if there is no wifi around and you leave wifi on, isnt it always searching for a signal? therefore suck down more battery?
ive shut off 3g and only turn it on when i need it and my battery lasts a lot longer.
It will connect to your known WiFi and check and disconnect.
Are you sure about that? Because mine always stays connected to known WiFi networks. So I guess that it is trying to access them from time to time in order to determine the signal strength.
Even Apple suggests turning off WiFi when not in use to preserve battery life. LINK
How much power 3G takes, also depends on how many others are using your cell and how far you are from the tower.
3G is CDMA. That means everyone talks at once. The more users, and the further from the tower, the more that the phone ramps up its output to be heard along with everyone else.
3G is better than EDGE for battery life... Here's why
You can load TWICE the amount of web pages with 3G than EDGE, so you end up using EDGE for LONGER than 3G... therefore you're using the iPhone more, therefore you're draining the battery more. If you use 3G and load 10 pages, you're gonna use less battery than using EDGE and loading 10 pages.
3G is better than EDGE for battery life... Here's why
You can load TWICE the amount of web pages with 3G than EDGE, so you end up using EDGE for LONGER than 3G... therefore you're using the iPhone more, therefore you're draining the battery more. If you use 3G and load 10 pages, you're gonna use less battery than using EDGE and loading 10 pages.