The golden oldie iPhone 3GS given new life to the tune of 2 million made for Q4

posted by Daniel P. / Dec 09, 2011, 4:20 AM

The golden oldie iPhone 3GS given new life to the tune of 2 million made for Q4

What was left by Apple as its budget handset, the iPhone 3GS, has been buoyed by its current contract price of free, and instead of going into the dustbin of history, 2 million units of it will be made for Q4, say supply chain probes.

Analysts were content about the economics of keeping it in the lineup, although it doesn't really measure up to the newer generations, since it is a good entry level way to experience iOS for newcomers that won't break the bank for them. Apparently it has indeed turned out a desirable arrangement, if the supply chain sources hold true.

Not only is the two-year old iPhone 3GS expected to sell 2 million this quarter, but analysts claim the orders are for between 1.4-1.6 million in the first quarter of 2012 as well, so the golden oldie has evidently been breathed some new life into.

via AppleInsider

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67 Comments

1. bloodline

Posts: 706; Member since: Dec 01, 2011

I have no idea why anyone would buy this, you can get a newer phone, better camera and performance for the same and price and possibly cheaper. Also IOS5 is laggy on it. If 2million people buy this then that is 2million stupid uneducated people

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 4:44 AM 6

2. tacohunter

Posts: 408; Member since: Nov 06, 2011

It's so that the iphone does have a price in every price class.

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 5:37 AM 5

9. hepresearch unregistered

My brother's iPhone 3GS is not too bad with iOS 5... it still navigates crisp and clean, and although some functions will, no doubt, lag, I find it to still be a cleaner experience with the UI than can be found on any Android I could possibly afford at this point. The iPhone 4S is waaaay too expensive for me right now, and the iPhone 4 has the antenna-gate antenna which I would avoid like the plague. Of all the iPhones that are currently available, the iPhone 3GS is what I would consider starting out with. I do not care if it is an old design, behind the times, no camera flash, HVGA screen resolution, creeping processor speed and only HSPA 7.2... and at this point, I am willing to part with some of my old necessities like expandable memory... yeah, the iPhone 3GS may not be winning any fashion shows anymore, but I do not care. It would work well enough for my purposes in casual personal use, and in fact be capable of a LOT more than I need a phone for these days. On my parents AT&T 550 Nationwide family plan, it would still be a $9.99 add-on-line with $15.00 tacked on for 200MB of data, which I cannot imagine using all of anyway, and my folks would probably ask me to pay the extra $15 plus taxes that they would not already be covering... so I'll need some form of employment before I try to do this... but then my folks will start asking me to pay rent, groceries and other things, and I will need health insurance, so I better find a decent one when I finally do!

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 8:30 AM 4

12. bloodline

Posts: 706; Member since: Dec 01, 2011

In the UK you can buy a HTC Desire S for nearly the same price as a Iphone 3gs If you tell me the 3gs can out perform the Desire S, you are a complete moron. the Desire S kills it at every angle, you cant even compare 2011 tech to 2009. The desire s is a good phone aswell

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 8:43 AM 4

17. hepresearch unregistered

I don't care about performance. I am sure the HTC Wildfire S is a decent phone, but I am tired of customizing everything and modding stuff. The Desire S, no doubt, can run computing circles around the 3GS. However, I am looking for something simple and smooth, which every Android I have ever met (aside from those occasional handsets that are running CyanogenMod or the XDA equivalent... but those mods void warranties more often than not) has not done consistently. Out of the box, without any changes or anything, the iPhone 3GS offers me a simple, cheap, smooth option. Granted, I will be locked into iTunes if I want to buy MP3's, and lose a lot of the freedoms I enjoyed in the past, but maybe for me the freedom is not that important any more. I understand it is very important for many of us, but I guess being helplessly poor, ill, dependent and unemployed for so long has taken its toll on me.

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 9:07 AM 4

50. Dmann

Posts: 165; Member since: Oct 17, 2011

I found your post quite contraditory. With android you have many more free apps. With Apple you'd spend a lot more in apps. For the same money (if what bloodline is true) you can have a better phone in specs (camera, processor, etc...) If you don't install any widget and keep only the icons, you will have the same iphone experience, yet keep Android's freedom. The only people I know that use the phone exactly as they come, out of the box (iPhones included) are my parents and grandparents. I don't get it. Customization is an option. You can leave it as it is.

