Samsung Edges Apple in Consumer Reports

Samsung may be losing the patent battle with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) in the courts, buy based on expert preference, the edge is not so clear. Consumer Reports rated the new Apple iPhone 5 high in its latest evaluation, but rated the Samsung flagship -- the Galaxy S III slightly higher among smartphones sold by most U.S. carriers.

The S3 has received strong reviews by the media, but most experts assumed that the iPhone 5 features and the Apple brand would overcome those issues.

In its new tests, Consumer Reports rated the S III at 78 points out of 100 among smartphones offered by AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). The iPhone 5 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB all received a rating of 77. It seems that battery life gave Samsung the edge. The HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy II Skyrocket both rated 76.

The only one of the big four cellular service companies which had a phone sold by it which ranked higher than the S III and iPhone 5 was the Motorola Droid Razr Max, sold by the Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) division, on the Verizon Wireless network

The rating of the HTC model is a surprise. The Taiwan based company has been battered by poor sales and a lose of smartphone market share to Apple and Samsung. It was considered the "hot"smartphone company through much of 2011. For several reasons which include the launches of new Samsung products, HTC continue to struggle mightily.

Among all of the cellular companies, Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) products were among the lowest rated -- the Curve 9310 and Bold 9780. RIM, left for dead by many, shows no sign of regaining life

Douglas A. McIntyre