Smart phones, conventional phones becoming better, faster and more diverse

Consumer Reports latest tests of 69 cell phones found that models are evolving to offer more sophisticated capabilities to meet consumers' more diverse needs and lifestyles. According to a recent Consumer Reports National Research Center survey of more than 13,500 online subscribers, the desire for advanced features was the main reason consumers bought a new phone.

"Less so than ever, there's no one phone, or even phone type to meet the needs of most people," said Paul Reynolds, electronics editor of Consumer Reports. "On the positive side, everyone should be able to find a phone that suits them among the myriad of models that hit the market this fall."

Best Cell Phones by Carrier

In Consumer Reports lab tests, all-conventional cell phones proved competent, with low-priced options offering a fine value. If price isn't paramount, consider the carrier's service rating as a differentiator. Consumer Reports found Verizon's top-rated LG enV Touch, $100, an impressive phone and multimedia device enhanced with touch-screen navigation and a QWERTY keyboard for easier e-mailing and texting. The LG VX8360, $40 is a very good, straightforward cell phone at a bargain price. If simplicity is a priority, the Samsung Jitterbug J, $147 is available through Verizon. On the plus side are large buttons, free directory assistance and a comfortable earpiece. Negatives include pricey service and a thick phone that lacks common features.

The Samsung Memoir, $200 tops T-Mobile as a recommended phone by Consumer Reports with a full-featured, high-resolution camera that produces images comparable with those of 8-megapixel point-and-shoot cameras. The Samsung Comeback, $130, is also a Consumer Reports recommended product for T-mobile, with a keypad that facilitates phoning and a 2.6-inch screen and keyboard to satisfy texters. Sprint-Nextel's Samsung Exclaim, $80 offers a good bargain and a dual-slider design that slides up to reveal a keypad for phone calls and slides right to reveal a keyboard for e-mail and text messaging.

While AT&T was among the lower-scoring for customer satisfaction in the survey, the LG Xenon, $150, Samsung Impression, $125, and Samsung Solstice, $100, offer large touch-screen displays and are compatible with AT&T's Video Share, which streams live, one-way video to a compatible phone. The Samsung Impression boasts the highest-megapixel camera of the recommended AT&T models.

Top Smart Phones by Carrier

Consumer Reports selected the best rated smart phone choices by carrier based on the categories of multimedia use, office-like tasks and compact. Verizon's HTC Touch Pro2, $200, scored the highest overall for frequent e-mailing and editing of Microsoft Office documents while the BlackBerry Storm 9530, $50, offered a lower-priced alternative with comparable features for office-like tasks is also part of Verizon's portfolio of smart phones.

The T-Mobile myTouch 3G, $150, is the best choice for multimedia use with intuitive navigation, easy access to main functions and direct downloading of music, games, applications and services. The 16GB Apple iPhone 3G S, $200 and the Apple iPhone 3G, $100, from AT&T also ranked highly for multimedia use, with the best MP3 player Consumer Reports has seen in a phone to date. In the compact category, Sprint-Nextel's Palm Pre, $150 is a good bet for multitaskers with the ability to link contacts, calendars and messaging.

Choosing the Right Cell Phone

• Assess needs. Choose a conventional phone if its main use is for voice and text-messaging capabilities.  Most carriers offer simple phones at little or no cost with a two-year contract.  Smart phones are designed for people who need frequent access to multiple e-mail accounts, a sophisticated organizer, the ability to create and edit Office documents, and Internet-based services.  Most smart phones Consumer Reports tested cost $50 to $300.
   
• Select a carrier. Most phones work only with a specific carrier and will have either a CMDA or GSM digital network. CMDA phones (used by Sprint and Verizon) have modestly better voice quality, but GSM phones (AT&T and T-Mobile) work in more parts of the world and can easily transfer account information stored on a SIM card. Carriers also call the shots on features such as voice command, which is almost standard on Sprint and Verizon phones, but less common on AT&T and T-Mobile. Also, Wi-Fi is harder to find on smart phones from Verizon and Sprint than on AT&T and T-Mobile phones.
   
• Decide where to shop. Shoppers Consumer Reports surveyed gave better ratings for price to online retailers than to walk-in stores. Also, consumers were happier buying a phone at a retailer like Best Buy, Costco, or the Apple store than at a carrier's store. About three-quarters (76%) of shoppers at a big chain were highly satisfied compared with 64 percent who shopped at a carrier's walk-in store.

When You Are Ready to Buy

• Look at the display in daylight and bright light to ensure screen legibility.
   
• Try out a touch screen feature before buying to decide whether it's a preferred feature.
   
• In Consumer Reports' tests real keyboards trumped virtual ones, and bigger was better, especially for frequent texters.
   
