Motorola and Sanyo tied in highest overall customer satisfaction with cell phones, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 U.S. Wireless Mobile Phone Evaluation Study.

The study found that Motorola performed particularly well in the physical design, operation and features factors, while Sanyo received high ratings in operation and battery functionality. Following Motorola and Sanyo in the rankings and performing above the industry average are Samsung and LG, respectively.

Other findings include customers keeping their mobile handsets for an average of 17.5 months - an increase from 16.6 months since the last reporting period (November 2006). This marks the first increase in the reported ownership cycle since 2002, when the average was 18.4 months. The increase in ownership tenure is roughly equal across major handset brands.

Additionally the price a customer pays for their mobile phone has dropped from an average of $103 in 2002 to $93 in 2007. The decline is primarily due to discounts given by handset providers and wireless service carriers to incentivize sales. Currently, 36 percent of customers report receiving a free mobile phone when subscribing to a wireless service - up considerably from 28 percent in the 2002 study.

The study also finds several key wireless handset usage patterns:

- Sixty-nine percent of all cell phones owned are a clamshell design - an increase of 19 percent from 2006. This compares to 29 percent for the candy-bar style, and 2 percent for the slide-cover design.
- Handset features that are used most frequently include: speakerphone (51 percent); camera capabilities (35 percent); services to send/receive short messages (22 percent); and gaming (16 percent).
- More than one-half of all current wireless users compared other handset brands before selecting their current wireless phone. Those customers who compare phones during the selection process are more likely to be satisfied overall with their current handset than those who do not.

Volume 1 of the 2007 U.S. Wireless Mobile Phone Evaluation Study is based on experiences reported by 21,520 wireless users who have owned their current mobile phone for less than two years. The results are from the two most recent study reporting waves, which were conducted in October 2006 and February 2007.