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michaelp

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My wife and I are both thinking of upgrading to smart phones. We both have "non-smart" motorola flip phones. One is dying faster than the other- cannot hold a charge- even with a new battery. I have been looking on web sites and see a lot of good things written (some not so good) about iphones. I have not used any of them yet. We want them primarily for talking, texting, and pictures. Everything else is a bonus- I guess.
I have seen that the 4S is at 99.00- we are with Verizon right now-. I actually hate to spend that much when everyone is anticipating that a new phone will be out in June/ July. I am thinking that the 4S will drop in price and the 5 may be at 99.00.
Would I be missing much by going to the 4S now and having that for two years- or should I wait until the 5 drops in price? Is there that much of a difference? I would hate to buy the 4S now and then see it go down in 2-3 months. Playing games is not an issue- music-possibly but not a real priority. A good camera is kind of important.
I was told that if I buy it from Apple then the insurance is also 99.99 for two years- so that is another 200.00 for the two.
One other question-- should I expect the voice quality to be at least as good as my flip phone or not?
Sorry to be so long--- first smart phone and I am hoping that the iphone will be the best over the androids.

thanks so much
 
Welcome to iPhoneForums Michael. I'm Jon.

I would put my confidence in the fact that the 5 probably won't drop to $99 but probably to something like $149 until after the initial few months of the 5S' release. I would say drop by Walmart and see if you can get a better deal on the devices when you use your upgrade with them since in many regions, Walmart does have a lower price for their devices. One of the Walmarts in Long Island actually has the 5 for $139 and the 4S for IIRC $59 with eligible upgrades.

Ultimately, I would say the 4S is still a very strong device considering that it's a step up from the 3GS and 4 with its dual core processor and slight tweaks here and there. It'll definitely take the 3GS's place as a long-term support device. The 3GS is almost at the 3 year mark and is still a very strong and popular device, especially overseas in the Asian countries right next to the 4S, and I would dare say that the 4S would probably hit the end of iOS 8 if we were to take the trend of the 3GS into play.

The camera on the 4S is decent, but of course, compared to the 5, it's child's play for many users.

I would say probably better call quality if not the same. I don't actually hold the phone up to my ear often since I'm almost always on my BT or my head/earphones to answer calls with, so there isn't much of a discrepancy there for me. But I don't have many complaints about the sound quality when I do hold up the phone to my ears. Just make sure that you remove the initial plastic cover on the phone when it's straight out of the box so that the plastic isn't covering the ear piece to isolate the sound coming out.

Pros and cons, there'll always be pros and cons from different perspectives of the two. Ultimately, I would say you'd probably have to wait nearly another year for the 5 to hit the desirable $99 price unless you opt for a cheaper iPhone that's been rumored to come out "relatively soon", but if you're looking for advise on the 4S, it's definitely a strong buy still. The 5 is a great upgrade for those that're looking for a nice resolution upgrade, faster speeds, 4G/LTE support (probably one of the bigger breaking points for 4S vs 5 "scurmishes") The decision, is ultimately up to you whether or not you go for it.
 
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