My iPhone broke, and I can't live without it!

Rest in peace, old friend.

Last weekend my iPhone broke. It just broke. I mean what is that!? I was pretty distraught to say the least. How was I going to survive without being able to Tweet, check Facebook and Instagram on the go? And how would I function without the use of the map, or my Tube travel app or *gasp* my "to do" list! Deep breaths...

"OK, don't panic", I told myself. I called my local Apple shop, and got an appointment for the following evening. "Phew... they'll replace it and everything will be back to normal. You can breathe again." Except it didn't go exactly to plan. Everyone I dealt with at Apple was charming, helpful and lovely... but that doesn't take away my disappointment from the result. The guy fully opened up my iPhone and checked the insides: everything's fine, apparently. He couldn't understand what was wrong. Basically, my iPhone no longer turns on - it just flashes up the apple sign for a few seconds, then goes off again. Not ideal, to say the least. I had gone in desperately hoping they'd just replace it for me for free... and maybe even get a cheeky upgrade. (Mine is the old 3G model, which, let's face it, is a bit passé). How wrong I was. Because mine is so old (I got it in January 2010), and it's waaaay past it's warranty, they can't just replace it... I have to pay £139. WHAT!? Not. Cool. I tried my best at charming the guy and made the most of  my poor student status, but alas, it was to no avail.

So that's basically my pants situation. I can't afford to pay £139 - I mean c'mon... a girl's gotta save for a Mulberry! Fortunately, I've only got a few months of my contract left until I'll be eligible for an upgrade (which I still may have to pay for), but until then, I'm stuck with this:

It's my dad's old phone. The screen is completely cracked. There is no internet access. It makes stupid noises. And after a week, I'm not happy. I know, I know... I shuld be glad that I have a phone at all. But once you're used to a smartphone, you can't go back to a normal phone! I didn't realise quite how much I relied on my iPhone before *sob* it left me. This week, I've had to use actual maps. As in on paper. Who does that?

So if anyone has a spare iPhone they'd like to throw my way, this poor poor student/unpaid intern would much appreciate it. :) Has anyone else had similar phone troubles? How will I survive!?