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iPhone 3GS $379 @ Australia Post

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Saw this on an Australia Post leaflet.

iPhone 3GS $379 Looks to be a Prepaid

It has down the bottom:

  • Telstra Includes $10 Starter Kit
  • Vodafone Includes $30 Cap recharge
  • Optus Includes $30 recharge

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closed Comments

  • optus/voda/telstra ?
    scanned image?

    • -1

      Seems to be all 3
      Sorry am a little slack when comes to the scanning, since ozbargain doesnt include an upload function.

      • Upload.ozbargain.com

        Yes it does!

        • Not in the submit form where logically you should find it

        • It's there, under the URL/Link field, where it says "Media File Uploader".

  • -6

    I thought you couldn't buy iphone 3gs outright. I thought the iphone could only be sold with a $30 prepaid voucher which will bring the total to $429? Unless apple has changed its stance on things?

    • +2

      It has down the bottom:
      - Telstra Includes $10 Starter Kit
      - Vodafone Includes $30 Cap recharge
      - Optus Includes $30 recharge

      So by that it should be $379 including recharge voucher.

      • +1

        I'd get this deal on vodaphone network, get the red bull mobile $365 deal with the smartphone. Sell the Red Bull Mobile smartphone and use the unlimited sim in this phone it uses the vodaphone network!

  • +9

    I got this in the mail as well today. I didn't read it, I recycled it. Which is what I consider the iPhone good for. It seems expensive for a 3 year old phone.

    • +4

      Its an iPhone that is still supported by latest iOS, so not end of life yet. Unlike many 3yr old android or window phones.

    • +3

      It seems to have held its value fairly well. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is going for around the same price and isn't even a year old.

    • +5

      It seems to have held its value fairly well.

      because apple are making an absolute killing in profit for each phone ~$500 according to some recent articles. that's $500 of your money into their fat wallets for no good reason.

      • +6

        Not to disparage your view, because apple DID make $13.06 billion last quarter but research and development don't come cheap you know. The rest is just marketing and product branding. In comparison, LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moët, Hennessy) made ~$4 billion in 2010, with Louis Vuitton contributing the most. Nobody really knows how much LV's manufacturing costs are but when you start pulling in big bucks like $4 billion, you know there's got to be some serious profit margins.

        • They have already made their investment on the 3gs back multiple times, but it doesn't stop them from selling it to you for a ridiculous fee… And by the number of positive votes looks like there will be people that will jump on the "bargain".

          Do yourself a favour and buy a modern phone for about the same price.

      • +2

        …into the shareholders fat wallets you mean.
        2003 share price, $10
        2008 share price, $100
        today share price $600
        (rounded numbers)

    • +5

      it's an apple product. Of course it's going for a slight premium. But the point here is that $379 is a good price, considering its updatability and age. Nobody ever bought an apple product thinking it's the cheapest in the market. It's like buying Gucci and thinking it was cheaper than Oroton.

      • +11

        I absolutely love my android but honestly if we are comparing the two it's pretty shit how quick android's go out of date mainly due to how the carrier's manage the updates.

        • stick to google phones

    • +3

      I feel so retro that I am still using a 3GS. It does everything that I need it to, you just have to keep the IOS up to date. I won't upgrade it until something pretty fab comes along, or it konks it.

  • +7

    Not sure why you would get an iPhone 3GS when you can get the HTC incredible s for $299 at the same store …

      • +1

        lol

    • +2

      Relax dude, don't be so homophobic

    • +5

      Because not everyone likes Android? Seriously why does every bloody Android user feel the need to "convert" people. Ok you use that phone, it does X….so what? No one cares. It's a phone! Shut up!

      • +14

        Its funny you say that. Im at Tafe and the guys who have an iphone really likes to brag about their "brilliant" iphone and keeps on talking about how the screen is so good that its too good for the human eye to take in…imagine what the screen on iphone 5 would be like and other bla bla…

        Guys who have android phones with bigger screens or better processors rarely talks about their phones to others or show off their new apps or doing something weird.

        I don't want to group you in with them but I have found almost all iphone users like to brag. I'm not sure of the reason but maybe they know they've paid some enormous amount so makes their phone automatically better?…

        • +2

          My iPhone 4S is WAAAAY better than your iPhone 4S because, well, it's white, and yours is black. Andi've got this cool cover that yours doesn't.

          iPhone advantage: Apps are much cleaner and "finished" than the Android
          Android advantage: It's not an Apple. Can choose model based on look and feel.

