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iPhone question...maybe
#52852 11/11/19 01:33 AM
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I've been using my daughter's old iPhone 4 pretty much exclusively as a camera, but also for occasional Internet connectivity, for the past few years, but it's now dropped stone-cold dead .

My need for a camera is minimal...I mostly use it to take pics to post on eBay, so keeping in mind that I'm looking to keep this as inexpensive as possible, and that I prefer to buy a new one, can anybody recommend a suitable dedicated camera?

On the other hand, though, might I be better off buying a used iPhone? I can get an 8 megapixel "5" for a pretty reasonable amount, and I've been told that even going that far back, iPhone cameras are high quality. I've got no interest in phone service, but an iPhone would also, presumably, anyhow, give me Internet access, which would be nice. (A "5" runs 32 bit apps - which aren't likely to be much of an option - only, and I prefer not to pay for 64 bit functionality.) I don't think I'd need a SIM card; is that correct?

Any suggestions or opinions?

Thanks.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: iPhone question...maybe
artie505 #52853 11/11/19 02:28 PM
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My wife, keeps an elderly iPhone around to use as an iPod and/or camera and it works well. Rather than leaving them completely non-communicative it logs onto our WiFi network so it can also send and receive text messages, email. Since it has no phone number, it has to use iMessage and her Apple ID as an address for texts. In other words it is fully functional except it cannot be used for either cellular text or data.

It does have the original SIM card but I do not think that is necessary. Yes the earlier cameras are good — good enough to take over the point and shoot camera market — and with the help of some very clever apps from the App Store it is capable of producing surprising results.

Because you said you use this mostly for eBay, I had another thought. Although you are trying to keep the cost as low as possible with the iPhone X and later portrait mode is amazingly effective in emphasizing exactly what you want the viewer to see. If one could be found cheap it might be worth some extra money.

Don’t worry about 32 bit apps. There are none available on the App Store.

Last edited by joemikeb; 11/11/19 03:43 PM. Reason: More thoughts

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: iPhone question...maybe
joemikeb #52858 11/12/19 03:18 PM
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Very helpful response! Many thanks.

Your wife is using her iPhone the same way I envision using mine. I wasn't aware of the iMessage possibility until you posted it, but if I'll have to log in to use it, it'll probably be a no-go, because my Apple password requires so many keyboard shifts that I've never managed to get through a log-in on my iPhone's tiny keyboard. On the other hand, I could text via email from AOL, for which I use an easier password.

According to How To Activate & Use An iPhone Without A SIM Card (Or Wi-Fi) - Macworld UK, a SIM card is necessary, but only for Wi-Fi setup, if the phone is locked to a particular cellular carrier; if the phone is unlocked, it can be set up with iTunes.

Thanks for the iPhone X suggestion, but it would be overkill in terms of both cost and capability.

The pics I've taken for eBay with my present 5 MP iPhone 4, and before that with a point and shoot that I believe was 3 MP, have been more than adequate for my needs, right down to detail, so the 8 MP camera in an iPhone 5 should more than suffice.

Quote:
Don’t worry about 32 bit apps. There are none available on the App Store.

That's what I was referring to when I said ",,,32 bit apps - which aren't likely to be much of an option...," although I hadn't realized that they'd all be gone.

Also, the lack of 64 bit capability makes the "5" really obsolete, and, therefore, considerably less costly than an "X" would be.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: iPhone question...maybe
artie505 #52859 11/12/19 03:46 PM
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Final question, I hope... Does my envisioned use of an iPhone 5 require any capabilities that an iPod touch, which would probably be less costly, hasn't got?

And other than cellular capability, which I don't intend to take advantage of, anyhow, would I lose any significant features?

(Just for information purposes, does the 32/64 bit thing apply to an iPod Touch?)


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: iPhone question...maybe
artie505 #52875 11/14/19 05:23 PM
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Curiously, new iPhone 5s and 5th generation iPod Touchs cost the same amount, so the latter is a pointless option. (Both are 32 bit, but I may move up to a 64 bit iPhone 6.)


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: iPhone question...maybe
artie505 #52894 11/17/19 01:27 AM
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Update... My iPhone 4 has come back to life...in a sense.

Here's what's transpired:
  • For more than a year, it didn't connect with iTunes except on rare occasions when it either connected on its own or I reset it, and under either circumstance, it lost the connection when I restarted my MBP. (It never failed to launch Photos when I plugged it into my MBP.)
  • At the beginning of the end, it lost its ability to transfer newly taken pics to iPhone/Photos.
  • Shortly thereafter, the screen went black...refused to light up no matter what I tried.
  • Nonetheless, I left it plugged in.
  • A few days ago I tried to turn it on, and lo and behold, the screen lit up.
  • I ran "Erase All Content and Settings."
  • Everything is now back to hunky-dory.
I think, and I wonder if anyone thinks otherwise, that in view of the above sequence of events it's no stretch of the imagination to consider my iPhone 4 terminal?

Under any circumstances, I've decided to buy an iPhone 5s, which is 64 bit, and at $115 is very well worth $25 more than a 32 bit iPhone 5; an iPhone 6 doesn't offer enough additional functionality to make it worth an additional $40.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire

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