J.D. Power and Associates Reports: BlackBerry Devices Rank Highest in Inaugural Business Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfacti

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 31 October 2007 —BlackBerry
devices, which are manufactured by Research in Motion (RIM), rank
highest in overall customer satisfaction among business wireless
smartphone users, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007
Business Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study^SM released today.

The
inaugural study measures business customer satisfaction with their
wireless smartphone, which is a mobile phone offering advanced
capabilities, often with personal computer-like functionality such as a
BlackBerry or Treo. Overall satisfaction is examined across six key
factors. In order of importance, they are: ease of operation (22%);
operating system (21%); physical design (20%); audio (14%); battery
aspects (13%); and utility features (10%).

RIM ranks highest
in overall smartphone customer satisfaction with a score of 702 points
on a 1,000-point scale, performing particularly well in the operating
system factor, which includes the speed of moving between applications
and speed of sending/receiving e-mails. RIM also performs particularly
well in battery aspects, including the length of battery life. Treo
manufacturer Palm (698) and Samsung (698) tie to closely follow RIM in
the ranking.

“While RIM has differentiated itself from the
competition in areas that are most important to business smartphone
users, competition in this market is tight,” said Kirk Parsons, senior
director of wireless services for J.D. Power and Associates.
“Particularly for RIM, ease of using basic applications and features
and providing the right amount of functionality in a lightweight
package has given the manufacturer an edge.”

The study finds
that satisfaction is critical to future sales and profitability of
smartphone manufacturers, as highly satisfied owners are more than 50
percent more likely to repurchase the same brand than those who are not
satisfied with their smartphone. Additionally, owners who are
“delighted” with their smartphone are 80 percent more likely to
recommend a particular brand than an unsatisfied owner.

The
study also finds that customer satisfaction varies depending on the
type of operating system—RIM, Palm, Microsoft Windows Mobile or
Symbian— being used in the smartphone device, as each system has its
own advantages. For example, customers note that the Palm system’s
basic features are easy to use, such as making and receiving calls;
checking voice mail; using the keyboard and key pads; and understanding
display screen symbols. In comparison, smartphone devices using the
Microsoft Windows system perform well with regard to call quality,
particularly when it comes to sound quality and having a wide variety
of preloaded ring tones to choose from.

“While each OS
platform excels in a particular area, there is definitely room for
improvement across the market as not one smartphone brand excels in all
business application dimensions,” said Parsons. “It’s critical for
manufacturers to offer a complete package of functionality and ease of
operation that meets the business needs of customers.”

The study also finds the following key smartphone business wireless usage patterns:

• Among
  smartphone customers, 13 percent report having to get their device
  repaired, with software application issues, device locking up or
  display not working being the most frequently reported problems.
• More
  than 40 percent of smartphone users would like GPS (global positioning
  system) capabilities on their device, while 26 percent would like Wi-Fi
  capabilities, 22 percent want touch screen and 19 percent would like to
  have a TV integrated into their device.
• The average reported
  purchase price of a smartphone device is $261. Palm owners report the
  highest purchase price at $313. Motorola has the lowest reported device
  pricing at $194.
• The top five reasons given for choosing a
  smartphone brand are: personal digital assistant (PDA)/personal
  information manager (PIM) functionality (50%), Internet capability
  (48%), Bluetooth capabilities (46%), general ease of use (44%) and
  overall design/style (44%).
• Thirty-five percent of smartphone
  owners download third-party software. Popular software downloads among
  business users include games (51%), travel-related programs (42%) and
  business applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel (36%).

The
2007 Business Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study is based
on responses from 1,089 business wireless customers who currently own a
smartphone device. Findings are based on data collected in August 2007.
Visit JDPower.com to view customer satisfaction ratings for wireless service and carrier performance, call quality, customer care, retail sales and mobile phone handsets.

About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered
in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO
9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in
key business sectors including market research, forecasting,
performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm’s
quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from
millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
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BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more
than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3 billion.
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