Whether you put much weight in the reviews in Consumer Reports or not, the fact that they operate independently of any company whose products they review and that they don’t accept any products they review as gifts (they buy every product they review) in order to maintain impartiality, plus the fact that they have over 7 million subscribers, when they rate one product over another it’s kind of a big deal.
Consumer Reports doesn’t ‘recommend’ the iPhone 4 due to it’s signal strength issues inherent in unfortunate design where it’s signal is killed by holding the phone in your hand. Small problem. The new iPhone 4S however they do recommend.
Here’s the kicker though, and one that may be an eye opener for some who are blinded by Apple’s great marketing – they rate a wide range of Android phones carried by AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, all HIGHER than the iPhone 4S. Yes, you read that right. Consumer Reports in their impartial and objective reviews recommend a number of Android phones with higher ratings than the iPhone 4S. Android phones rated high than the iPhone 4S include:
- Samsung Galaxy S II
- Samsung Galaxy Infuse 4G
- LG Thrill 4G
- Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch
- Motorola Photon 4G
- Samsung Epic 4G
- HTC Evo 3D
- Motorola’s Droid Bionic
- HTC Thunderbolt
- LG Revolution
- Samsung Droid Charge
… that’s a lot of phones to choose from that in their impartial review are better than the iPhone 4S.
I have the Evo 1st g, which I would love if the battery was worth a crap. Since that boat has already sailed, I’m trying to decide which phone to get when I upgrade. I’m a Sprint customer and I don’t plan to change. I’ve been waiting forever for the iphone, so I was excited that Sprint finally got it but now I’m spoiled to having a rooted android. I like the Evo 3d, but battery is still a problem. The Samsung Galaxy S II’s screen is AMAZING, and I’m seriously thinking about it. I can’t upgrade until June 2012, so I guess there’s no need to lust over anything that’s out right now. If Android can just get the battery life right, I’ll probably stick with it even though I’ve changed over to a Mac for our home desktop.