StrikerObi said:
I'm in Florida and I also went from 2G to 3GS. It should be basically the same +$10 more for 3G data (it's $30 rather than EDGE's $20) and you'll also need to pay $5 / $15 / $20 for texting since you don't get 200 for free anymore.
Regarding everybody's battery life, what the hell are you guys doing all day? I have never had a single battery problem with my 2G and have yet to have any battery problems with the 3GS. Here is what I do to conserve battery life.
WiFi: I have wifi turned on all the time, but I have "ask to join networks" turned off. This is important. If you have it set to on, it pops up a message whenever you are within range of a wifi signal. So it causes the iPhone to constantly check for nearby wifi signals. With it off, you need to go into the settings to join a network BUT you can tell it remember networks so it will auto-join just those. The first time you go somewhere, you have to join the network manually (through settings) but after that it's automatic. With this setup, the iPhone doesn't constantly look for signals. It only looks for signals if it needs a network connection, and if it doesn't find one that it already knows, it stops looking.
Are you sure this is how it works? I figured that it is always searching. Afterall, as soon as I turn the phone from wake, it tries to connect (after 3.0, it takes a while longer too). To automatically connect, it must be searching.
Unless push forces it to constantly search.
I have don't ask to join, but I figured that was only to stop asking, not to stop searching.
Brightness: I have auto-brightness turned on, and I have the slider set to around 40%.
I have mine on 50%
Mail/Contacts/Calendars: I have a MobileMe account, an Exchange account, and a CalDAV subscription to my Facebook events. I have MobileMe and Exchange set to Push (mail, contacts, calendars, and bookmarks for MobileMe and Mail and Calendars for Exchange). I have the Facebook CalDAV subscription set to Fetch manually (so only when I open it).
I have mine with push off, and the fetch set to manual. Under individual accounts, it defaults to fetch, but I assume that means it will use the global setting of fetch (which is manual). I never get random emails come on without opening the app, so I assume I'm doing it right.
Bluetooth: Set to OFF. I don't use bluetooth. I don't have a headset and even if I did, bluetooth is a pretty big battery drain.
Location Services: set to ON, but I notice that when I use the GPS a lot it just rips right through the battery.
I have my auto-lock set to 2 minutes.
I don't use bluetooth either so have this off.
I have location services on, but it doesn't use teh gps unless an app calls it.
I have my autolock on 1 minutes.
Here's my typical usage day. I wake up at 7:00AM. I check the weather on my iPhone before heading into work. I usually get to work early and catch up on Tweets via Tweetie. I am at work until 5:00. I listen to some music or podcasts, probably 1-4 hours worth depending on the day. When I'm home I use the iPhone for random stuff like playing games or messing around with other apps. I probably talk on the actual phone for less than 30 minutes a day, and send/receive maybe 5 texts per day on average (more on weekends). I go to bed at midnight. If I don't plug my iPhone into my car charger at all during the day, I am still left with 40%+ battery life at the end of the day. It's worth noting that I am in the presence of Wi-Fi almost all day long. My house and office both have wi-fi, so I don't access the 3G network that much. That may be my real secret, but I can't confirm it.[/QUOTE]
Before teh update, I could get hours (like loads maybe 8-10) of audio in. After teh update, After a couple of podcasts, I'm down to 50%.
I still think it's push - maybe it causes it to constantly actually USE the wifi.
Wifi is much worse too - more dropouts, and weaker signal. I wonder if it's using more power in this area.