          Someone needs to 'crack' an iPhone to allow Android OS or vice versa…

        • Been done. I thought you Android people were "likez totz tech 1337"? OR is it all for pathetic show like I suspected?

    • well it's not like they both run the same OS..

    • +3

      or a nexus for around $40 more.

  • -2

    lol, this is why apple and its share price is just as big a joke as the facebook fad.

  • Ah Apple fanboys.

    Simply know nothing lol.

    • +17

      Ah sad Android fanboys.

      Such arrogance. Think their some kind of Tech overlords when 9/10 they are actually some clueless pimply faced kid who thinks putting a graphics card in his computer to play WoW makes him "like totz leet".

      I work in IT 5 days a week, the last thing I want to do is screw around with my phone when I get home. Doesn't mean I don't know how to root/flash/bla, it simply means I have better things to do with my life.

      Grow up and get over yourself. People like different things.

      • +5

        I've actually never met an android fanboy before…
        "a person willing to defend and promote the object of his affection regardless of fact and objectivity"

        Unfortunately I've only come across Apple fanboys, who say Apple products are better than their counterparts but aren't able to explain why.

        I've nothing against Apple, I think they are marketing geniuses and they've bridged the gap between technology and the masses.

        But in saying that, are you a Coles fanboy or a Woolies fanboy? Woolies all the way…the lights are brighter there…

        • +4

          Dey both da shiz, GO MOTOROLLA RAZOR FLIPPz

      • +4

        I'm sure anyone with a modicum of sense would strongly prefer conducting their superfluous social interactions and web browsing on the 720p slab of awesome priced slightly more than this locked down stone age relic with a piss poor resolution and hardware that belongs in a museum. Of course I'm talking about the Galaxy Nexus and no, you don't need to be a Nobel laureate or pallid phone rooting basement dweller to make use of Android. No one's forcing you to screw with your devices, but someone's is forcing you not to :)

        To buy the 3GS right now is downright laughable. The iPhone 4 would be marginally acceptable at that price given that it's a respectably specced premium product, but it isn't.

        • 1) As you said the average user wants a smart phone for social networking and browsing. 3GS will handle this just fine. So "specs" are irrelevant unless your a geek. I'm not trying to insult, I'm stating a fact, a fact that Android fans don't seem to be able to understand. Not everyone gives a toss about X ram, X cores….it's not that we don't understand. It's that, We. Don't. Care. So shutup about it!

          2) "Locked down", this has NO effect on the average user. Infact it is an advantage as it means users don't have to be worried about downloading a dodgy APK and getting malware.

          3) Most Android devices are "locked" down too, until being rooted, which is no different to Jailbreaking an iPhone.

          4) Seriously, you like Android. I like iPhone/iPad. Who gives a rats ass.

        • +2

          So "specs" are irrelevant unless your a geek.

          Oh wow. Are you seriously suggesting that the 1280x720 screen of the Galaxy Nexus is indistinguishable from the 480x320 screen of the iPhone 3GS? I guess a massive difference in sharpness and readability is irrelevant. As is smoother and quicker operation when opening apps, loading web pages, all those things that only geeks do. Or a much higher quality camera, which may very well be the only camera the average user owns. Or a secondary microphone for noise cancellation during calls, in the event that you wish to actually use it as a phone.

          Perhaps someone with no understanding of technology wouldn't know what the advantages are but they're there and make a significant impact in just about any sort of usage. There's no arguing that the 3GS is probably good enough, but the point is to get the most you can out of your money.

          I like Android but would I buy a 3 year old Android phone if I could get the 4S for practically the same price (ha!)?

        • "3) Most Android devices are "locked" down too, until being rooted, which is no different to Jailbreaking an iPhone."

          Not true. The equivalent to jailbreaking an iPhone is buying an Android phone, which allows you to install and run non-Market apps out of the box.

        • -1

          No, a unrooted phone can't have system apps changed. A jailbroken iPhone can.

        • Compared unrooted phone to jailbroken i-devices seem real fair for someone who works in IT? I don't think so.

          Update system apps… I know what you mean, but again, that's twisting the facts. System apps can be updated without rooting, but if you want to remove original/older copy of System apps, you need to root the phone. (BTW, I dunno whether ICS changes it or not).

