WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Overall satisfaction among smartphone owners has increased considerably over time as manufacturers continue to improve styling, feature sets, usability and software, 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(SM) released today. The J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction Study(SM)-Volume 2 was also released today.
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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.
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.
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%).
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).
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.
Wireless Smartphone Findings
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.
"Attractive rebates or discounts offered to current smartphone owners, as well as incentives given to traditional handset owners to upgrade to smartphones, are effective ways for wireless carriers to generate revenue and increase market share," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. "It is important, however, that manufacturers meet the expectations of those taking advantage of such offers by ensuring the features are intuitive and ultimately rewarding to them in the long run. Providing an easy-to-use, yet powerful operating system with the ability to customize applications to suit owners' individual needs is essential to providing a high-quality and rewarding wireless experience."
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.
"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 studies also find the following key wireless handset usage patterns:
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.
Visit JDPower.com to read an article or view customer satisfaction ratings for business smart phones, consumer smart phones, traditional wireless phones, wireless call quality, customer care, and retail sales.
Overall Wireless Consumer Smartphone Index Rankings
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)
Overall Wireless Business Smartphone Index Rankings
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)
Overall Wireless Traditional Handset Index Rankings
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)
About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence and customer satisfaction. The company'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
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.
J.D. Power and Associates Media Relations Contacts:
John Tews; Troy, Mich.; (248) 312-4119; john.tews@jdpa.com
Syvetril Perryman; Westlake Village, Calif.; (805) 418-8103; syvetril.perryman@jdpa.com
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. www.jdpower.com/corporate
SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates
