Friday, November 19, 2010, 02:15 pm

34% of non-AT&T smartphone buyers wish they could buy Apple's iPhone

By Slash Lane

A new survey has found that more than a third of U.S. smartphone buyers on carriers other than AT&T wish they could have bought the iPhone, expressing buyer's remorse.

ChangeWave on Friday released the results of a new survey which polled consumers on their new smartphone purchase. As has been shown numerous times before, customers who bought Apple's iPhone were happier than those who invested in handsets from any other manufacturer, with 77 percent of all iPhone buyers in the last six months saying they are "very satisfied."

The 1,212 U.S. respondents were also asked what phone they would have bought if it was available from their wireless carrier. 46 percent said they would have stuck with their current smartphone, but a whopping 34 percent of those surveyed who aren't on AT&T said they would have bought an iPhone.

The survey also found that Motorola fares the worst on this question, as 39 percent of Motorola smartphone buyers would stick with their new purchase, and a very close 37 percent would have preferred an iPhone.

The survey also reiterated the fact that customers are even happier with the iPhone 4 than they were with the iPhone 3GS. A total of 84 percent of those who bought the 32GB iPhone 4 said they were "very satisfied," while 78 percent of those who bought the 16GB model chose the same.


For comparison, the recently released Samsung Galaxy S, an Android-based handset available on all four major U.S. carriers, has a "very satisfied" rating of 55 percent. That's still better than the 28 percent "very satisfied" rating given by customers of all other Samsung models.


Earlier this month, ChangeWave found that netbook interest is waning as more customers are eyeing Apple's iPad. Among those who said they are looking to buy a tablet, 80 percent said they are most likely to purchase an iPad.

In September, ChangeWave also revealed that the total sum of handsets running Google Android were just as popular with consumers as the iPhone. Of 4,000 respondents polled, 37 percent said they would prefer an Android phone, while 38 percent chose the iPhone.