PCMag readers love cell phones. They especially love smartphones; while we strive to review as many phones as we can, it's the smartphones that get the readership and the passion. To round up the end of the year, I decided to check out which phone reviews got the most page views in 2011.
This list tells a story of a nation deciding between iOS and Android phones: BlackBerrys and Windows Phones didn't make the list. Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T all share prominence, but there also isn't a single T-Mobile device. And don't think it's all about high-end phones, either; two of the phones in our top 10 appeal specifically to budget buyers (and one is only available prepaid.)
To keep everything on even terms, this top 10 is rated only by page views on the product's full review. Some phones also had unboxings, earlier hands-ons, and opinion columns, which may have drawn off some of the initial interest in those devices.
Note also that since this list is based on a page view search for 2011, it naturally prefers phones released earlier in the year. That isn't a general rule; our top phone of 2011 was released in September. But obviously, phones that have been on the market for more of 2011 gathered more interest during the year.
10. Apple iPhone 4S (Sprint)—Oct. 14
The iPhone 4S was a success, but it wasn't a surprise. Apple's latest iPhone is very similar to the iPhone 4, just better, so perhaps iPhone shoppers felt they didn't need to consult detailed reviews before deciding which one to buy. The 4S also benefitted from heavy coverage when it was first announced and a ton of subsidiary stories exploring Siri and other key features, which may have drawn off some traffic from the central review.
9. Samsung Galaxy Prevail (Boost Mobile)—April 15
Tech blogs underestimate the power of prepaid. Boost, Virgin, and MetroPCS are all growing as the ongoing financial crisis leads Americans to shy away from expensive two-year contracts. The Galaxy Prevail is just a killer deal: currently $149 and $55 per month on Sprint's nationwide network. Prices like this have brought Android phones to many people who thought they couldn't afford smartphone plans before.
8. HTC Thunderbolt (Verizon Wireless)—March 17
The first Verizon Wireless LTE phone was highly anticipated when it came out in March, and it proved to be a big hit. While the Thunderbolt was rightly criticized for its short battery life, the long delays before the LG Revolution and especially the Motorola Droid Bionic came out helped pump up the Thunderbolt's popularity.
7. Apple iPhone 4 (Verizon Wireless)—Jan. 11
iPhone fans had been waiting for this phone for years. Finally, they didn't have to be shackled to AT&T to use Apple's "revolutionary" device. So while the Verizon iPhone 4 was essentially the same model released on AT&T six months previously—minus the dreaded "death grip"—it went on to become one of our most popular phones of 2011.
6. HTC Inspire 4G (AT&T)—Feb. 3
This one was a bit of a head-scratcher, until I realized it was the first really good Android phone released on AT&T. It also came out early in the year, allowing it lots of time to build up steam. The Inspire is a perfect example of a well-balanced, mainstream smartphone, with HTC's attractive software extensions, running the nation's most popular OS. It clearly hit a chord with AT&T users.
5. Motorola Atrix 4G (AT&T)—Feb. 9
The Inspire might have been AT&T's dark horse, but the Atrix was much more buzzed-about. Motorola's Android-powered, dual-core smartphone was the first with Webtop, Motorola's crazy-but-brilliant scheme for turning phones into laptops. For a while, this was AT&T's most powerful phone, at least spec-wise.
4. Samsung Galaxy S II (Unlocked)—May 11
The Samsung Galaxy S II was the most popular Android phone of the year around the world. It took a few months for it to filter down to U.S. carriers. Until then curious shoppers had the expensive unlocked version to mull over. Like the HTC Inspire, the Galaxy S II is elegant and well-balanced; slim, powerful, and speedy. It's been a hit everywhere it's gone.
3. HTC EVO Shift 4G (Sprint)—Jan. 6
HTC hit another sweet spot with the EVO Shift 4G, which also benefitted from being one of the first smartphones released in the new year. There's a huge demand for solid smartphones with great QWERTY keyboards, and the EVO Shift hit several hot buttons: it has great bang for the buck, a keyboard, and HTC's attractive Sense software. People are still shopping for the EVO Shift 4G.
2. LG Optimus S (Sprint)—Nov. 8, 2010
LG's Optimus One line, available on every major carrier, made the free Android smartphone a reality. We reviewed 10 different models of this super-popular budget smartphone, but the hottest by far was Sprint's. The Optimus S was a high-quality smartphone everyone could afford, and one of the few reviews that got more popular months after the phone came out. (It was also overlooked by some of the geekier blogs out there, which probably drove readers to us.)
1. Motorola Droid Bionic (Verizon Wireless)—Sept. 8
The most talked-about phone of the year on PCMag, the Motorola Droid Bionic also had—by far—the most tortured path to market. We first saw it at CES in January, but the first dual-core, LTE smartphone took a painful eight months (and a total hardware revision) to arrive. Readers flocked to the review to see if it was worth the wait, and for a little while, it was. But its reign was short-lived—the many delays caused it to be pipped for our Editor's Choice award only two months later, by the superior Motorola Droid RAZR.
Did you get one of these devices for the holidays? Check out PCMag's roundup of the best apps for your new smartphone.