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 2:22 PM 1

59. hepresearch unregistered

Like I said, I am thinking of greater consistency of behavior in the UI... I have never met a stock Android + whatever overlay that delivered the consistent behavior that the iPhone UI delivers (granted the iPhone has fewer functions, fewer choices, and so on...) for the things that it DOES do well. Also, I do not care a whole lot about specs... if it does what I want it to do reliably, then the specs are not important. I am not an avid photographer, and I do not plan on surfing the web a whole lot or doing actual productivity work aside from calendaring on a phone. I will talk on the phone, use the calendar and alarm, make an occasional note, get a few emails, perhaps play MP3's, and that's about it. Free is free, and I see no reason to try to step up to higher specs or nicer camera or faster processor when I do not need or care about those things, even though they may also be in the free-phone category. I do not plan on getting any apps or games, and I do not plan on buying anything from iTunes (aside from dumping my existing MP3 collection into an iTunes folder). I am getting up there in age, so I will soon be old enough to be a parent to some folks here... so it would not be outside of my new-found old-person mantra to do something like this. I am willing, at this point, to sacrifice the customization option for a little extra smoothness, intuitiveness, and stability in the UI. I mean, it isn't like I cannot choose my own preferred wallpaper image to put on the home screen background... and yes, I know so much more can be done than that, but I have no reason to bother with it any more. I am not trying to impress employers, coworkers, friends, family, or pretty ladies any more.

posted on Dec 10, 2011, 1:50 AM 0

51. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

actually the Wildfire is a cheap piece of crap, even by 2009 standards and should be avoided like the plague. It is exactly what is wrong with android phones. No internal memory, crappy UI optimization, and problems galore. Never buy android unless you are staying at the top of the line or at least buying a phone that was once considered top of the line (like an SGS1, Evo, Droid).

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 2:51 PM 0

41. M1K3YWR19H7

Posts: 18; Member since: Jan 31, 2011

thanks for the life story

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 11:57 AM 1

58. Lucas777

Posts: 2137; Member since: Jan 06, 2011

its called a comment...

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 5:39 PM 0

36. ardent1

Posts: 2000; Member since: Apr 16, 2011

It's a great phone, albeit a bit dated, and the actions of 2 million consumers clearly outweigh the noise of one addlepated and bitter individual.

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 11:02 AM 4

40. M1K3YWR19H7

Posts: 18; Member since: Jan 31, 2011

how do you get a phone cheaper then free?

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 11:56 AM 1

61. hepresearch unregistered

they would have to PAY you to take their phone...

posted on Dec 10, 2011, 1:59 AM 0

48. 530gemini

Posts: 2198; Member since: Sep 09, 2010

@bloodline. You're mad just because other people wants an ip3gs? lol. Typical fandroid. Rude and disrespectful, and of course stupid :-)

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 2:11 PM 0

52. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

ahh proving the point of an apple fan. not only rude, disrespectful, and of course stupid.. but also hippocritical and oblivious. :)

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 2:52 PM 0

60. hepresearch unregistered

gemini... bloodline feels that the Wildfire S is a good phone, and for him, I am sure that it certainly has been. He made a suggestion of an alternate idea for me, and I appreciate his concern and ideas. As for the "moron" comment, well, I know that sounded bad to you, but I do not need to take that kind of stuff personally like you always seem to do. You, on the other hand, take his comment and try to apply your interpretation of it as a stereotype for all Android fans. You tell him he's rude and disrespectful, and call him stupid, when neither of your first two accusations apply to something that was not directed at you or meant to be truly malicious, and your third accusation is just plain wrong.

posted on Dec 10, 2011, 1:58 AM 0

3. HTCiscool

Posts: 449; Member since: Jul 16, 2011

Regular consumers think that if they purchase an iPhone 3GS it will get them up to date with the latest in mobile technology, they think "Even if its over 2 years old, its still an iPhone" I'm not calling these people stupid, they are just ignorant and haven't considered all their options for upgrading. Quite sad when you consider you could get a vastly better, newer, Gingerbread toting mid-range Android for the same price. I didn't even think the 3GS would even get iOS5.

