Illustration by Sean McCabe

Verizon is a standout cell-phone carrier for most people, based on our exclusive best cell phone service survey of readers in 23 cities. The company received high marks from survey respondents in overall satisfaction and customer service, and service is available in most of the country.

Overall, cell-phone service has become significantly better, judging by the annual survey conducted in September by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Contract terms for cell-phone service are less onerous, and there were fewer problems with call quality in this year's survey. The best carriers even came through after a hurricane hit one of our survey cities.

Sixty percent of readers were completely or very satisfied with their service. That appears to be a substantial improvement over 2007, even though we made some changes to our survey this year, including expanding the number of cities we rate and the coverage areas within them.

The improvement means cellular satisfaction is now closer to the average among all services we rate; it had previously been among the worst.

What's behind this surge in satisfaction? There were fewer problems with connectivity, the ability to widely receive service that's free of static and dropped calls. Overall, 42 percent of readers reported that they had no major complaints about service, up from 29 percent in our previous survey. In particular, they were less likely to cite as a top complaint the automatic extension of their cell-phone contract as a result of changing their service.

Carriers have curbed such practices because of increasing competition and the threat of consumer-rights legislation in Congress. Added pressure came from more than 100 class-action and other lawsuits coast to coast, including one by the Minnesota attorney general, and several key court rulings favorable to consumers.

In apparent response to the legal and regulatory action, all the carriers have stopped automatically extending contracts when consumers make changes to their service plan. And now all but Alltel reduce early-termination fees of $175 to $200 as the contract term progresses.

One of the biggest concerns identified by our survey was the high cost of cell service, the top complaint for 14 percent of respondents. Since we surveyed readers in September, before the onset of the economic crisis, that might not reflect today's heightened concern for reining in costs.

Our analysis of the carriers' pricing uncovered a cost-cutter you might not be aware of: pay-by-the-minute, or prepaid, service. It's offered by all major carriers as well as providers such as Virgin and TracFone. Some prepaid plans could save you a lot, especially if you use your phone infrequently or want unlimited voice calling. (See How to buy a prepaid phone.)

Our Ratings (available to subscribers) show that Verizon ranks among the top carriers in every city we surveyed, along with Alltel where it was rated. (Verizon was awaiting approval to acquire Alltel as we went to press.) T-Mobile was statistically on par with the top carriers in almost two-thirds of the cities where we were able to rate it.

Copyright © 2004-2008 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc.

The Storm: Still a text-centric device, but with an increased fun factor Taka

The new touchscreen BlackBerry Storm looks a little like an iPhone and behaves a bit like one, too. So its release is sure to spark a furious debate over which is better. That's the wrong question. Each is an outstanding product—and distinct, despite a few similar design flourishes. The correct question is, which is right for you?

Although the Storm was clearly inspired by Apple's (AAPL) success with the iPhone, the two phones were conceived with different goals in mind. Research In Motion (RIMM) has removed its signature physical keyboard to make room for a 3½-inch display, but it didn't compromise the BlackBerry mission: The Storm is first and foremost a text-centric device built around RIM's celebrated e-mail services. This makes it the hands-down winner for messaging tasks, particularly if you work for an organization that uses the BlackBerry Enterprise Server to relay corporate mail.

The Storm also won't send you scrambling for a midday recharge as the iPhone often does. It has more than enough power to get through a long, busy workday. And unlike the iPhone, the battery is easy to remove, so even if you manage to deplete the charge, you can always pop in a spare.

On the other hand, if messaging on your smartphone takes a back seat to Web browsing, social networking, games, and entertainment, you will be happier with an iPhone. Unlike all-business BlackBerrys of years past, the Storm and other recent models try to be a bit more entertaining. And the Storm browser certainly takes good advantage of that big display, which, like the iPhone's screen, automatically changes orientation from vertical to horizontal as you rotate the phone.

But the Storm still can't hold a candle to the iPhone in terms of sheer fun. The credit for that goes to the iTunes App Store, with its astonishing range of programs—to name just two, MotionX Poker, in which virtual dice roll when you shake the handset, and Shazam, which can identify music you hear on the radio by checking the sound against a database. Still, the Storm offers one key application that Apple, for reasons it has never made clear, has banned from the iPhone: turn-by-turn driving instructions from VZ Navigator.

Overall, in terms of hardware, I'd say the two phones are equal. The original iPhone set a new standard for touchscreen keyboards, but the Storm has it beat. The main difference is that a firm press on the Storm screen triggers a physical switch beneath the glass that both enters the letter you typed and produces a click that greatly improves the accuracy of typing. Hold the phone horizontally and you get a three-row keyboard similar to that on the BlackBerry Curve or the new Bold. Turn it vertically and it switches to the SureType variety, with two letters sharing most keys, just like on the BlackBerry Pearl. In either mode, software figures out what you are trying to type.

Having used BlackBerrys for years, I found the touch keyboard took some getting used to. Try it yourself at your local Verizon shop: Switch back and forth between a BlackBerry 8830 or a Curve and the Storm, and you'll see why most people still prefer keys. But once you get used to the Storm's big screen, you'll forget the minor inconvenience. Virtual or real, BlackBerry's keyboards beat the iPhone in data entry.

Comparing networks is more difficult. First of all, the Storm doesn't do Wi-Fi, a deal-breaker for some people. Secondly, it runs only on Verizon, while iPhones are confined to AT&T (T). These networks use different technologies with roughly equal performance, so it really comes down to who offers the best service wherever you are planning to use the phone most. In tests of both networks in the Washington (D.C.) area and in Michigan, each got about the same high-speed coverage.

There are no major financial considerations in choosing between the Storm and the iPhone: Pricing and service plans are similar. As of Nov. 21 the Storm is available in the U.S. for $200 after rebate with a two-year contract. Telus offers the Storm in Canada and Vodafone (VOD) in Europe. Like the iPhone—and unlike most Verizon handsets—the Storm can be used on fast, 3G networks worldwide. A global data plan costs $65 above a voice plan; unlimited domestic-only data service is $50.

What's my choice? I'm an e-mail guy, working in an environment that supports BlackBerry but not corporate mail on an iPhone, so it's a no-brainer. But to get the best of both worlds, I also have an iPod touch, which isn't a phone but runs most of those cool iPhone programs.