PC Magazine - 2009 11.pdf - Libertad Zero

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CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDERSa Significantly better thanaverageb Better than averageWithin the average rangec Worse than averaged Significantly worse than averageProduct name in RED indicatesReaders’ Choice.OVERALL SCORE†FeesPlan optionsChoice of handsetsprovidedCustomer service(not technicalsupport)Technical supportCoverage withinhome areaCONTRACT CELL PHONE PROVIDERSVerizon Wireless (1,026 responses) 8.0 a 5.7 d 6.8 d 7.3 7.5 a 7.1 8.2 aAlltel (88) 7.8 6.4 7.5 6.9 7.0 — 8.3T-Mobile (189) 7.6 7.2 a 7.7 a 7.2 7.9 a 7.5 b 7.7AT&T (789) 7.2 d 5.4 d 6.6 d 7.5 a 6.9 c 6.5 c 7.5Sprint/Nextel (295) 7.1 d 6.3 7.0 7.0 6.7 c 6.1 c 7.4AVERAGE 7.5 6.2 7.1 7.2 7.2 6.8 7.8PREPAID CELL PHONE PROVIDERSTracFone (153 responses) 7.8 b 7.9 a 8.2 a 6.4 7.1 — 7.9Verizon Wireless (82) 7.8 5.8 d 6.6 c 6.8 7.3 — 7.8Virgin Mobile (62) 7.6 7.9 b 8.0 b 6.5 7.5 — 7.9T-Mobile (60) 7.3 7.7 b 7.4 — 7.7 — 7.3AT&T (127) 7.1 c 6.2 d 6.8 c 6.9 7.1 — 7.6AVERAGE 7.5 7.1 7.4 6.6 7.3 — 7.7* At least 2 confidence intervals from the average.** 1 confidence interval from the average.† Overall score is based on answers to the question “Overall, how would you rate this desktop PC?” It is not the average of the otherscores in the table.Except for numbers indicated by a percentage, scores are based on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is best.A dash indicates that we do not have enough survey data to give the company a score.SBA 9.0 out of 10. Amusingly, the iPhone’soverall score actually went up between2008 and 2009 despite the fact that its individualratings for coverage, call quality, andsound quality all went down!The iPhone didn’t rate spectacularly as aphone, but it received great scores as a messagingdevice, music player, video player,and gaming device.Research In Motion’s BlackBerry phonesalso scored well, though not as well as lastyear, possibly because quite a lot of themrequired technical support.For pure voice phones, Samsung modelson Verizon Wireless offered the best reliabilityand voice quality scores. On AT&T,62 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2009
Call QUALITY withinyour home areaCoverage outsideof your home areaCall qualityoutside of yourhome areaVoice mailLikelihood of beingrecommendeda 8.1 b 8.3 a 8.1 a 7.9 8.2 ab 8.3 b 8.0 b 8.1 7.7 8.07.8 7.2 c 7.5 c 7.9 7.8d 7.6 d 7.6 7.6 c 7.8 7.5 c7.6 c 7.3 c 7.5 7.8 7.1 d7.9 7.7 7.8 7.8 7.78.0 b 7.7 7.8 7.7 8.07.8 7.9 7.7 7.4 8.07.8 7.2 7.4 — 7.77.4 7.1 7.3 7.5 7.97.5 7.7 7.7 7.7 7.2 c7.7 7.5 7.6 7.6 7.8Motorola phones were considered the mostreliable, and Nokia devices were recognizedfor their superior reception and sound quality.But as always, it’s the combination of carrierand manufacturer that matters as muchas the manufacturer alone—for example,Motorola’s phones were the lowest-rated onVerizon.We received fewer than 50 responsesfrom T-Mobile users, which is not enough todraw conclusions about that carrier’s productlines, so they were not included in oursurvey results.Cellular ServiceProvidersREADERS’ CHOICEVerizon You can probably hear us now ifyou’re using Verizon Wireless’s network foryour voice communications.TracFone Don’t feel like you have to payfor a multiyear contract. TracFone users arepretty happy with what they get from thecompany’s bargain-priced service.Once again, “the network”rules.Verizon Wireless (VZW) triumphedin the area of contractcell phone providers based onthe company’s traditional strengths of customerservice, coverage, and call quality,which rated either better or significantlybetter than average on most measures.Adding to Verizon’s domination of the ratingsthis year, second place went to Alltel,which Verizon bought and is absorbing.In the areas of fees and plan options, however,both VZW and AT&T could stand somework, according to our readers. As in previousyears, users griped about Verizon’s highrates, but subscribers are clearly willing topay a little more for the nation’s best cellularnetwork. Besides, the marks readers assigncellular service providers are traditionallyNOVEMBER 2009 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 63
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22263033FIRST LOOKS16 SOftwareNorto
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FEEDbackThe Web browser is also ver
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frontsideWhile doctors, hospitals,
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frontsideBEST of our blogsGOODCLEAN
Page 15 and 16: Samsung Rogue SCH-U960(Verizon)$99.
Page 20 and 21: FIRst looks SOFTWAREAdobe Photoshop
Page 23 and 24: MUSICBROWSERTomTom (iPhone OS)$99.9
Page 26 and 27: FIRST looks hardwareFujitsu LifeBoo
Page 28 and 29: FIRST looks hardwareEpson Stylus NX
Page 30: Quick looks HARDWAREDESKTOPSLAPTOPS
Page 34 and 35: FIRst looks CONSUMER ELECTRONICSApp
Page 36 and 37: Quick looks consumer electronicsSMA
Page 38 and 39: FIRST looks businessSMALL-BUSINESS
Page 40 and 41: FIRST looks businessWestern Digital
Page 42 and 43: FIRst looks business3M Pocket Proje
Page 44 and 45: jOHN c. dvorakLost ProductivityLame
Page 46 and 47: SASCHA SEGANA World WithoutApple?Im
Page 48 and 49: DAN COSTAApple, Take Note:My iPad W
Page 50 and 51: Our readers rated 46,434 tech produ
Page 52 and 53: DesktopsREADERS’ CHOICEApple John
Page 54 and 55: DESKTOPS (continued)a Significantly
Page 56 and 57: NOTEBOOKSa Significantly better tha
Page 58 and 59: competition in the likelihood of be
Page 60 and 61: PRINTERSa Significantly better than
Page 62 and 63: CELLULAR PHONES (By Provider)a Sign
Page 66 and 67: among the worst on our survey.Of th
Page 68 and 69: SolutionsThe Truth AboutWi-Fi Route
Page 70 and 71: SOLutions WI-FI ROUTERSboth frequen
Page 72 and 73: sOLutions office/OSMake the Mostof
Page 74 and 75: sOLutions office/OSBROWSING THE LIB
Page 76 and 77: sOLutionsTipsUseful tidbits from PC
Page 78 and 79: Editors’ Choicesin Key Categories
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