Fanfare research
shows that smartphone owners are having problems with application glitches, compatibility issues, crashing, and freezing and don't understand why. They are not sure if the problems are related to the handset,
network, or applications.
- Over half of respondents (57%) are
disappointed with the overall performance of their smartphone.
Streaming media, web browsers, and social networking applications are
causing the most problems for smartphone users. Nearly a third (29%)
experience "continual" problems with newly acquired applications, and
64% of respondents have required some form of software patching to fix
issues on their smartphone.
- 55% of respondents cannot tell whether individual
problems stem from the handset or the mobile network and, as a result,
53% instinctively blame the smartphone manufacturer whenever an issue
arises. - Smartphone owners are most likely to vocalize
their dissatisfaction through social networking sites (58%) and to
friends and family (57%). At the same time, the purchasing decisions
of 76% are influenced by criticisms from friends and family, and 64%
will take heed of criticisms received via social media.
Overall the results point towards an end to the "honeymoon period"
for smartphones and mobile applications. As the market has matured,
consumers are no longer happy to accept quality issues as a consequence
of choosing a new, innovative, or multi-functional handset, instead
judging their mobile phones on how they perform on a day-to-day basis.
The
research also found that 29% of respondents claimed to encounter
problems "all the time", and they are more than willing to share
negative experiences with others. The majority (58%) go straight to
social networks to vent their concerns, while 57% will convey negative
sentiment to friends and family. In terms of the consequent effect that
this is having on consumer purchasing, 76% will take heed of smartphone
criticisms from friends and family and 64% will acknowledge sentiments
read on social networking websites.
Looking ahead, three quarters of respondents (74%)
believed that handsets will become less reliable and that this is
unacceptable. The vast majority (88%) said that they are happy to wait
until handsets have proven reliability before purchasing - suggesting
consumers are becoming more cautious as a result of negative
experiences.
* "User expectations of smartphone performance"
research conducted in January - February 2010, surveying 155 members of
the public.