Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

My contract with AT&T is up and I am looking to upgrade my phone and contract out for two more years. I currently have the iPhone4, 3G. It is just fine but the battery life is terrible. In this order are my needs: 1. Battery life! 2. I use the phone almost exclusively for e-mail. 3. Big buttons because i have big fingers (I can't push just one button on a BlackBerry...). My mom got the HTC Inspire last week. I like the big size. -- Mike, via e-mail
We'll be blunt: most smartphones tend to have battery life of about a day's worth of average use. By which we mean the usual checking of e-mail, browsing the Web, listening to music, and occasional use of GPS for mapping software. Usage can fluctuate depending on how much you use power-intensive applications, and you can try to save battery life by turning off the screen when not in use, or making sure you're not running power-intensive applications in the background (GPS-dependent apps are notorious for sucking up battery life). It's very rare for a smartphone to last longer than a whole day, however. We actually think the
With that said, I do think there are a few options for you to look at. Since you said you like the
I would also encourage you to look at the
If you can wait a little longer for the
Quick phone question for you. Which phone should I choose on Sprint around September? Evo 3D: "like Sense think 3D is a waste." Nexus S 4G: "getting a little old but love the screen." Photon 4G "I don't like Blur and could have a locked boot loader." HTC Kingdom? New Samsung phone that is in Sprint's road map? -- David, via e-mail
Since I can't speak about the unreleased phones (the Photon 4G, the Kingdom, and the new Samsung phones have yet to launch in the U.S.), I can only offer you my opinion of the
The
With all the buzz about Gingerbread coming to the U.S., do you know when the Samsung Epic 2 will arrive? Do you think it's worth waiting for or will the Epic 4G be upgraded from 2.2 to 2.3? -- Di, via e-mail
I think you're referring to the Samsung Epic 2, which has been rumored as a successor to the