Marketing survey firm J.D. Power and Associates yesterday announced that the iPhone topped both its latest consumer and business smartphone consumer satisfaction surveys, receiving top marks in all categories on both surveys with the exception of battery life.
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).
Survey scores, which are based on a 1,000-point scale, increased by 14 points on average in the consumer survey and 43 points in the business survey over 2008. The studies cite increased stylishness, customization opportunities, and user-friendliness as reasons for the gains. A companion survey of traditional mobile phones showed a decline of 6 points in the average consumer satisfaction, likely due to greater awareness of the advanced features offered by smartphones.
