3G network.

Let’s face it, using AT&T’s Edge network to surf the web just sucks. Not unlike going to the bad old days of the modem (vs. today’s broadband). AT&T already offers 3G access, so availability is not an issue.

This gets a little tricky, though. Current 3G chips suck a lot of power – the iPhone’s battery life is already a weak point. Burdening it with 3G would make battery life completely unacceptable.

The good news is that new 3G chips are much less power hungry – in addition, one can assume that battery technology and battery life will improve over time.

Rumors also seem to indicate that a 3G-ready iPhone will come sometime this year.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

When I first got the phone, I was worried that web surfing under the Edge Network would be horrible. Well, yes. The Edge is slow, and if I were using the iPhone as a web-surfing appliance then I’d be very disappointed. I mainly use web-surfing as a last resort – for example, when I’m in a store and trying to comparison shop prices of a certain product.

Then again, if I’m in an office environment, or a multitude of Coffee Shops, then odds are high that I can get speedy Wi-Fi reception, and web surfing speed wouldn’t be an issue.

Would I like to surf with the speedier 3G network when I can’t get wi-fi? Sure.

But I’d much rather have other features FIRST, over 3G………and we’ll talk about those in another post.