What am I missing?

[MarkCup]

Oddly enough I'm considering a new iphone to replace my creaking Galaxy. Never looked into iphones before, pricing, tariff, anything really so am pretty clueless.

While idly browsing/researching this morning, I see the sim free pricing for the current 4S and I'm a little shocked tbh;

16GB = £499
32GB = £599
64GB = £699

I don't believe there's any spec difference across the three...so is it really an extra £100 just for a paltry 16GB more onboard storage, and then, another £100 for an extra 32GB on top of that?

£200 for 48GB of RAM? It's no wonder Apple have so much cash!

I hope the pricing for RAM on the new models is a little less rapey.

 

[Chrisgti6]

I hope the pricing for RAM on the new models is a little less rapey.

Just a quick pointer - That's not RAM. The iPhone 4s has 512mb of RAM, that doesn't change on any of the models above.

Think of it in PC terms. Your PC might have a 500gb harddrive for storage, and 4gb or RAM, 2 very differnet things.

 

[Chip-mk1]

Yeah its a total racket the price they change for the onboard memory TBH.


Great phones though IMHO (although lots of people will no doubt reply about why their samsung is better, its weird the way they are all so obsessed with doing that)

 

[Chrisgti6]

I'm with you there Chip. I think there are now more people devoted to slating apple lovers than there are actual apple lovers!

 

[sn00p]

Flash memory is expensive. The only comparison is to an SSD for a computer, but even that's unfair because SSD's use multiple cheaper smaller capacity chips to build an larger array for cost and performance benefits.

The bigger the flash chip, the more the price increases, it's exponential.

 

[MarkCup]

So my comparison with, say, a 64GB class 10 SDHC available freely available for circa. £50 isn't valid?

 

[Chip-mk1]

I would hold off on buying an iphone at the moment TBH, with the 5 about to come out (allegedly) there is likely to be a gluy of good condition 2nd hand 4s and deals on new 4s coming up very soon.

 

[Revels]

Depends really. Mark might want a contract.

The multiple sizes of the 4S will disappear very soon and then it will be 4S 8GB and then the new iPhone will take the 16/32/64GB spots.

 

[Bodge!]

As what Chip says, a lot of them will undoubtedly come from people within the forum!

 

[sn00p]

So my comparison with, say, a 64GB class 10 SDHC available freely available for circa. £50 isn't valid?

No. I have no idea what sort of memory it has on it what it's configuration is. An SD card will be using die direct from the factory, die is small and therefore multiple dies could quite happily sit inside a sd card. More dies you have, the cheaper it becomes. The smaller the capacity the factory makes, the higher the yield because they're less complex. The higher the yield, the lower the price.

I'm not saying there isn't a premium being added but it's not as straight forward as it appears, doubling the capacity will more than double the price on a single chip.

 

[Ads_172]

Aye, the price of a 4s will drop soon so no point getting one right now.

 

[Chip-mk1]

As what Chip says, a lot of them will undoubtedly come from people within the forum!

TBH in my own case, I am really struggling to think what the 5 might offer that could actually tempt me away from the 4S that I just find suits my needs perfectly at the moment.
I wont personally buy the latest one just through vanity to be one of these saddos walking around bragging they have the latest phone etc, so it will need to have some genuinely useful to me improvement functionality wise, and I really cant think what that's going to be, unless it has a 1 week battery life or something unlikely like that.

Should think a lot of people will be similar, so the 4S is going to be a fairly tough act for apple to follow IMHO

 

[Revels]

Please keep on topic.

Thanks.

 

[MarkCup]

No. I have no idea what sort of memory it has on it what it's configuration is. An SD card will be using die direct from the factory, die is small and therefore multiple dies could quite happily sit inside a sd card. More dies you have, the cheaper it becomes. The smaller the capacity the factory makes, the higher the yield because they're less complex. The higher the yield, the lower the price.

I'm not saying there isn't a premium being added but it's not as straight forward as it appears, doubling the capacity will more than double the price on a single chip.

Ah, OK, my view was a little simplistic.

I would hold off on buying an iphone at the moment TBH, with the 5 about to come out (allegedly) there is likely to be a gluy of good condition 2nd hand 4s and deals on new 4s coming up very soon.

Aye, the price of a 4s will drop soon so no point getting one right now.

No intention whatsoever to go get one right now. Will wait for the release of the 5 and then for the market/hype to settle down before considering all.

Think a 4/4S would do me fine tbh if it weren't for the small screen, so against every fibre of my being I'm actually considering a 5.

 

[Chip-mk1]

Think a 4/4S would do me fine tbh if it weren't for the small screen, so against every fibre of my being I'm actually considering a 5.

TBH I think the 4s screen size is ideal, it still fits in my pocket well, the mrs has got one of these samsung phones nearly the size of a tablet which is fine for her as she carries it in a handbag, but as a bloke who only has trouser pocket space, some of which is limited by having to share the front of my jeans area with my genitals etc, I cant really see that I would find a bigger screen convenient to carry.
So I think these big screens are probably just for girls and eunuchs realistically.

 

[olihodgson]

I'm still using a 4 16gb two years and 3 months after getting it, still works perfectly and has literally not one mark on it, and still holds half decent value. There's not any phone but an iPhone that holds value so well, that's why I'll always get iPhones.
Definitely wait until the 5 is released, will be announced today and on sale within weeks, then 4s will be way cheaper, and can last your years.
Mine still handles every app perfectly, so a 4s should hold its own for a while longer yet..!

 

[jenic]

I'm still using a 4 16gb two years and 3 months after getting it, still works perfectly and has literally not one mark on it, and still holds half decent value. There's not any phone but an iPhone that holds value so well, that's why I'll always get iPhones.

This is a really good point.

Once the initial investment is made, you can upgrade sim free for £150-£200 every year and get a cheap £10 rolling contract.

No other newly released top end phone is as cheap to own imo.

 

[DB.]

This is a really good point.

Once the initial investment is made, you can upgrade sim free for £150-£200 every year and get a cheap £10 rolling contract.

No other newly released top end phone is as cheap to own imo.

More like £200 if you are going from 16GB to 16GB or closer to £300 if going from 16/32GB to 32GB.

 

[DB.]

TBH I think the 4s screen size is ideal, it still fits in my pocket well, the mrs has got one of these samsung phones nearly the size of a tablet which is fine for her as she carries it in a handbag, but as a bloke who only has trouser pocket space, some of which is limited by having to share the front of my jeans area with my genitals etc, I cant really see that I would find a bigger screen convenient to carry.
So I think these big screens are probably just for girls and eunuchs realistically.

It is thinner though, I have room in pockets for a tiny bit more length, no pun intended. 18%thinner would be nice though, as with my skinnIER (Not skinny) jeans and a case, it pokes out a bit much for my liking.

 

[olihodgson]

People always diss the new iPhone for not being revolutionary enough, right up until the day they can afford to have one!! Happens every year, Facebook is alive with iPhone 5 dissing at the minute!!

 

[Chip-mk1]

It is thinner though, I have room in pockets for a tiny bit more length, no pun intended. 18%thinner would be nice though, as with my skinnIER (Not skinny) jeans and a case, it pokes out a bit much for my liking.

I think what they have done with keeping the same width but making a little longer works well, the comment you quoted from me was from before the release of the iphone 5 and was in reference to IF it ended up much bigger both ways like an HTC etc.

 

[Revels]

Mark, if you want any more help with your decision then PM me and I'll re-open this because people don't seem to understand this isn't a topic for b**ching.