Smartphone satisfaction is improving while mobile phone satisfaction is decreasing according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Wireless
Consumer Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study-Volume 2 and the 2009
Wireless Business Smartphone Satisfaction Study.
iPhone leads for both business and consumer smartphone satisfaction, followed by LG and BlackBerry. Smartphone owners are giving up their landlines, want Wi-Fi and download entertainment/business apps.
In the Traditional handset market, LG leads in satisfaction.. Customers who "buy" free phones are least satisfied.
Apple ranks highest among manufacturers of
smartphones used primarily for personal reasons, with a score of 811,
and performs particularly well in ease of operation, operating system,
features and physical design. LG (776) and RIM BlackBerry (759) follow
Apple in the rankings.
Among customers who use their smartphones primarily
for business purposes, Apple ranks highest with a score of 803,
followed by RIM BlackBerry (724).
Satisfaction among consumer smartphone owners has
increased by 14 index points (on a 1,000-point scale) from just six
months ago, while satisfaction among business owners has increased by
43 index points from 2008 as these devices have become more stylish,
customizable and user-friendly.
The studies also find the following key wireless handset usage patterns:
- Among consumer smartphone owners, 22 percent want Wi-Fi capability
in their next handset, while 21 percent want touch-screen capabilities
and 17 percent want GPS capability. - More than 40 percent of consumer smartphone owners report entirely
replacing landline calling with mobile phone calling, while only 27
percent of traditional handset owners have done the same. - Among business smartphone owners, more than one-half report
downloading third-party games for entertainment, while 46 percent
report downloading travel software such as maps and weather
applications-indicating business users are also integrating their
devices into their personal lives. In addition, nearly one-half of
owners (46%) report downloading business utility applications to
increase productivity.
Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Findings
The
study finds that wireless carriers are offering deep discounts on
traditional handsets, with 43 percent of traditional mobile phone
owners, on average, reporting they received their handset free of
charge. Satisfaction is significantly lower among owners who receive
their handsets for free. Among these owners, satisfaction averages just
693, compared with 713 among owners who pay for their traditional
mobile phone.
Among traditional mobile phone owners, overall
satisfaction has declined by six index points from April 2009, likely
as a result of heightened awareness among traditional mobile phone
owners of advanced features available on smartphones.
LG ranks highest in overall wireless customer
satisfaction with traditional handsets with a score of 723, performing
well across all factors, particularly battery function, features and
operation.
More Cheaper Smartphones Are Selling
The
proportion of consumers who purchase more affordable smartphones (those
costing less than $100) has significantly increased among most of the
manufacturers included in the rankings, compared with the previous wave
of the study six months ago. This indicates that wireless carriers are
discounting their devices to attract new customers who are willing to
pay for more costly service plans.
These three studies measure customer satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets and smartphones
across several key factors. In order of importance, key factors of
overall satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets are operation
(30%); physical design (30%); features (20%); and battery function
(20%). For consumer smartphones, key factors are ease of operation
(30%); operating system (22%); features (21%); physical design (18%);
and battery function (9%). For business smartphones,
key factors include ease of operation (29%); operating system (23%);
physical design (21%); features (16%); and battery function (11%).
"Satisfaction is notably lower among owners who
receive their handsets for free, because these phones often do not
offer the full suite of features that owners desire," said Parsons.
"When fewer features are available, usage rates also decline, which
translates into lower brand loyalty. Offering extensive features that
owners can integrate into their daily lives may foster brand loyalty to
both the phone manufacturer and wireless carrier, and ultimately result
in a more rewarding and satisfying owner experience."
The 2009 Wireless Consumer Smartphone Customer Satisfaction
Study-Volume 2 and the 2009 Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone
Evaluation Study-Volume 2 are based on experiences reported by 12,595
traditional mobile phone and 3,221 smartphone owners who have used
their current mobile phone for less than two years. The 2009 Wireless
Business Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study is based on experiences
reported by 1,148 smartphone owners who use their smartphone for
primarily business purposes. All three studies were fielded between
January and June 2009.