I plan on getting a new ATT&T service along with an Iphone but wish I could determine what 2 times faster really means. I will use the Iphone for email and websites and of course a phone. The 3GS has some nice features that I more than likely will not use. However if the speed difference is significant then I may spring for the extra $100. Example: How long does it take to pull up Yahoo on each and what's the actual difference in time. Thus, what's the real world difference in time...a couple of seconds or more like 15 or 20 seconds difference?
Thanks,
Jerry

So I take it that you won't be wanting a video camera? A compass? Voice Control?

I can't say I would never use those functions but not on a regular basis for sure...By your post I would gather that you believe the 2GS is without question worth the extra bucks...

If you have the extra 100 in your budget , I would go with the 3Gs . That other one your starting off already behind the power curve

Right Steve.

Jerry, if you get the 3G, you are getting an older technology. Granted, it's only a year and a month old, but still.

Even if you use some of the newer functions sporadically, with the 3G you couldn't use them at all.

If you Google it you can find some speed tests...

Jerry,

Don't assume that you wont want the newer technology. I had been clamoring for Apple to develop an release an iPhone for years and all I ever really wanted were features that one might consider among the more basic.

But as I have grown into the phone, I find that this thing has got uses for which I never would have dreamed-- uses that are far too numerous to mention here. And lets just say, for the sake of discussion that you really are only concerened with phone functionality... the voice control functiuon alone is worth the price of admission.

Is space an issue? I don't think that the 3G comes in anything bigger than 8 gigs. I know that might sound like a lot to some, but when a music library could be 10 times that, having a little more wiggle room might not be a bad idea. I synch all my four and five star songs (484 songs) to the phone plus everything additional that is in a playlist called "phone specific" (another 719 songs). The more songs you have in a library, the more interesting the genius playlists created by the phone can be. And because I have more than enough room, I have no qualms about adding another 2-3-4 hundred songs should I have the inclination to do so.

I dunno... it's a hundred bucks. Maybe that really is a lot. It's not like I'm rich-- like a lot of people, I tend to live a bit beyond my means sometimes (I know--tsk tsk), but I wouldn't compromise when it comes to this subject. No way.

Jashue,
you have the 16 or 32GB one?

We are still torn about getting one. The monthly fee is the big hangup.

I sprung for the 32. Probably could have been satisfied with a 16-- but when it comes to matters of technology, I tend to buy more than what I need when I need it to stave off obsolescence.

The MBP I bought in January of 2007 is a BTO 2.33 GhZ machine with 4 gigs of ram. At the time, it was pretty much state of the art. As of today-- quite a lot of time by tech standards-- the MBPs start out at 2.53 GhZ with 4 gigs of ram. Yeah, I know the video capabilities have improved significantly, but in many ways, my machine is still relatively current. It certainly is current enough for me!

In the end, it's a matter of priorities. Everyone has to ask themselves just how susceptible they are to tech lust-- and how that lust fits into their actual needs. A lot of people on this forum go absolutely nuts when Apple releases the latest and greatest (I'm often times among them). But the tech race is not winnable by those that don't make absurd sums of money.

Suddenly the lyric by Cheryl Crow comes to mind:

"It's not having what you want
It's wanting what you've got"

For me, where I notice the speed lag the most on my 3G is in switching from one app to another, i.e. out of Mail and into Safari - and page rendering in Safari. Twice as fast would be very nice! I don't get to replace it until March next year, by which time maybe there'll be a 4-letter iPhone in the works? 3GSi or something .