[tokuzumi]

I originally used the Hero messaging app, and had 100% awake time. With Handcent, my phone goes to sleep. Battery life seems to be a little better. But I use my phone all the time, so battery life isn't great.

I noticed when I first got the phone, the battery didn't last quite as long as it does now. Also, I had issues where my EV connection would be lost. I didn't even have 1X. Trying to cycle the mobile network would do nothing. Sometimes cycling the airplane mode would fix the internet connection. Other times I had to soft reset the phone. Now, I don't need to soft reset the phone at all. I had it up for almost 10 straight days, only requiring a reset after rooting the phone.

Long story short, the phone needs to "break-in" for a few days, and should hopefully be fine. Maybe you should uninstall handcent, use the stock messaging app for a bit, and then switch back. Also, the other process that will keep your phone awake 100% is to not allow Sense to fully load on a fresh boot before the screen goes out. So, keep that in mind, as it may have nothing to do with Handcent.