Apple iPhone Wins J.D. Power and Associates' Smartphone of the Year Award

J.D. Power and Associates has released its choice for smartphone of the year based on its customer satisfaction study. Apple took home the prize, ranking highest in customer satisfaction for the fifth consecutive year.

Apple ranked significantly higher than competitors in almost every section of the study, receiving five out of five gold orbs in five out of six categories.

Apple handily beat HTC and Motorola, its two closest competitors, in the 'overall satisfaction' and 'ease of operation' sections. HTC closed the gap in 'physical design' and 'handset features,' but still ultimately fell short of the benchmark set by Apple's iPhone.

The one category where Apple did not receive perfect marks and leave its competition in the dust was 'battery life.' In fact, according to the customer satisfaction study, Apple had the lowest ranking of all company's except for HTC, which tied Apple with two gold orbs.

Nokia and RIM both fared well in the 'battery life' category, with five and four orbs, respectively.

For a more graphically friendly view of this information, see below.