Cell phone curiosities

We all know that cell phones run down their batteries in a hurry if you're in a no-signal zone, as they vainly search for signal over and over again.

I recently replaced my failing phone with a new Samsung Propel. I've noticed that it is down to about 2/3 charge in 2 days, and less than half charge in 3.

I took it with me to Switzerland and used a Lebara SIM chip to give me a local phone number. That's a pretty generic setup, for a pre-paid cell plan that doesn't provide a lot of features. It took 4 days to drop to 3/4 charge. I guess all the extra features in the ATT programs eat up CPU even when you're not actively using them.