Hater mail

While most of the mail that I receive from On Call readers is perfectly polite, I get my share of not-so-nice letters as well. Some readers point out errors (I welcome these messages, actually), others have a beef with my opinions or reviews, and a few even resort to simple name-calling. Typically, I don't reply to the mean messages but this week I took a cue from my colleague Molly Wood and decided to respond. So here it is, the best of On Call's hater mail.

Q: Thank God for Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal! I am now feeling vindicated in my assessment that you and your group were completely wrong in your comparison of the Apple iPhone and the LG Voyager, unbelievably crowning the Voyager as the winner. The Voyager is just not in the same ballpark with the iPhone. It's clear to me that your group counts up so-called "features" and do not look at phones for their day-to-day usability. I will no longer be listening to your advice--it got me in trouble previously with that piece of crap AT&T 8525. --Thomas

A: If I had a dollar for every letter I've received about the iPhone, I could afford to retire early. All right, maybe that's an exaggeration, but my basic point is true. Everyone has an opinion on the iPhone, and for every letter that says I'm an Apple fanboy, I get another that says I'm an Apple slamboy. Product reviews are partially subjective and I know that my opinions won't always agree with those of CNET readers or other product reviewers. So I hope you won't leave us for good. And after reading Mossberg's piece on the Voyager, I'd have to disagree with him. But Mossberg rarely meets an Apple product he doesn't like.

But I digress. Yes, it's true that in our most recent cell phone prizefight, the LG Voyager beat the iPhone by only four points. Some readers have disagreed, but I stand by our verdict, for when it's taken as a whole the Voyager wins that particular fight. Yes, the iPhone is sexier and a bit more intuitive, and its music and video quality is superior, but the Voyager makes better calls (remember that first and foremost, they're phones) and it offers more features. Though you may think, Thomas, that "so-called features" are irrelevant to day-to-day usability, I'd argue that they play a big part in making a device useful. And in case you missed it, the iPhone did win its earlier tussle with the Nokia N95, and it received an "Excellent" rating in its review. It's a great cell phone, but it's not the only great phone.

Q: What a jerk. Do you disrespect your readers so much that you will publish an article about large size screens (displays) and omit the sizes?
--John

A: Ouch--I'm a jerk? That seems a little harsh. Rest assured, John, I respect my readers a lot. I'm amazed you found this feature, to be honest, as it's more than two years old. You're correct that I didn't include the screen size of each phone in the comparison, but the reviews of each handset do list that information. Next time, just follow the links for the full scoop. When I update this feature I may add the screen sizes, but only if you ask nicely.

Q: After reading your top T-Mobile phones now I'm convinced you do half-baked testing with T-Mobile. Or you just don't even know.
--Richard

A: I can assure you, Richard, that we put our review cell phones through a good deal of testing before we assign a rating. Ultimately, though, it is all opinion, and I recognize that your opinion can differ from ours.

Keep in mind that when we compose these lists, we can pick only five phones. Also, be aware that we vary the list by "type" of phone. So instead of picking the best and most expensive smartphones, we include a couple of midrange and basic handsets so we have a well-rounded list. That way, those readers that don't need a fancy handset will have a choice.