Under Construction

2016
Model Price1 Rank/Score Screen Rear Camera(s)
TR CR BB ZD Size Resolution
Samsung Galaxy
S7 Edge
$750 1 79 4.7 9.8 5.5" 1440 x 2560 12MP
Samsung Galaxy S7 $650 2 80 - 9.8 5.1" 1440 x 2560 12MP
Galaxy Note 7 $700 4 - _ 5.7" 1440 x 2560 12MP F/1.7
iPhone 6S $650 7* 77 - 95 4.7" 1334 x 750 12MP
iPhone 6S Plus $750 5 73 4.8 9.5 5.5" 1920 x 1080 12MP f/2.2
iPhone 7 $650 - _ 4.7" 1334 x 750 12MP
iPhone 7 Plus $770 - _ 5.5" 1920 x 1080 12MP f/1.8, f/2.8
Sony Xperia Z5 6* - _ 5.2" 1920 x 1080 23MP
Moto Z $520 6 - _ 5.5" 1440 x 2560 13MP
ZTE Axon 7 $520 7 - _ 5.5" 1440 x 2560 20MP
HTC 10 $625 8 77 - _ 5.2" 1440 x 2560 12MP
ONEPLUS 3 9 - _ 5.5" 1080 x 1920 16MP
LG G5 $525 10 78 4.6 8.6 5.3" 2560 x 1440 16MP
Nexus 6P $500 9* 73 - _ 5.7" 2560 x 1440 12.3MP
Sony Xperia Z5
Compact
10* - _ 4.6" 720 x 1280 23MP
Galaxy Note5 * $700 75 - _ 5.7" 1440 x 2560 15.9MP
1. Price off-contract. Instead of a discounted price up front when you sign up for a 2 year contract, many carriers (Verizon, AT&T, ...) now bill you monthly.
- Best phone 2016: the 10 top smartphones we've tested: | TechRadar
CR - Consumer Reports
* Previous 2016 rank
See Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review: The sexiest large-screen phone ever - CNET

See 2016 Verizon smart phone comparison


2015
Model Memory $ w/
contr.
Rating OS Size Screen Cam-
era
Video NFC5 Phone Processor
Integ-
rated
Mem
slot1
CR2 PC Mag sz Resol. Tech bands5 type speed
iPhone 5c 8 n free 73 4 iOS 9 4.9x2.3 4 1136x640 8MP 720p 6 A6
iPhone 5S 16 or 32 n $100, $150 73 4.5 iOS 9 4.9x2.3 4 1136x640 8MP 720p GSM,CDMA,LTE 7 A7 1.3 GHz
iPhone 6 16, 64 or 128 n $200 - $400 77 4.5 iOS 9 5.4x2.6 4.7 1344x750 8MP 720p y GSM,CDMA,LTE 7 A8 1.4 GHz
iPhone 6 Plus 16, 64 or 128 n $300 - $500 73 4 iOS 9 6.2x3.1 5.5 1920x1080 8MP 720p y GSM,CDMA,LTE 7 A8 1.4 GHz
iPhone 6s Plus 16, 64 or 128 n $300, iOS 9 6.2x3.1 5.5 1920x1080 12MP 720p y GSM,CDMA,LTE 7 A8 1.4 GHz
Samsung Galaxy S5 16, 32 y 79 4.5 Android 4.4 5.6x2.8x.32 5.1 1920x1080 16 MP 1080p,4K y GSM,CDMA,LTE Quad 801 2.5 GHz
Samsung Galaxy S6 64, 128 n $300, $400 77 4.5 Android 5.0 5.6x2.8x0.27 5.1 2560x1440 16 MP 1080p,4K y GSM,CDMA,LTE 8 Octa 7420 1.5 GHz
Samsung Galaxy S6
Edge
64, 128 77 4 Android 5.0 5.6x2.8x0.27 5.1 2560x1440 16 MP 1080p,4K y GSM,CDMA,LTE Octa 7420 1.5 GHz
Samsung Galaxy
Note 4
y 75 4.5 Android 4.4 6.0x3.1x0.33 5.7 2560x1440 16 MP 1080p,4K y Quad 805 2.7 GHz
Samsung Galaxy S7 Android 5.0 5.6x2.7x0.31 5.1 1440x2560 12 MP y
LG G3 y $100 78 4.5 Android 4.4 5.8x2.9x0.35 5.5 2560x1440 16 MP 1080p y GSM,CDMA,LTE 4 Quad 801 2.5 GHz
LG G4 y 3.5 Android 5.0 5.9x3x0.39 5.5 2560x1440 16 MP 1080p y GSM,CDMA,LTE Quad 810 1.4 GHz
HTC One M9 32 y $200 76 4.1 Android 5.0 5.7x2.7x0.37 5 1920x1080  20 MP 4K y
1. A microSD slot to expand Memory
2. CR - Smartphone Ratings | Consumer Reports
Cell Phone Reviews | Cell Phones Review | PCMag.com
Apple - iPhone - Compare Models
Phones - CNET
4. Note: Apple lists video recording a 720p while PC Mag says it is 1080p
5. NFC - Near Field Communication - Allows Apple Pay (iPhone only) or Google Wallet (Android only)
6. Multiple bands let you use your phone overseas.
2012 resolutions e I was not mobile-friendly.
iPhone 5 [1136x640]
Samsung galaxy S3 [1280x720])
GSM Bands - frequency MHz
Most common (see links below for a list by country)
US - 850, 1700, 1900
Canada - 700, 1700, 1900, 2600
Puerto Rico - 700, 1700
Latin America - 700, 1700, 1800, 2600
Caribean - 700, 1700 1800, 1900
Africa - 800, 1800, 2600
Australia, New Zealand 700, 1800
Asia - 1800, 1900, 2300, 2500, 2600
Japan - 700, 900, 1500, 2100
Middle East - 800, 1800, 2600
Europe - 800, 1800, 2600

