iPhone Ranked Best Smartphone by Consumers

Apple's iPhone will hit stores shelves on June 29, 2007. Courtesy of Apple

A recent report shows that two things in the cell phone world make consumers the happiest: touchscreens and the Apple iPhone.

The study, conducted by J.D. Power and Associates, looked specifically at customer satisfaction with their wireless handsets. The study revealed that people with touchscreen phones were significantly more satisfied with their phone than people with any other kind of phone, such as those with text keyboards or numerical pads.

Content turned out to be a key part of the experience for users. The study even recommends manufacturers focus more on content and faster ways to get it.

"For customers to have a truly rewarding experience, wireless carriers must continue to provide problem-free, high-speed downloads, as customers rely on them to deliver content quickly and on the go," Parsons said.

The study also focused specifically on smartphones, many of which use touchscreen interfaces, to determine which phones consumers were most satisfied with. While LG had the highest customer satisfaction rating for standard cell phones, Apple ranked highest in customer satisfaction among smartphone makers.

Apple's only cell phone offering, the iPhone, is widely recognized as a great smartphone, and the new study confirms that the majority of people who use it like it. The Apple iPhone scored well in areas such as ease of operation, operating system, features and physical design. Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry smartphones came in second place.

Other interesting tidbits the study revealed:

-GPS is increasingly important to cell phone users of all types.

-Younger users are increasingly satisfied with their phones regardless of whether they have touchscreens or not.

-Apps are especially important to users: More than half of smartphone users have downloaded games on their phone, nearly half use weather or travel apps and nearly a third use utility apps.