Oh snap, looks like JD Power still loves the iPhone more than every
other phone they’ve got a rating for, those dastardly dudes. They’ve got
every other bigtime brand on there, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and even
Nokia, Palm, and RIM Blackberry, though we’re also not sure how they
found those groups to top Samsung and their Galaxy S device line. Of
course you could notice that Apple scores amongst the lowest for battery
function, that owing a bunch to the researchers found that those using
social networks (battery drainers) enjoyed their phones significantly
more than those who had no use for such things.
Feel free to look at the pips on the chart above, or you could take a
peek at the full press release below which, when compared to
last year’s survey,
shows the iPhone to, of course, maintain its position from last year.
From there it’s just a bit different – HTC and Motorola switched
positions, all three of them (those two and Apple) all dipping in
satisfaction from last year just a tad. People know what they want more
and more every year, and it’s tough to satisfy!
Of course then there’s regular phones, for people who don’t like to
play Angry Birds and such, Sanyo leading that pack, LG being second,
Samsung going third. Have a peek deep into the dots and find yourself
crying over the fact that Apple, Palm, and Blackberry are even on the
list. Horrifying!
J.D. Power and Associates Reports:
Social Media Use
Drives Higher Satisfaction among Owners of
Smartphones and Traditional
Mobile Phones
Apple Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Smartphone
Manufacturers,
While Sanyo Ranks Highest among Traditional Mobile Phone
Manufacturers
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 17 March 2011 — Overall satisfaction with
smartphones and traditional mobile phones is considerably higher among
owners who use their devices for social media activity, compared with
satisfaction among owners who do not access social media platforms on
their phones, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S.
Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction StudySM—Volume 1 and the J.D.
Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone
Satisfaction StudySM—Volume 1, both released today.
Among smartphone owners who use their device to access social media
sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, satisfaction averages 783
on a 1,000-point scale—nearly 22 points higher than among those
smartphone owners who do not often use social media sites on their
device. Currently, more than one-half of smartphone owners report having
used their device to access social media sites via the mobile Web or
mobile applications. While rates of mobile social media site usage are
not nearly as high among owners of traditional mobile phones (9%, on
average), satisfaction among traditional handset owners who use their
device for social media is notably higher than that of traditional
handset owners who don’t access social media (754 vs. 696).
“It’s not unexpected that smartphone owners access social media sites
from their device more frequently than traditional mobile phone owners
due to features such as larger screens and QWERTY keyboards,” said Kirk
Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and
Associates. “However, these findings demonstrate that equipping devices
with powerful features and service is key to creating positive customer
experiences with wireless devices.”
The study finds that wireless users who engage in mobile social media
activity on their mobile device also tend to use it more often for
calls, texts and data; are more likely to purchase additional wireless
services in the future; and are also more likely to provide positive
recommendations for their handset brand and service provider, compared
with users who don’t use social media on their device.
“It’s clear that the gap in satisfaction between customers who use
social media applications on their device and those who don’t is driven
by several factors, but the critical ingredient is whether the user has a
positive experience with the wireless device itself,” said Parsons.
“Providing features that facilitate social networking activity and make
it easy for users to communicate and share information between various
social media sites may be an effective way for service providers to
further engage customers and increase loyalty.”
These two studies measure customer satisfaction with traditional
wireless handsets and smartphones among owners who have used their
current mobile phone for less than two years, by examining several key
factors. In order of importance, the key factors of overall satisfaction
with traditional wireless handsets are: operation (30%); physical
design (30%); features (20%); and battery function (20%). For
smartphones, the key factors are: ease of operation (26%); operating
system (24%); physical design (23%); features (19%); and battery
function (8%).
For a fifth consecutive time, Apple ranks highest among manufacturers
of smartphones in customer satisfaction with a score of 795 and
performs particularly well in ease of operation, operating system,
features and physical design. Motorola (763) and HTC (762) follow Apple
in the smartphone rankings.
Sanyo ranks highest in overall wireless customer satisfaction with
traditional handsets with a score of 715. Sanyo performs well in three
factors: physical design, battery functionality and operation. LG (711)
and Samsung (703) follow Sanyo in the traditional handset rankings.
The studies also find the following key wireless handset usage patterns:
The average price of a traditional wireless mobile phone continues to
decline and averages $73 in 2011, compared with an average of $81 at the
beginning of 2009. The decline is primarily due to discounts provided
by handset providers and wireless service carriers to incentivize sales.
Currently, 46 percent of owners report having received a free mobile
phone when subscribing to a wireless service, which is a historical
high.
Mobile applications continue to enhance the smartphone user
experience. Two-thirds of owners say they have downloaded games and
social networking applications to their device. More than one-half (54%)
say they have downloaded travel software, such as maps and weather
applications, while 53 percent indicate having downloaded
entertainment-oriented applications. This indicates that smartphone
owners are continuing to integrate their device usage into both their
business and personal lives.
Ownership tenure impacts overall satisfaction with the device
experience. Those who report owning their device less than one year are
significantly more likely to be more satisfied than those who have owned
their wireless phone for a longer period of time (773 vs. 728). Newer
devices tend to offer more features, services and better quality than
older phones.
The 2011 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study—Volume 1
and the 2011 U.S. Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction
Study—Volume 1 are based on experiences reported by 7,275 smartphone
owners and 11,347 traditional mobile phone owners. The studies were
fielded between July and December 2010.
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