Adding a contact was better for the Samsung device, which earned 4 stars; the iPhone earned 3. The users of the Storm and Thunderbolt struggled for much longer to decipher the interface and the BlackBerry user actually failed to add a contact.

The iPhone and Windows Phone Samsung handset tied with 4 stars in sending an SMS message, the Storm got a 3-star rating, and the Thunderbolt came in last.

What's striking about the video is the contrast in user actions: Often they're actively scrolling, apparently searching for something that signals clearly to them what the next step in each process should be; at other times, they're often almost completely inactive with their hands, apparently studying the screen to decipher or interpret, and sometimes trying out the various icons or soft buttons presented to them.

The unscientific conclusion for the project: Novice users found iPhone 4 and Windows Phone 7 on the Samsung Focus somewhat more intuitive to use in the three tasks tested.

But for a legion of bloggers and commenters the project is an example of what's wrong with higher education in America. The denunciations fell on both the video comparison -- lame, stupid, fake, horrible, poorly executed, a conspiracy -- and the phone testers -- moronic and stupid.