Overall satisfaction among smartphone owners has increased significantly over time as manufacturers continue to improve their offerings, according to a new report from J.D. Power and Associates.
Satisfaction among consumer smartphone owners has increased 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, which the report attributes to the awareness of advanced features available on smartphones.
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 makers of smartphones used mainly for personal reasons, with a score of 811, performs well in ease of use, operating system, features and physical design. LG (776) and RIM BlackBerry (759) trail Apple in the rankings.
Among people who use their smartphones for business purposes, Apple ranks highest with a score of 803, followed by BlackBerry (724).
LG took the top spot in overall wireless customer satisfaction with traditional handsets with as core of 723, particularly for battery function, features and operation.
“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.