          As a owner of multiple i-devices and Android devices, below is my two cents. If you do what you would normally do to i-Devices to your Android devices - e.g. buy apps, and GET a decent Android device (not some cheap and nasty ones), they are pretty much the same. I don't root my dual core Android devices and I buy Android apps (you can get them when they are discounted too). Android is more flexible (the fact that jailbreak is there - and quite popular says iOS is not flexible enough). i-devices are more ready to use (BUT newer Android devices are catching up).

          If you compare a $150 Android phone to a $699 iPhone 4S, then it is not a fair comparision. There is also no doubt that having both Android and iOS is keeping both camps working hard and that's good for consumer.

          A typical smartphone's standard usage life cycle is 2 years (battery, wear and tear etc…) and IT is moving at such a rapid rate… iPhone 3GS is 3 years old now. $379 for iPhone 3GS… An IT person like me will NOT recommend anyone to get it (not worth the money).

      • Hmm so I'm a pimply faced kid that likes a show from the 80s? I'm probably more older than you!

        Also I use a cheapo phone lol but I have used Apple and the other brands.

        • +1

          Dude, you're Macyver. You could probably build a phone using nothing more than a paperclip, a rock and an empty toilet roll.

  • +2

    just add a bit more and you'll get galaxy note. the best phone ever

    • +2

      It's not a phone, its a mini tablet

      • Actually, it's officially referred to as a big phone rather than a small tablet.

        At this price, I'd rather pay $30 more and get the Galaxy Nexus.

  • Picked one up to replace an older model. Perfect timing!

  • The back of the leaflet says something about 8gb and it being a Vodafone deal. I want to move from my stone age iPhone3G 16gb but bit reluctant to downgrade 8gb! Assume this is not a 16gb 3GS?

  • +2

    The Vodafone plan surely represent greater value.
    http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/66900

    • +2

      I concur.

      $379
      vs
      $348 - paid over 12 months + '$29' usage fees for the year,

      • +2

        I agree, I thought the same when this deal was posted. Also note it wouldn't be 348 as there is free one month access so turns out to be $319. One could easily sell the phone for that price and enjoy the super-fast (?) Vodafone network free for a year.

        • One Month Free yes, and an additional 10% off if you are already a customer.

          Unlocking fees may also come into play, esp. with the prepaid deal.

  • Thinking I'm gonna take my chances on eBay!!

  • +19

    I tried finding an android phone with the same specs…

    then i realised they dont make phones this shit anymore.

    • +2

      nexus just $40 more why buy a 3 year old phone?

      • .

      • -6

        Nexus with usb charging issues and volume you can barely hear especially when your in a crowd.

        The iPhone 3GS has no issues like the above, which is why it can still sell for the price.

        • -5

          This is a good point, it's tried and test and backed by Apple which I hear are very helpful even after warranty

          People buy iPhone because they know there will not be issues that other phones have and to be honest they are built to a higher standard than other plastic fantastic phones

          I am a Galaxy Nexus owner and it's great but if I was not into IT and Networking the phone would be a big dud for the points above, also the build quality compared to iPhone and the fact that just a few months later we already have the Xperia S which is arguably superior..

        • +2

          the number of times ive seen a cracked iphone…..

          you think they would choose a better quality glass- on par with corning gorilla glass

        • And android devices don't crack?

        • +2

          Between a Samsung and a Apple phone they both seem petty well made.

          I saw a video on Youtube showing a Samsung and Apple dropped from 2.5 meters I think it was.

          The Apple screen was smashed completely while the Samsung seemed fine.

        • +1

          Those experiments are highly unreliable.

          Derp Phone 1 : Lands on screen, cracks the screen
          Phone 2 : Doesn't land on screen, screen uncracked.

          PHONE NUMBER 2 NUMERO UNO HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE

        • +1

          Its a video.

          Both are dropped from 2.5 m.

          Both fall on the ground screen first.

          What you going to say? The wind was blowing slow at the time of the Apple falling now there for it hit the ground harder?

        • +1

          Apple Phone: made of crap breakable glass
          Other branded phones(not cheapies): made of gorilla glass, non-scratchable, very hard to break

          Its not really even a debate, just fact.

