TRENDY GADGET

Smartphones are 50 percent more likely to fail compared to simple cell phones, says SquareTrade, a leading independent warranty provider. Since 1999, SquareTrade says it has provided more than 100,000 warranties covering cell phones. The company finds smartphones such as the BlackBerry, iPhone and Treo -- each offering advanced email, web browsing, bigger displays and PC-like functionality -- are twice as likely to conk out over regular cell phones.

SquareTrade says one in three smartphones malfunction within the first three years, compared to about one in five basic cell phones within the same amount of time. These findings do not include accidental damage, such as dropping the handset.

The report also says these phones are not only more expensive to buy compared to regular cell phones and tend to cost more each month for data fees, but they also offer lower reliability than regular cell phones.