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Media Room
Release date 12/01/2009
YONKERS, NY — 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
When You Are Ready to Buy
The full report on cell phones is available in the January 2010 issue of Consumer Reports, available wherever magazines are sold. The full story is also available online at www.ConsumerReports.org.
Consumer Reports is a nonprofit membership organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. For 80 years, CR has provided evidence-based product testing and ratings, rigorous research, hard-hitting investigative journalism, public education, and steadfast policy action on behalf of consumers’ interests. Unconstrained by advertising or other commercial influences, CR has exposed landmark public health and safety issues and strives to be a catalyst for pro-consumer changes in the marketplace. From championing responsible auto safety standards, to winning food and water protections, to enhancing healthcare quality, to fighting back against predatory lenders in the financial markets, Consumer Reports has always been on the front lines, raising the voices of consumers.
© 2009 Consumer Reports. The material above is intended for legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for advertising or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports® is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. We accept no advertising and pay for all the products we test. We are not beholden to any commercial interest. Our income is derived from the sale of Consumer Reports® magazine, ConsumerReports.org® and our other publications and information products, services, fees, and noncommercial contributions and grants. Our Ratings and reports are intended solely for the use of our readers. Neither the Ratings nor the reports may be used in advertising or for any other commercial purpose without our prior written permission. Consumer Reports will take all steps open to it to prevent unauthorized commercial use of its content and trademarks.
Consumer Reports is a nonprofit membership organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. For 80 years, CR has provided evidence-based product testing and ratings, rigorous research, hard-hitting investigative journalism, public education, and steadfast policy action on behalf of consumers’ interests. Unconstrained by advertising or other commercial influences, CR has exposed landmark public health and safety issues and strives to be a catalyst for pro-consumer changes in the marketplace. From championing responsible auto safety standards, to winning food and water protections, to enhancing healthcare quality, to fighting back against predatory lenders in the financial markets, Consumer Reports has always been on the front lines, raising the voices of consumers.
© 2009 Consumer Reports. The material above is intended for legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for advertising or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports® is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. We accept no advertising and pay for all the products we test. We are not beholden to any commercial interest. Our income is derived from the sale of Consumer Reports® magazine, ConsumerReports.org® and our other publications and information products, services, fees, and noncommercial contributions and grants. Our Ratings and reports are intended solely for the use of our readers. Neither the Ratings nor the reports may be used in advertising or for any other commercial purpose without our prior written permission. Consumer Reports will take all steps open to it to prevent unauthorized commercial use of its content and trademarks.