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J.D. Power Report: Touch Screens Drive Higher Satisfaction with Both Feature-Rich Smartphones and Traditional Mobile Phones

June 1, 2010

J.D. Power and Associates Report:

Touch Screens Drive Higher Satisfaction with Both Feature-Rich
Smartphones and Traditional Mobile Phones


Apple Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Smartphone
Manufacturers, While LG Ranks Highest among Traditional Mobile Phone Manufacturers


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: Overall satisfaction among
smartphone and traditional handset owners whose phones are equipped with
touch screens is considerably higher than satisfaction of owners of
phones that have other input mechanisms, according to the J.D. Power and
Associates 2010 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction
Study-Volume 1 and the 2010 U.S. Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone
Satisfaction StudySM-Volume 1 released today.

Among smartphone owners whose device has a touch screen, satisfaction
averages 771 on a 1,000-point scale, nearly 40 index points higher than
among those whose smartphone uses other input methods, such as a text
keyboard. Currently, slightly more than one-half of owners indicate
their smartphone has a touch screen for navigation. While not as readily
available on traditional mobile phones, satisfaction on phones with a
touch screen averages 756-53 index points higher than the industry
average.

"Touch screens are ideal for those using their phone for entertainment,
as the displays are generally larger and provide a richer viewing
experience," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at
J.D. Power and Associates. "It is critical, however, that manufacturers
meet expectations with regard to providing adequate battery life, as
these large displays can drain batteries very quickly. In addition, for
customers to have a truly rewarding experience, wireless carriers must
continue to provide problem-free, high-speed downloads, as customers
rely on them to deliver content quickly and on the go."

These two studies measure customer satisfaction with traditional
wireless handsets
ings-(volume-1)> and smartphones
(volume-1)> across several key factors. In order of importance, the key
factors of overall satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets are:
operation (30%); physical design (30%); features (20%); and battery
function (20%). For smartphones, the key factors are: ease of operation
(26%); operating system (24%); physical design (23%); features (19%);
and battery function (8%).

Apple ranks highest in customer satisfaction among manufacturers of
smartphones with a score of 810, and performs particularly well in ease
of operation, operating system, features and physical design. RIM
BlackBerry (741) follows Apple in the rankings.

LG ranks highest in overall wireless customer satisfaction with
traditional handsets with a score of 729, and performs well in all five
factors, particularly physical design, features and operation. Sanyo
(712) and Samsung (703) follow LG in the rankings.

The study finds that both smartphone and traditional handset owners are
increasingly using their phones for entertainment and sharing media with
friends, family and members of their social network. Among traditional
handset owners, 25 percent indicate they frequently send and receive
multimedia and picture messages, an increase of 25 percent from just six
months ago. Smartphone users are nearly twice as likely to share
multimedia messages. In addition, nearly one-fifth (17%) of smartphone
owners with touch screen-equipped handsets indicate they frequently
download and watch video content on their device, which is significantly
higher than the segment average.

The studies also find the following key wireless handset usage patterns:

* Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities are a desired
feature among both traditional mobile phone and smartphone users. More
than one-third (35%) of traditional mobile phone owners say they want
GPS features on their next handset purchase, while 15 percent of
smartphone owners say they want GPS.
* Younger users continue to be more satisfied with their handset
regardless of whether it is a traditional mobile phone or a smartphone.
Satisfaction among traditional mobile phone users 18 years old to 24
years old is 35 index points higher than the segment average, while
satisfaction among smartphone users within the same age range is 18
index points above the segment average.
* Mobile applications continue to enhance the smartphone user
experience. Sixty percent say they download third-party games for
entertainment, while 46 percent say they download travel software, such
as maps and weather applications. Thirty-one percent say they download
utility applications, while 26 percent say they download
business-specific programs, indicating that smartphone owners are
continuing to integrate their device usage into both their business and
personal lives.

The 2010 Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study-Volume 1 and
the 2010 Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Evaluation Study-Volume 1 are
based on experiences reported by 13,590 traditional mobile phone and
4,480 smartphone owners who have used their current mobile phone for
less than two years. The studies were fielded between July and December
2009.

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.

 
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