Edge vs 3G Signal Strength and Battery Life

Stronger signal means less battery consumption - in that case, the 3G is better for you. In general, though 3G uses more power. So, if you're going to be on standby mostly, there really won't be much difference in any case. If you're going to talk a lot, at comparable signal strengths 3G will use more power, but a strong 3G vs. a weak EDGE will probably be similar. So, use the 3G.

Assuming that iPhone draws the same power searching for a signal when in standby... then having more bars is better for battery life... the lower the signal the more often iPhone pulses to check for the better signal...

Jury is still out on signal search power draw in standby mode I would say...

My personal point of view is that it does in fact draw same power in background to ensure constant connection to towers to provide constant connection and push ability for the device...