Every two weeks, Senior Associate Editor Nicole Lee answers your questions about cell phones, smartphones, and all things mobile.
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