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 6:19 AM 7

7. SuperAndroidEvo

Posts: 4888; Member since: Apr 15, 2011

The people buying the iPhone 3GS must be the people who have free flip phones who are getting their first smart phones. (generally older people) The younger folks know about the iPhone 4S because they are in the know at school & the commercials on TV that target them. I think the iPhone 3GS is free or extremely cheap right now. It's sad but the iPhone 3GS is 100 times better than their old busted flip phones & they see all those nice cute Apple commercials & go for it because it's free or dirt cheap. There are 1GHz processor Android phones that run circles around the iPhone 3GS but the Apple stigma & word of mouth helps a lot. People who are informed know Android is the best, thus Android’s #1 OS ranking here in the U.S. & the world. I guess not all can be saved.

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 8:12 AM 5

32. bucky

Posts: 3794; Member since: Sep 30, 2009

I have the 3gs and it still feels alot smother than older android phones like my desire. The browsers were terrible on amdroid back in the day. The sgs2 is the first browser I have used that is honestly smoother than the iphone. Even the new nexus isnt as smooth as you think.

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 10:20 AM 3

37. antifanboy

Posts: 67; Member since: Dec 06, 2011

Must have missed the article on why android will ways lag no matter how fast the processor

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 11:18 AM 5

38. EclipseGSX

Posts: 1777; Member since: Oct 18, 2011

must have missed the article where no one GIVES A f**k WHAT YOU THINK TACO_50 2.0

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 11:20 AM 2

43. antifanboy

Posts: 67; Member since: Dec 06, 2011

You mad bro? Not my fault you picked a rushed to market OS that was designed to have a trackball

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 12:36 PM 3

45. EclipseGSX

Posts: 1777; Member since: Oct 18, 2011

lol you're the one thats mad taking shots at Android, you scurred it will soon take over your precious Apple, yea thought so run home now boy. I will GLADLY take a little lag, (that can be buffed out with Root and a custom rom) over your dumbed down, non-customizable, app launcher OS. Also hows that 3G and tiny screen treatin ya hahaha

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 1:02 PM 2

62. hepresearch unregistered

C'mon Eclipse... let him take his shots at Android, I'm sure iOS is better suited for his purposes than Android is. Some people can't handle that much freedom. And some people, like me, have had their freedom for a long time and just feel like settling down and not having to think a whole lot for a while. Freedom can be tiring...

posted on Dec 10, 2011, 2:04 AM 0

4. Joshing4fun

Posts: 1249; Member since: Aug 13, 2010

Wow.... Could you even imagine if Motorola and Verizon started selling the original Droid again only for free so it's ok. Ha heck no. Shame how blind people can be.

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 6:37 AM 3

5. kshell1

Posts: 1143; Member since: Oct 05, 2011

nobody would buy the OG droid i mean theres MANY other choices on the droid line from droid x2 droid inc2 droid charge droid razr droid bionic droid 3 droidx OG droid 2 droid 3 global and we keep going nd going

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 7:11 AM 0

6. kshell1

Posts: 1143; Member since: Oct 05, 2011

and the sad thing is that the galaxy s line only has a few phones and they selling millions upon millions

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 7:12 AM 0

8. 1701nino unregistered

You ignorant fools.Clearly you have no knowledge about smartphones,show some respect before the old king. First of all,i'm writing this post of an iphone 3GS runing the latest and greatest ios 5.01 and let me tell ya it works great on this hardware. Second if you look at benchmark tests you can see that 3gs has a very powerful cpu and gpu although its clocked at 600Mhz(it benchmarks somwhere as a mid-handset even outperforming many phones with 1Ghz processors including the iphone 4!!!??? How is that possible???Well there is this thing called the Mhz myth that basiclly says that the clocked speed of the processor doesn't mean its going to perform as well. Thats why i can play infinity blade 2 on my so called entry level phone while you smartasses can't play games with not even close graphics on your "mid to high level droids" Oh,and before you start a dogfight do your homework kids.Not all iphone users are "sheeps" and fandroids are "smart".I think its more the opposite. So long suckers;)

posted on Dec 09, 2011, 8:26 AM 4

10. SuperAndroidEvo

Posts: 4888; Member since: Apr 15, 2011

Just by the way you talk simply implies one thing...... i$heep. 1701nino you are the poster boy! You prove what an i$heep really is. Thank you for the proof we all needed. So long suckers;) Really?!? How old are you? lol