Satisfaction, Thy Name Is iPhone

Here’s a data point sure to get prominent mention

 during Apple’s next big media event. The iPhone has

 once again claimed the top ranking in J.D. Power’s

 semiannual smartphone satisfaction study.

For the seventh consecutive time.

The iPhone scored 839 out of 1,000 possible points. That’s a point more than it claimed in J.D. Power’s September 2011 survey, and 41 points more than its nearest rival, HTC, which scored 798 (down from 801).

It’s also 64 points more than the industry average of 774, beneath which rivals Samsung, Motorola, LG, Research In Motion and Nokia continue to toil. All five of those companies’ smartphones fell in customer esteem, some precipitously. Motorola’s score slipped to 758, down from 775; Samsung’s to 769 from 777; LG’s to 733 from 760; RIM’s to 733 from 762; and Nokia’s to 702 from 721.

What a sad commentary on the industry that smartphones from five of its seven largest vendors posted below-average scores in customer satisfaction.

Declining scores.

Ease of operation, operating system, physical design and the all-important battery performance — which, according to J.D. Power’s study, consumers identified as the least satisfying aspect of smartphones, by far — are features you’d think the smartphone industry would have pretty much dialed in by now. But evidently there’s still lots of room for improvement.