dodgy to buy on line from a random stranger? is in, i would have no warranty at all??
also i do not really wanna buy a stolen phone..

Flippyfloppy

sporina wrote: »

thanks.. yep I think I will go with the 4s for now.. as its my first..

the shop in town as i described are selling 4s's for 350e but I see on donedeal, there are phones for 250e - average - is it dodgy to buy on line from a random stranger? is in, i would have no warranty at all??
also i do not really wanna buy a stolen phone..

You should really look at reviews online and research the greyed out wifi issue many are having worldwide. A lot of people want out of apple but are stuck in two year contract with only one year warranties, and phones that broke after the latest update.

CathalDublin

sporina wrote: »

thanks.. yep I think I will go with the 4s for now.. as its my first..

the shop in town as i described are selling 4s's for 350e but I see on donedeal, there are phones for 250e - average - is it dodgy to buy on line from a random stranger? is in, i would have no warranty at all??
also i do not really wanna buy a stolen phone..

€350 will get you a second hand iPhone5.
I've had trouble getting €200 for 4s phones recently, definitely do not pay €350, sure they are only €399 brand new from apple.
have a look through the sold ads on adverts/ebay. the going/sold rate for an 8gb/16gb is 180-200.
In fact I sold 4-5 iphone4s's in the last 2 weeks for €180each.

If you are buying second hand, before handing over any money restore/reset the phone with the seller present and make sure the phone activates with your simcard installed and you can make and receive calls/text messages.
Also check the sound on voice calls is working OK and the ringer is working.
Lastly make sure the wifi is working as this is a common fault with phones which were updated over the air to ios7.

Mick Murdock

CathalDublin giving me plenty of good advice on here.. Sounds like an deal seller. ;-)

Gumbo

sporina wrote: »

thanks.. yep I think I will go with the 4s for now.. as its my first..

Think this is the wrong way to go imo. Buy a minimum of a 5 to allow for future updates.

Dades

Take a look at both a 4 and 5 and decide for yourself if would be happy without the bigger screen. If you want it for taking pictures then you'll want the bigger screen for viewing/editing them too, imo.

You might decide to pay that bit extra.

keith_d99

Buy on adverts.ie not from a shady shop

con___manx1

sporina wrote: »

thanks.. yep I think I will go with the 4s for now.. as its my first..

the shop in town as i described are selling 4s's for 350e but I see on donedeal, there are phones for 250e - average - is it dodgy to buy on line from a random stranger? is in, i would have no warranty at all??
also i do not really wanna buy a stolen phone..

If you buy on done deal . There is a list of checks you should make when viewing the phone. First check it's a 4s not a 4. Hold home button Siri should activate .if it's a 4 voice control would activate. Check audio make a call with it. Check all d buttons check d wifi camera memory speakers. Look for listings on donedeal that have been up a while maybe 1 week at least. If phone is stolen chances are it will b blocked in that time and you would know on viewing d phone as u wouldn't get any signal.

makoten

As many have suggested, I recommend getting a 5 these days. With iOS 7, I find that the 4s runs out of memory more quickly compared to a 5.

sporina

makoten wrote: »

As many have suggested, I recommend getting a 5 these days. With iOS 7, I find that the 4s runs out of memory more quickly compared to a 5.

hi do you mean the 5s or 5? and am in right in thinking that the 4s and 5s have ios7?

Gumbo

sporina wrote: »

hi do you mean the 5s or 5? and am in right in thinking that the 4s and 5s have ios7?

Buy a 5, a 5C or a 5S.
They all run ios7 but the older 4S is starting to struggle with the latest advances with iOS and it will not be supported going forward. I suspect the 4S will not get ios8 this year.

makoten

kceire wrote: »

Buy a 5, a 5C or a 5S.
They all run ios7 but the older 4S is starting to struggle with the latest advances with iOS and it will not be supported going forward. I suspect the 4S will not get ios8 this year.

I'm guessing the 4s (along with iPad 2 and iPad mini which also use the A5 chip) will get iOS 8, but it will most likely be the last major iOS version for those devices. Whether they'll run 8 well is another question.

dodzy

makoten wrote: »

I'm guessing the 4s (along with iPad 2 and iPad mini which also use the A5 chip) will get iOS 8, but it will most likely be the last major iOS version for those devices. Whether they'll run 8 well is another question.

Agreed. 4S is still available to buy new. Definitely should get ios8. A great handset, no doubt.

OP, go to adverts.ie. look for a seller with good feedback. You can't really go wrong. If funds allow, get one of the IP5 variants. Cathal says above that he was selling the 4s for 180-200. Cant understand that. A mint 4S unlocked, boxed with accessories will still fetch 230-250.

CathalDublin

Personal experience, I've sold about 10 4s since Xmas through various different sites and some were advertised for €250ono. The closest serious offer I received on any of them was €200.
I'd no boxes but all had chargers&sync cables and were 100% mint, no scratches or cracks.
Look through the recent sold items on adverts/eBay/etc €180-€200 is the norm lately.
None of those phones advertised for €230-€250 are selling for that.

dodzy

CathalDublin wrote: »

.None of those phones advertised for €230-€250 are selling for that.

A quick search with a Dublin only filter threw up these results. All advertised as mint, unlocked and boxed. all offers c. €230 up. And, more importantly, all offers from good feedback sources which would suggest real interest.

http://www.adverts.ie/apple/unlocked-white-iphone-4s-16-gb/4900101

http://www.adverts.ie/apple/i-phone-4s-unlocked-any-network/4900351

http://www.adverts.ie/apple/iphone-4s-white/4933491

8gb still available from apple for €400, so a 16gb for €240, as new, is still a sought after item, and well worth it IMO.

CathalDublin

Like I said personal experience and mine weren't boxed but anyone willing to pay €50 for a box and a pair of ****ty earphones is mad. Plenty listed/with offers accepted/sold for €170-€200 on adverts/eBay so don't see why anyone would pay more than that myself.

Also none of those linked to are marked as sold so I'd think the offerers are time wasters regardless of feedback acore of 10, most them have 500+ comments to their names.

sporina

ok - the guy in the store will sell me an iphone 4s unlocked with 6 mth warrantee for 300e.
what ye think?

hfallada

sporina wrote: »

ok - the guy in the store will sell me an iphone 4s unlocked with 6 mth warrantee for 300e.
what ye think?

Still over priced. What good is a warranty when you drop the phone as I seriously doubt he will fix accidental damage? A warranty is literally not worth the paper it's written on. He wants a €100 premium for it. A private seller probably has looked their phone more than anything he has.

sporina

hfallada wrote: »

Still over priced. What good is a warranty when you drop the phone as I seriously doubt he will fix accidental damage? A warranty is literally not worth the paper it's written on. He wants a €100 premium for it. A private seller probably has looked their phone more than anything he has.

of course it will not cover if i drop it - no guarentee or insurance covers that,..

what you mean highlighted above?

guil

sporina wrote: »

of course it will not cover if i drop it - no guarentee or insurance covers that,..

what you mean highlighted above?

Presume he means they will have looked after the phone better than one the shop has.

the_syco

Private seller = once you bought it, tough poop if it's a lemon.

Shop; you have some rights if you find it's a lemon.

Also, if it suddenly stops working after a few days, if/when it's reported as stolen by it's original owner, it's handy if the shop isn't a fly-by-night setup.

makoten

The shop is clearly overcharging for the 4s.

You could get an iPhone 5 for around €350. eBay buyer protection is top notch too.