Quad-band phones - 850, 1900, 900, 1800
iPhone 6-  700, 850, 900, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2600 
 Samsung Galaxy S6 - 700, 800, 850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100, 2600

Cellular frequencies - Wikipedia
List of LTE networks - Wikipedia
GSM World Coverage Map- GSM Country List by frequency bands | worldtimezone.com

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 vs iPhone 6s Plus | ZDNet
Some comments. See above link for more.

The LG G4, Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ too), and iPhone 6s/6s Plus have cameras that will please everyone. Various testing results from a number of websites have shown that the cameras all perform about the same. The advantage of the Android devices is that serious camera enthusiasts get RAW file support. It's a joy to know that the Android platform has finally caught up with the iPhone in terms of camera performance.

The S Pen functionality is the key differentiator for the Note 5 and while I did not use it too much in the past, the fact that I can pop out the S Pen and take a quick note on the go with the display off has justified my Note 5 purchase. I work in an environment where voice notes disrupt other engineers so writing quick notes with the S Pen is a major bonus.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has a higher resolution display, fast processor, S Pen technology, ample fast RAM, fantastic camera, enhanced mobile payment technology, amazing design, and more so if I was to purchase just a single device there is no justifiable reason I wouldn't choose the Note 5.


Memory:
16GB basic some music and pictures
64GB Average user - thousands of songs, lots of apps, a decent amount of photos and video
128 GB Hardcore 15,000 songs, 200 pictures/day, 10 movies

Phones - CNET


2012
U.S. Operating System market share Aug. 2012
  Android 53%  (Samsung, HTC, Motorola and others)
      iOS 34%  (Apple)
Blackberry 8%  (RIM)
Microsoft  3.6%
 Symbian   0.8
 
U.S. Market Share by manufacturer
 Samsung 30.6% (Galaxy, ...)
  Apple  18.7% (iPhone)
  Nokia   4.9%
  RIM     4.5% (Blackberry)
  HTC     3.2%
 Motorola 1.7
2011
Most popular Smartphones:
Blackberry - Most installed base
iPhone - Top model in sales
Android - Top OS in sales Verizon Smart phones
Verizon Cost2 kbd Bro screen score3 WiFi hs Cam
Mp
OS Notes
Apple iPhone 4 $200 TS y 3.5" 640x960 EC 4.5 y 5 iOS
Droid 2 $200 Kb y 4.3" 480x854 EC 3.5/8.3 y 5 Android
Droid X $150 TS y 4.3" 480x854 EC 4.5 y 8 Android
HTC Thunderbolt
4G
$250 TS y 4.3 480x800 EC 4 y 8 Android 4G
Samsung Continuum Galaxy $50 TS y 3.4" 480x800 4 y 5 Android 2.1
BlackBerry Bold $100 Kb n 2.45 320x240 4/7.7 n 3.2 BB SIM card with GSM for europe
BlackBderry Curve free Kb n 2.5 320x240 BB
BlackBerry Storm2 $200 TS n 3.25 480x360 3 n 3.2 BB

All have data plans for e-mail, bluetooth and color displays.
Kbd - Keyboard - TS-Touch Screen, Kb - Tactile keyboard on the front (Blackberry) or pull out.
Bro - Web Browser
2. Cost with 2 yr contract
3. score PC Mag/cnet EC-Editors Choice
WiFi hs - Hotspot allows 5 or more WiFi devices to connect thru the phones 3G link

The name "Droid" (™ Lucas films) was licensed by Verizon. There is no difference in Droid phones from Verizon and Android (™ of Google) phones.