• Check 3G coverage maps on carriers' Web sites which is important for multimedia tasks like Web browsing and streaming video content. Verizon and Sprint-Nextel 3G coverage tends to be less spotty than AT&T and T-Mobile.
   
• Pass on insurance. Keep an old phone to use in case the new one gets lost or broken in the interim of qualifying for a free or low-cost phone.
   

Consumer Reports Survey Found Cell-Phone Service Providers Among Lower-Rated Services. Only About Half of Survey Respondents Were Completely or Very Satisfied With Their Service;

Verizon Top Provider Overall

Consumer Reports most recent annual cell-phone service survey of more than 50,000 readers found that only 54 percent of respondents were completely or very satisfied with their cell-phone service. Despite "smarter phones," more flexible plans, and faster wireless networks, cell service continues to be among the lower-rated of all the services that Consumer Reports evaluates.

The survey also showed that almost two-thirds of respondents had at least one major complaint. About one in five readers cited high prices as their top complaint, which is more than any other annoyance.

"America is in love with the cell phone, but they are lukewarm about cell-phone service," said Paul Reynolds, electronics editor at Consumer Reports. "They're especially concerned about its cost in these tight economic times."

Cell-Phone Service Ratings

Verizon, the nation's largest wireless carrier, is the top option for most people and was a better choice in most of the 26 cities surveyed. Overall, Verizon was above average on every attribute including customer support, voice connectivity and data service and has the biggest network in the industry, but it tends to be costly. About one in five Verizon customers cited high cost as their top complaint; Verizon's $60 Nationwide basic with 900 voice minutes is more expensive compared to carriers such as T-Mobile, which offers 100 extra minutes for the same price.

T-Mobile was the next-best competitor to Verizon in overall satisfaction, and worth considering as a good value for some. However, the carrier received lower marks in voice, messaging, web and e-mail services. Sprint, the worst carrier last year, shares the title with AT&T this year, and got low marks for customer service. While AT&T's main weak spot is voice connectivity, they also scored below average in every attribute except Web access and texting.

Phones that are exclusive to certain carriers shaped service choices for many subscribers. Another Consumer Reports survey found that over one-third (38%) of respondents who had switched carriers in the past two years did so because it was required to get the phone they wanted, while 27 percent of all respondents went shopping for a specific phone in mind. Apple iPhones are the top smart phones in Consumer Reports latest Ratings of cell phones and craved by fans. Additionally, a staggering 98 percent of iPhone users were satisfied enough that they would buy the phone again, despite below-par ratings for AT&T, the phone's exclusive carrier.

Prepaid Service

For service on a budget, prepaid contracts are quickly becoming the leading option. Boost Mobile added 1.5 million new customers in the first half of 2009. The main difference between prepaid and traditional cell phone service is the absence of a required contract. The fairly small percentage of readers who used prepaid service were generally happy with it. TracFone received the highest satisfaction score. It offers inexpensive, basic handsets that operate on AT&T's network and others. T-Mobile and Verizon prepaid options as well as Virgin Mobile received the next highest scores.

Service often costs $25 or less per month, compared with $50 to $100 per month for contract customers. Savings can run between $100 and $1,080 per year, depending on whether users are an individual or couple. About three quarters of Consumer Reports readers who chose prepaid did so because it cost them less than a monthly billing plan. The cost advantage of prepaid service was less for multiphone families.

Additional survey results include:

• Texting and Data Usage Increases Significantly.  Almost 70 percent sent and received text messages, compared to 55 percent in Consumer Reports 2007 survey; 20 percent of this year's texters pecked out 10 or more messages per day.  In 2009, roughly 40 percent of survey responders said they access the Internet with their phones, up from 23 percent two years ago.
   
• Data Service: Mixed Satisfaction.  For the first time this year, Consumer Reports asked readers about data service and found that only 24 percent of users rated their web and e-mail experience as excellent and 18 percent of e-mail users cited the inability to send or receive e-mail as a problem.

The full report on cell phones, which includes carrier Ratings in 26 cities is featured in the January 2010 issue of Consumer Reports. - The full report on cell-phone service -- including cell-phone service by city and Consumer Reports cell phone ratings, can all be found in the January 2010 issue of Consumer Reports, available wherever magazines are sold and also online at ConsumerReports.org.

Consumers Union 2009. The material above is intended for legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for commercial or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports(R) is published by Consumers Union, an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. To achieve this mission, we test, inform, and protect. To maintain our independence and impartiality, Consumers Union accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. Consumers Union supports itself through the sale.. Source: Consumer Reports. Web Site: http://www.consumerreports.org YONKERS, N.Y., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/