Lately I've been taking a lot of things into consideration. There’s less than 3 months before I’m due for an upgrade, and besides deciding whether I want to stick with Sprint or move on to another provider I'm also at a crossroads for what phone I would like to get next. While I've narrowed it down quite a bit an important factor to phones that I had completely forgotten about since getting my iPhone was brought up - removable batteries.

When I was using Android having a removable battery was essential for when your phone froze up. Half of the time people came in to Sprint and asked me why their phone wouldn't turn on all it required was a simple battery pull. However, this isn't the reason that removable batteries have become so important all of a sudden, because although the iPhone doesn't have a removable battery and has frozen up on me more than a few times there is the power button + home button reset mechanic that has worked for me every time. The real reason I'm bringing up removable batteries is because of the potential for extended battery life.

My first experience with an extended battery wasn't really an extended battery at all, but instead was a spare battery that came with my Samsung Instinct. It was a (social) life saver. The problem was sometimes I forgot the battery at home. That problem was solved once I got my EVO 4G and discovered the 3500 mAh extended battery. Did it bulk up the phone? Yes it did - exponentially. Did it get the job done? Heck yes it did. My phone would last past the 24 hour mark and then some on moderate to heavy usage. It was a real game changer for me and my EVO, and although the bulk took me a while to get used to it was worth it for the extra battery life (something I am now considering after being so avidly against larger smartphones for some time).

So why am I just now remembering that removable batteries are important? I actually came across a YouTube video that was reviewing a 7000 mAh extended battery for the Samsung Galaxy S III. Many reviews claim that they get as much as 3 days of battery life out of this particular extended battery and couldn't be happier with the result. And why wouldn't day? 3 days is nothing short of a miracle when it comes to smartphone battery life. The only real drawback to the device was that it made the device really chunky, but surprisingly not much chunkier than any other extended battery would have made it.

And this is where I have to take things into consideration.

In a previous article, right after the Galaxy S 4 was announced, I made a comparison between the Galaxy S 4 and the HTC One. Ultimately I had decided that I would prefer the HTC One because I wasn’t thoroughly impressed with the features the Galaxy S 4 offered and I’m partial to Sense more so than I think I ever could be with TouchWiz. However, now I have to decide what’s more important – potentially more battery life or a phone that better suits my features? It’s not that Galaxy S 4 isn’t workable, but after seeing countless reviews of both I feel like the HTC One is more suitable for me.

However…

It has been a long time since I’ve had a Samsung device and perhaps it’s time to give them another try. Before my iPhone I had the HTC EVO 3D, and before that the HTC EVO 4G. It might just be time to give Samsung another chance (or a Windows Phone 8 device, who knows anymore?) but if nothing else that removable battery has suddenly become an enticing feature for me, because at some point some company is going to make some fantastic battery compatible with that phone. I want that.

I feel like I’m switching everything I’ve ever said because I’m on that aggressive study to find the perfect phone for me to carry for the next two years – I can’t be the only one that studies which phone I want for months on end, am I? Don’t lie.

Readers, what are your thoughts on removable or non-removable batteries? Is it an important feature to you or are you faring just fine without it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Image via Tech2