iPhone 4S desired by iPhone 4 users as much as 3G/3GS owners, says study

iPhone 4 owners are just as interested in upgrading to Apple’s new iPhone 4S as owners of the older iPhone 3G and 3GS, according to a study by gadget shopping help site Retrevo.

44 percent of iPhone 3G and 3GS users said they would upgrade to the new model, while 42 percent of iPhone 4 owners are also thinking of upgrading, the study found.

The news comes as a surprise since iPhone 4 owners will have to deal with added costs to upgrade their phones early. Plus, the fact that the iPhone 4S looks exactly like the iPhone 4 doesn’t make it seem very appealing. The iPhone 4S has typically been thought of as a no-brainer upgrade for owners of the iPhone 3GS and 3G, who are now out of their two-year cellular contracts and are likely looking for a new mobile experience.

The study, conducted by an independent panel for Retrevo, relied on a sample size of 1,300 online individuals distributed across age, gender, income, and location in the U.S.

Android users were the least interested in getting the iPhone 4S, with just 12 percent saying they would upgrade. 24 percent of BlackBerry users were also interested in upgrading (and after this week’s massive BlackBerry outage, I’m sure that number has risen quite a bit).

53 percent of people surveyed said they didn’t think they would have a problem getting an iPhone 4S. But with pre-orders of the phone already sold out online, I have a feeling it’ll be harder to get than many realized.

Most weren’t disappointed by the iPhone 4S, despite initial reports that people expecting Apple to release a revamped iPhone 5 were underwhelmed by the 4S announcement. 71 percent of all smartphone owners weren’t disappointed, and 53 percent of iPhone 4 owners felt the same way. Among the disappointments people actually reported, most found the lack of 4G connectivity the most disconcerting.