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iPhone 3G Connection Issues

I recently took the plunge and purchased an iPhone 3G to replace my old iPhone. I am generally very happy with it, as it seems to be a little snappier while running the 2.0 firmware, and I like the GPS, etc... My only problem with it is that when on 3G, I can't maintain a connection.

I purchased my phone after 2.0.1 came out, so I never had the early problems with the device switching to EDGE instead of using 3G. I would really most times, rather it did switch than push tons of power trying to communicate with a distant 3G tower. I think it is that there are so few towers is the reason the iPhone has such a hard time. I notice that when I am in a decent 3G area, of which there are few around where I live in the bay area, surprisingly, the battery life is generally acceptable, however when I am in an area where 3G is less than one bar, when browsing, etc... the battery gets hammered. I have almost never seen a full signal indicator when the phone is on 3G. If I switch back to EDGE, I have full signal, and the phone is really quick on EDGE, relative to the 2.5G iPhone.

I think that when AT&T builds out the rest of the network, the battery life and performance of the iPhone 3G will improve. One thing I wish would happen, is that when receiving signal on Wi-Fi the device would automatically switch back to EDGE. I notice that it remains on 3G even when I have the faster Wi-Fi connected. So my battery keeps on dying. I have started just turning 3G off whenever I am connected to Wi-Fi and that helps, but it is a nuisance to keep switching it on and off.

Hopefully subsequent firmware updates will help get some of these little niceties into my phone, and help AT&T and Apple get more on the same page. But I think really the solution is for AT&T to get cracking on more towers.