    • HAHAHHAHAHHA this made me LOL

      +1

  • man, if people are buying the 3GS for $379…it's like the ultimate win for Apple

    • I think it's already a win for Apple since they managed to dish off their old stock to Aust Post

  • +9

    I used to have an iPhone 3Gs - in 2009. It was a great phone, but it was surpassed a long time ago. It WAS the flagship model, but now it's targeting the budget set (yes I know this is Ozbargain)

    In terms of processing power, screen, memory, features, you can do a lot better at the same price point. Do your research. Don't restrict yourself to the iOS bubble. I use a work-issue HTC Desire HD. When I'm off that gravy train, my next phone will be either a flagship Apple or Samsung, depending which better suits my needs.

    If you REALLY want an iPhone, save a bit more and get a 4s.

    If you don't have the money and want a status symbol, just know that the people who will laugh at you the most are the trendites with the latest iPhone who'll still think you're a peasant carrying this around.

    • +4

      "If you don't have the money and want a status symbol, just know that the people who will laugh at you the most are the trendites with the latest iPhone who'll still think you're a peasant carrying this around." That's my favorite part

    • It's kind of true that Apple products (iphone in particular) are a fashion statement and you aren't "cool" if you don't have one, even if there are better options out there. But being seen as not "hip" or out of fashion because you have an older model is something I never thought of. The kind of people who buy iPhones are the kind that get new contracts every 24 months and upgrade to the next model, so most of them have a 4 or 4S it seems. I don't often see many iPhones these days that are not these models.

      Personally, I think $379 is a lot for a very outdated phone (this was 2 generations ago with a resolution of 320x480. Once you've seen the Retina displays, you can't go back.

  • is 3GS 850 & 900 mhz UMTS? or 2 diff models ?

    http://www.apple.com/au/iphone/iphone-3gs/specs.html
    mentions nothing of 900mhz

  • +2

    iPhone's and android phones are both top notch phones, they both share the same technology and have very similar interface Layout also in designs, guess you need to put some thought over its appearance which people seem to go out for. Both share it's aspects.

    And who ever is calling people having an iPhone 3GS, being a peasant and being laughed at? NO, people in the world would care less on what phone you have, people only think its odd if you did not have a mobile phone at all. Having a 3GS is still alot better than having a nokia 5110, and yes they are still being carried around like a brick, hard to miss.

    Owner of iPhone 4, and my partner has 4s, just to let you know buying older models phones isnt something bad, but if you plan on making apps and games run smoothly, I wouldn't suggest it, unless you are doing basic things. having the latest update on a iPhone also becomes a problem, my iPad 2 had just been updated and formatted, now it runs slower, should have left it as IiOS 4. Same as my iPhone 4. Devices just cant handle newer updates in my experience.

    • Strange my iPad 2 works fine on iOS 5.0.1, I even JB'ed it. Same goes with my 3GS (which lags at times on some games but understandable due to lower processor) and my iPhone 4 works normal when it was on iOS 4.
      Take it to the genius bar and get it fixed.

    • +1

      iPhone 3GS, even today, has it uses - no doubt.

      But $379 and most likely locked —> not a good deal. It is fine to pay the Apple tax for their latest and greatest (if you really want one)… but iPhone 3GS… no. The price of this device has not changed much since the introduction of iPhone 4S in Australia.

  • -1

    Can't believe nobody has negged this "deal". For similar money you can get the Samsung Galaxy Nexus which is light years ahead. I feel sorry for anybody that actually thinks this is a good deal and buys this. Take off your iGoggles people and do some research before wasting your money!

    • +7

      This is an iPhone. You are enforcing your opinions of value on different mobile manufacturers on other people. That is why no one has begged this deal on such invalid grounds.

  • You should try to update iPod touch 2gen with iOS 4, il be surprised if it can even install ios5

    • iOS5 runs on the 3GS, but not Gen2 iPod touch.

  • +10

    Just to reiterate, the 3GS is not particularly great value for money any more. You are buying a phone with ageing technology that is beginning to show its age. I myself have a 3GS, and while it works it is not ideal. As Apple updates the software, you will be left behind more and more often until the latest firmware won't even work on your 3GS. The phone will lag with apps.

    Much better value at the moment is one of the android options.
    Save that bit extra ($60 or so) for a Galaxy Nexus. You are comparing a 600mhz processor (3GS) to the 1.2ghz dual core processor, and there's a world of difference.

    If you must go for Apple (they do make a great product still) then at least look at an iPhone 4.

    • +2

      couldn't have said it better

  • -1

    NO DEAL.

  • +2

    outdated and overpriced. no real value here.

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