Call it 3G’s weakness, its Achilles’ heel, or 3G’s worst enemy….
==> Power consumption
Ironic it is, having a 3G device, but forcing it to 2.5G, to have a usable handset over time…
After a 1-day test running on EDGE vs. 3G/UMTS on my new Android G1, the battery did last much longer: the whole day and whole night…
The power consumption/management issue on Android really has to be addressed soon, as it makes 3G kind of impractical. In the meantime, if you’ve access to power sources, use it 3G, but if you are not sure, maybe because you on the road, force it to EDGE:
Go to “Settings” => Go to “Wireless Controls” => Go to “Mobile Networks” => Select “Use only 2G Networks”
I am hoping that very soon, we get a future Android S/W update that improves on power management so that we can use the handset on the 3G network without fear of ending up with a dead handset when we need it the most.
ceo