If you recall several months ago, when the iPhone 4S was new to my tech family, I lamented the loss of the ability to manually switch off 3G Internet and use EDGE (2G) instead.
Well in a case of severe catch-up, I’ve finally realized Apple corrected this omission in one of its firmware updates. Behold:

Hooray!
I only discovered this within the last day, so I’ll report back later on whether this change will extend the battery life of my device, as is typically the case when mobiles are connected to EDGE versus 3G.
Another benefit of manually forcing your phone to use the slow lane is that in very congested environments, like Manhattan for example, there is heavy congestion on the popular 3G networks and on local WiFi, to the point where a slow but reliable EDGE connection is more useful and enjoyable than a fast but flaky mobile Internet connection.
(As proof, I can attest I was able to send texts and have crisp, clear phone conversations using Skype over T-Mobile’s 2G network in lower Manhattan last August, whereas AT&T’s 3G network was almost useless at times due to congestion.)
By the way, this post was written on my smartphone and uploaded using EDGE … Seems just dandy, thank you very much.