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iPhone Overwhelms Blackberry and Others in Smartphone Loyalty:  Crowd Science Survey

June 23, 2009 - Silicon Valley, California. Four out of ten Blackberry and other smartphone users would switch to Apple's iPhone, as their next smartphone purchase, according to a recent survey conducted by Crowd Science via their advanced audience research platform and open research network. On the other hand, only 14% of non-Blackberry smartphone users would switch to a Blackberry for their next purchase. Meanwhile, a vast majority of iPhone users (82%) are loyal to the iPhone brand.

"These results reflect the great challenges Blackberry faces in stemming the iPhone stampede," said John Martin, CEO of Crowd Science. "They are also a great example of the kind of insight that can be gleaned when rigorous sampling and research techniques are applied to online populations," said John Martin. "In the days ahead, we'll lean on our research platform and continue to gauge the mindset of smartphone users and address the changing mobile landscape, including the Palm Pre, the iPhone 3G S and other up-to-the-minute developments."

Other survey results include:

• iPhone users outpace other smartphone owners in their use of a wide variety of phone functions – ranging from Internet and email to music, WiFi and GPS.
• Compared with Blackberry users, iPhone users report a significantly higher overall satisfaction level with their phone. In particular, iPhone users are more satisfied than other smartphone users with their phones' screen size, navigation, availability of add-ons, and video playback.
• A large majority of smartphone owners (71%) use them for both business and personal usages, with only 3% using them for business alone.

This study was conducted across the Crowd Science open research network, a group of websites from a wide range of topic areas serving over 20 million unique visitors profiled by Crowd Science's audience measurement technology. Through random probability sampling, respondents aged 14 years and older were invited to participate. Those accepting the invitation comprised the final sample of study participants. Data collection was conducted from May 19 to June 8, 2009.

For a complete synopsis of the study, including charts, please see
     Smartphone-Survey-Results (PDF)

About Crowd Science:
Crowd Science was formed by experts in online market research and audience measurement with a mission to "raise the bar" in the measurement of online populations. Their goal is to help web properties understand all facets of their audience through rigorous, verifiable interactive research. The company has developed an advanced platform for audience measurement and real-time survey research. The results are compelling: Crowd Science currently has several thousand active sites within their open research network.

4 Comments

Thanks for this. Very interesting data. I guess BlackBerry are very email focused devices. It is amazing how a well rounder GUI can allow everyday users to explore and make use of features paid for.

Interesting that ‘Other Smartphone’ ranked higher than Blackberry and iPhone, but you neglected to dig into why. What about Android? Windows Mobile devices? Is this a survey only of closed platforms?

Oh. Because you were being paid by Apple. That’s why.

Hi Daragh,

This was primary research conducted by Crowd Science on our coin. There was no involvement by Apple or RIM or any other smartphone vendor.

We were particularly interested in the iPhone vs Blackberry dynamic, which is why that was the focus of the research. It wasn’t intended to be exhaustive across mobile devices.

Thanks.

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