"I took the Pre off its charger 2 hours ago. I haven't done anything crazy with it yet the battery is now at 80 percent. Is that normal?"

I always knew that the iPhone burned through juice, but I was surprised to see how quickly the Pre crapped out. Halfway through my day, and I had less than 50 percent power. It's not as if I hammered the Web with the thing. I did the occasional e-mail, read the news on the bus, and listened to some music. That's when it dawned on me: The Pre has a GPS feature. 'Improves accuracy but can impact battery life,' says the label by the toggle. Understatement of the year! Turning off GPS bought me a full day's worth of normal use. (And, by the way, with the GPS off, the Pre was still more accurate than the iPhone's locator.)

"When smartphones get too smart: Apparently, my Pre dialed 911 without my knowing. 911 then called me back. They know something I don't?"

I wasn't joking when I mentioned this at the beginning. Let me explain it a little better, though. I always PIN-lock my cell phones. When you do that, the phone offers a quick-dial button for emergencies. In the case of the panicky Pre, you're potentially just two button clicks away from calling 911. As I did. It was late at night, and an alarm was going off. In my sleep, I tried slapping my phone to turn it off. What I didn't realize is that my motions had hit the Emergency Call button and then grazed the call button. A couple of seconds later, the 911 dispatcher was hearing my snores. Or maybe the Pre was worried I'd go with the 3GS, and the Pre decided to call for help.

(The iPhone requires you to physically type 911. Emergency dispatchers all over can breathe a sigh of relief.)