I have oscillated back on forth on whether to get the new iPhone 4.  Initially, I thought I didn’t need it.  Besides, my 3GS worked just fine.  Then I actually saw one in person, and as I compared my 3GS screen to the iPhone 4’s retina display, I knew I had to have one.  Since the phone is in such short supply, it’s given me a chance to weigh the decision and avoid the impulse buy.  Here are the main reasons why I’m holding off on buying the new iPhone:

Strike 1: Price

While $200 isn’t terrible for a smartphone, 16GB isn’t enough for me.  I like to have all my music, all my photos, and tons of apps on my current 32 3GS iPhone (I received it as a gift).  It is ridiculous for Apple to charge an extra $100 for the 32GB flash hardware, which can’t add much more than a few dollars to the cost of the phone.  $300 just feels like a ripoff.

Strike 2: Death Grip

The phone suffers from a major design flaw: when you hold the lower left of the phone, the reception drops precipitously and can drop calls.  This is ironically because of Apple’s attempt to improve the reception by embedding the antennae  in the outer metal shell.  Already on a shoddy network, the iPhone takes another blow by becoming unusable in my left hand.  There are even rumors of a recall - yikes!

Strike 3: Marginal Upgrade

I can already video chat with Skype, and the iPhone 4 can only videochat with other iPhone 4 users.  The 3GS screen still looks perfectly great.  I never really play games, so the faster processor and more memory don’t matter.  Multitasking is possible on the 3GS too.  Apple does a great job of making even the smallest changes seem like revolutionary leaps, but when it comes down to it, the new features don’t add up to that much for me.

Wait & See

I may still be tempted to get the iPhone 4 later this year if the antenna issue is solved, and the upgrade seems more substantial.  But as of today, I’ll hold on to my 300 dollars.  What do you think?  Is the upgrade worth it?