Smart Phones 2009
RatingModel OS
CNet CR
4 74 Apple iPhone iPhone
4 EC 73 HTC Droid Incredible Android
4 73 Motorola Droid Android
4 72 Google Nexus One Android
71 Motorola Cliq XT Android
4 71 HTC HD2 Windows Mobile 6.5
4 71 Samsung Behold II Android
4 71 Samsung Omnia II Windows
4 69 RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 BlackBerry
4 HTC Legend Android
4 66 Palm Pre Plus Palm webOS
4 EC LG EnV Touch
4 Samsung Rogue SCH-U960
CR = Consumer Reports
CNet review (EC=Editors Choice):

14% of mobile phones sold in 2008 were smartphones.
Cell Phones Ver-
izon
T-Mobile Cin-
gular
Blue-
tooth
Other Camera Data Screen ZDNet
rating
LG VX8000 X         1.3 M EV-DO 176x220
LG VX9800 X         1.3 M EV-DO 320x256
Samsung_SCH-i730 x     x WiFi 1.3 M EV-DO 240x320
Samsung SCH-a790           0.3 M   176x220
Samsung ZX20       x   1.3 M HSDPA 176x220
Mot RAZR V3   x   X   0.3 M GPRS 176x220 7.0
Mot V330/360   x   X   0.3 M GPRS, EDGE 4 176x220 7.0
BlackBerry 7105t   x   X       240x260
Nokia N90   x x x   2M y  
Nokia 8801   x x x   0.5M GPRS, EDGE 208x208
Samsung SGH p735   x       1.3 M    
Samsung SGH-T809       2   1.2 M GPRS, EDGE 10 320x240
Nokia 6230     x x        
Samsung SCH-a650 X              
Sony-Ericsson K700i   x   x FM y GPRS 176x220 7.6
BlackBerry 6230               160x100 mono
BlackBerry 7100       x     GPRS 240x260 color
BlackBerry 7250       x     CDMA 2000 240x160 color
BlackBerry 7290       x     GPRS 240x160 color
BlackBerry 8700c       x     EDGE, GPRS 320x240


Upgrades:
Upgrading your phone thru a dealer gives you a good discount on a new phone $70-100 for a $300-400 phone, but requires you to sign a new 1-2 year contract with your provider.

Another option is to get a used phone on ebay.
With a GSM phone (AT&T or T-Mobile) you can just replace the SIM card with the one from your old phone (It can be from a different manufacturer). You have to stick to a phone from the same carrier (AT&T or T-Mobile) unless you get a unlocked phone which will work with either.
In 2009 I got a 3 1/2 year old Blackberry 8700 (2.5G) phone for $44. The same unlocked phone would cost about twice as much.
You can use pre-paid SIM with you and pop it into your phone in case there was ever a time when you wanted to have phone service but not be reachable by your usual number.

The easiest way to make sure everyone is compatible is to call the wireless provider with the phone's electronic serial number (ESN). It is on the back of the phone (maybe behind the battery).

CDMA phones (Verizon, Sprint) in the US do NOT have a similar capability. CDMA phones in China and S. Korea use a R-UIM card which does have this capability and is compatible with SIM cards.


Terms: See Mobile Phone Technologies
See Also:
Mobile Phone Technologies
Mobile Phone Accessories
Smart phone and tablet apps
Mobile Phone Services
Blackberry
iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S5: Do you go Apple or Android?, Oct., 2015
Mobiledia.com
MobileTechReview.com
ZDNet
Cell phone buying guide at Cnet
Mobile Phone Service Providers
Ringtones
Mac iSync: Supported mobile phones
iSync doesn't work with Blackberry's. Try:
  • BlackBerry Desktop Manager (Sept. 2009) www.blackberry.com/mac
  • Information Appliance Associates' PocketMac for BlackBerry 4.0
    PocketMac for BlackBerry works very much like Apple's iSync
  • According to butterscotch.com Missing Sync is a better option but has a cost associated with it.

AT&T phones with QWERTY Keyboards
Sony Ericsson Software


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last updated 24 Aug 2016