Long-lasting cell phones: Handsets with great battery life

One aspect many consumers don't consider when buying a cell phone is its battery life. This is probably one of the most important features of a cell phone because all the bells and whistles of a fancy handset won't matter if the battery runs out too quickly. Cell phone manufacturers often provide you with a phone's rated talk time, which is a good benchmark to go by, but it's not always accurate. Here at CNET, we perform battery life tests of our own to figure out the true talk time of a handset. By and large, GSM phones win the battery life test, with talk times longer than the four-hour mark. Here is a snapshot of some long-lasting models. The unlocked HTC Vox S710 is on the high-end of our list with 11 hours of talk time. Sony Ericssons are also usually pretty good when it comes to battery life, and the Sony Ericsson P1i (9.5 hours) and Sony Ericsson W850i (11.5 hours) are no exception, both of which are available unlocked. If you want something with a U.S. carrier, the T-Mobile Wing is pretty good with 9 hours of battery life. As for AT&T, the Motorola Krzr K1 with 9.25 hours of battery life is a great choice.