What is 3G for the iPhone 4? Can I turn it off and still use the internet?

[me_563]

I just got an iPhone 4 two days ago and I'm noticing the battery isn't the greatest so I'm reading reviews on how to save the battery life and someone said to turn off 3G.. What is 3G, what does it do and can I still use the internet if I turn it off?

My plan is just prepaid, no data, I only use the internet when I'm in wifi range.

[ALT7 MSA]

If u are only using ur iphone Internet thru wifi it is ok to turn off your 3G to lengthen ur battery life. 3G is used only if u want to use data services from ur service provider

[Katie]

3G is what makes your data go faster. Like, your cellular data shows up as an "E" and if your 3G is on it'll show up as 3G. If 3G is on, you access data faster... but with 3G on you lose battery faster. If you turn it off your battery loss won't be as fast. But if you try to access the internet or apps like facebook without 3G or wifi then it'll be really slow. oh and if you want to iMessage/ group chat then if you don't have 3G on it'll take a while to send. Hope this helped!