Skip to main content

Upgrading from the iPhone 3G to the new iPhone 3GS

I have been very interested in the new iPhone 3GS, and so I decided to take a look to see if it'd be possible to upgrade. I made a few phone calls and did some research.

I learned that AT&T will allow me to upgrade to the iPhone 3GS without special charges after 1 year and 8 months under contract... so, happily I don't have to wait the full 2 years to get my hands on the new iPhone. But since I somewhat recently bought my iPhone, I still have to wait another year before I can upgrade.

However, since I can't wait, I can upgrade to the new iPhone 3GS for a fee - they'll let me upgrade to the new phone if I pay a $200 premium. That means that I'd pay $399 for a phone that usually goes for $199. The $200 "surcharge" is a number that's comparable to the "contract early termination" fee.

I bought my 16 GB iPhone 3G for $299. If I sell it now, I'll have a newer battery and a newer warranty. I feel those improvements are worth $50 to me. And therefore, I feel that IF I can sell my used iPhone for $350, it'd be an easy decision.

Popular posts from this blog

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair.  Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator.  Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way.  Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver.  I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, Repair #2 - Broken Fill Button

My Soda Stream Jet's fill button broke, which means I can not longer carbonate water by pressing the pushbutton. This caused all sorts of grief in my household. Here is how I managed to repair my Jet to give it another 10 years of life (hopefully). First, a look at the button The fill button on the top of the SodaStream is actually a simple lever. Pressing down on the button moves a pin that does the actual work of pressing open the Carbonator's valve. Unfortunately, the axis point is fairly thin and can see a lot of stress. That's where my Soda Stream button cracked. [ I think the usage tip here is "don't over-press the button like a gorilla, it doesn't do anything but put high stress on the button."] Cracked levering point of the button The Pesky Lever Retaining Pin The Fix It was pretty easy for me to replace the button: Take off the back of the Soda Stream and remove the carbonator. Push out the the button lever's steel retaining pin. This takes qu...

Excellent DD-WRT Router for Me: Netgear WNDR3400 / N600

My WiFi performance was suffering, and so I decided to do something about it and upgrade my router. When I say my WiFi performance was suffering, I really mean it:  I live in a large high-rise apartment building and there are 100+ WiFi access points visible from my home office.  All of the contentious traffic was severely curtailing my WiFi reliability.  I was lucky to get 1 Mbit/second throughput.  Sometimes I was lucky to stay connected even with my WiFi router in the same room. I decided it was time to go for 5 GHz, which is a WiFi band which is used less frequently and which has a tougher time traversing walls.  And of course I wanted DD-WRT support.  The set of features I was looking for included: Trouble-free DD-WRT support 5 GHz 802.11n Support Simultaneous dual band capability Inexpensive.  Maybe even cheap.  For me this means under $50.  Under $35 is even better! It sounds like an easy task to bring all this together: A...

Transitioning to Comcast Now!

I've transitioned to Comcast NOW, a lower speed, lower cost alternative.  The kids have grown up and moved out.  I'm spending much more of my time traveling.  I don't need the high speeds at home like I used to. This transition promises to save me $240 dollars a year versus my old "discounted" plan. Xfinity to Comcast Now transitioning process I went to the Xfinity store and told them I was cancelling two weeks out.  This isn't weird - people move all the time, so they do have a process for cancelling at a future ("move-out") date. Later the same day, I was able to go to the Comcast website and order the NOW modem for the new service. Note that Comcast didn't let me do this until I had a future cancel order in place.  Three days later, the modem arrived via FedEx. The cancel date came and went - Xfinity seems to have a grace period, so the old modem wasn't unceremoniously yanked out of service at midnight.  This made the transition smooth.  ...

Fixing my Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer

Not everyone would bother repairing a $25 beard trimmer, but why not fix something for under $5 instead of spending another $25? My  Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer  has admirably performed its beauty duty for many years, but the time came when the battery just wasn't holding a charge any more.  Most people would just put the trimmer in the trash and buy a new one, but I figured I could repair my otherwise excellent Wahl and save some money. In fact, even high priced trimmer and rotary shaver brands, like Norelco and Remington, can be easily repaired using a process similar to the one I used to fix my Wahl.  Read on to find out how. I opened up the Wahl by popping off the black plastic faceplate with a tiny flathead screwdriver, which revealed two screws.  By removing the two screws I was able to easily open up the unit, revealing the guts of the device. Backplate off, Revealing the screws The internals are rather simple: a motor, a...

Installing a CarPlay radio in a Honda CRV

I ended up buying a 2013 Honda CRV and decided to replace the stock radio/CD player with an upgraded unit.  This was far easier and cheaper than I imagined, but the hardest part was selecting a unit to buy  This article covers how I made my choice.   The basic form factor for my CRV head unit Selecting a Unit The Car I have a 2013 CR/V, which is the same series of all of the CR/Vs from model year 2012 through 2016. Therefore it was important to find a radio unit that fits this model. The CRV has steering wheel radio controls, and I wanted to use them.  This uses a technology called CAN-Bus, which is kind of like USB for cars.  Therefore, a CAN-Bus capability would be able to leverage all these steering wheel features.  In addition, the CRV has a backup camera that would be nice to tie into. And of course I wanted to leverage the existing speakers and USB port. Form Factor I wanted a unit that had a big display, and I wanted a unit that was easy to purchas...

Other Posts

Show more