Daniel Eran Dilger
According to a report by Reuters, only 25 percent of smartphone buyers as a whole planned to stick with the operating system of their current phone, compared to 59 percent of iPhone users.
Even among users of RIM's BlackBerry, once dubbed the "crackberry" in an allusion to its addictive experience as a messaging device, only 35 percent said they planned to stick with RIM in the future.
Android, which fuels a variety of heavily promoted iPhone-alternatives on America's Verizon and Sprint networks, only managed to retain a 28 percent loyalty figure from buyers, while the globally-leading Symbian OS used by Nokia slipped below the overall industry average, maintaining just 24 percent of its users base as loyal future buyers.
Microsoft brought up the rear in smartphone loyalty ratings, with only 21 percent saying they would buy another device running the same software in the future.
The survey was conducted across 2,653 users of mobile phones in China, Brazil, Britain Germany, Spain, and the United States. Sales of smartphones continue to rapidly outpace the growth of simpler mobile phones; 37 percent of those surveyed saying they planned to upgrade to a smartphone at their next purchase.
Users contemplating a smartphone purchase see little significant hardware differentiation, the report noted, saying "with features such as WiFi, GPS and high-resolution cameras now commonplace, owners of Internet-enabled phones are increasingly concerned with the ease of accessing attractive services to enhance their devices, often through app stores."
Ryan Garner, the lead analyst in the survey, added that "if a phone doesn't do what it says it will do or what the owner hopes it will do, the maker will lose loyalty."
Wesley Hilliard
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
41 Comments
... According to a report by Reuters, only 25 percent of smartphone buyers as a whole planned to stick with the operating system of their current phone, compared to 59 percent of iPhone users. etc..
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Did we really need the woodgrain ;-)
Cheers
Clearly - it is not only telephone loyalty - it is brand loyalty in general.
1) It’s interesting that Android is so low when the OS allows users to choose a different vendor for their device.
2) I’m surprised that Nokia and Microsoft are as high as they are. They are just above the industry standard and not far off from Android. Is Google setting up Android for longterm domination of the mobile OS market, or is their first attempt going to falter the way the open Symbian platform is?
3) I wonder how many iPhone buyers get the new model each year? I know I have, as well as pretty much everyone I know. I’ve also given older models away, which also seems fairly commonplace, which has sparked iPhone users I know buying the newest model each year. In other words, how many repeat buyers is Apple getting and how will that affect the longterm growth of the platform?
Clearly - it is not only telephone loyalty - it is brand loyalty in general.
you're right, it's brand loyalty because (at least for me) when using apple products, things just work great, everything is well done. I can't think about using other phone than an iphone, it's just impossible to consider. And that's the main problem that other brands have, they don't have this loyalty that apple has. I always say that buying an apple product is just more than buying a a piece of hardware, you don't just buy a phone or a computer, it's a lot more, but well, i'm a fanboy :P
1) It’s interesting that Android is so low when the OS allows users to choose a different vendor for their device.
2) I’m surprised that Nokia and Microsoft are as high as they are. They are just above the industry standard and not far off from Android. Is Google setting up Android for longterm domination of the mobile OS market, or is their first attempt going to falter the way the open Symbian platform is?
3) I wonder how many iPhone buyers get the new model each year? I know I have, as well as pretty much everyone I know. I’ve also given older models away, which also seems fairly commonplace, which has sparked iPhone users I know buying the newest model each year. In other words, how many repeat buyers is Apple getting and how will that affect the longterm growth of the platform?
Three each here so far i.e. each model up to 3Gs and we'd have bought two 4s recently but as FiOS users I am hanging back to see if there maybe a Verizon version in early 2011. I don't want to start a new 2 year AT&T contract if we are that close.