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.
Apple devotees always say apple products are perfect. What do you expect JD Power to find when they ask apple users how they feel about their product? People buying into that ecosystem have a belief that “it’s better.” Just look at how much bitching has gone on over iOS over the years–no multitasking, no folder, crappy notification, and the hardware lacking many standard/common things however, they still “love their apple devices” and think they are perfect.
It’s like going to the Amish and asking them if they are happy with their religion. Duh! Why do you think they are there?!?!?!?
Apple devotees always say apple products are perfect. What do you expect JD Power to find when they ask apple users how they feel about their product? People buying into that ecosystem have a belief that “it’s better.” Just look at how much bitching has gone on over iOS over the years–no multitasking, no folder, crappy notification, and the hardware lacking many standard/common things however, they still “love their apple devices” and think they are perfect.
It’s like going to the Amish and asking them if they are happy with their religion. Duh! Why do you think they are there?!?!?!?
/rant
I stopped listening to JD a long time ago when I bought all my kitchen appliances based on there rating/recommendations, and less then two years later most of them had to be replaced and the rest repaired. Kinda like movie recommendations and who wins the Oscars(only have seen 2 winners of that award in my life) and then there was the whole bridgstone tire recommendation and blow outs, and lets not forget the Toyota gas pedal thing, JD recommends(and still does) 4 of there cars…. HMMMM
/end rant
Reminds me of those salary surveys that are conducted by university career centers that say philosophy majors have an unemployment rate of 2% and average starting salary of 70k. I don’t know if their methodology was bad or what the issue was, but I have a galaxy S and I definately give it way more than 2 stars. it is one of the most advanced phones on the market, and it is hard to imagine how you could only give it 2
Reminds me of those salary surveys that are conducted by university career centers that say philosophy majors have an unemployment rate of 2% and average starting salary of 70k. I don’t know if their methodology was bad or what the issue was, but I have a galaxy S and I definately give it way more than 2 stars. it is one of the most advanced phones on the market, and it is hard to imagine how you could only give it 2
Reminds me of those salary surveys that are conducted by university career centers that say philosophy majors have an unemployment rate of 2% and average starting salary of 70k. I don’t know if their methodology was bad or what the issue was, but I have a galaxy S and I definately give it way more than 2 stars. it is one of the most advanced phones on the market, and it is hard to imagine how you could only give it 2