iPhone (Apple) vs. BlackBerry (RIM): Which Do Consumers Love Most? 27 comments
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ChangeWave's recent Smart Phone Wars report showed a rapidly evolving two-horse race between the Apple (AAPL) iPhone and Research in Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry – with second tier players like Palm (PALM) and a host of others being shoved to the sidelines.
To follow-up, we took a close-up look at the features users love and hate about their iPhones and BlackBerrys as part of our March 2008 survey of 864 smart phone owners.
If you recall, our previous report showed consumer satisfaction levels were sky high for the two smart phone frontrunners – with Apple boasting a 79% Very Satisfied rating for its iPhone models and RIM garnering a highly respectable 54% rating for the BlackBerry.
But what is it about these two brands that have consumers so very satisfied?
First, we asked RIM BlackBerry owners. By an overwhelming margin they told us the feature they liked most is the BlackBerry’s exceptional access to email (56%).
No other feature comes even close in terms of popularity. As respondent MBR29407 explains, "The email integration of the BlackBerry8800 is probably its single best feature, but I am constantly amazed at the quality of the phone itself.” NEW06507 adds "I like the seamless way my BlackBerry works with corporate email, and the way you can call a number from within an email by highlighting it.“
BlackBerry owners also reported a few key dislikes, number one being the speed and quality of its Internet browsing experience (13%). A second major dislike was the size of the keypad (11%), with owners complaining that the keys are too small and cause too many typing errors. “The overlaid keyboard (two letters per key) and TrueType feature make my BlackBerry slow to type messages without errors,” reported respondent PET91787.
The Apple iPhone
By far the most lauded feature of the iPhone among owners is its seamless integration of a Phone, iPod and Internet browser (36%). As respondent DSL06271 puts it, “The feature I use most is the iPod, but it's the integrated whole that makes it so much fun to use. “
Respondent BOB04545 adds, “I love the iPhone. It is revolutionary. I love being able to jump on the Internet, send email, get maps, weather forecasts, instant message, and make phone calls.”
The second most popular feature is the iPhone’s touch screen interface, followed by its ease of use.
In terms of dislikes, there is no doubt about what iPhone owners hate most. It’s the speed of the AT&T EDGE network. No surprise then that the number two criticism is the requirement to Use AT&T.
Users also expressed unhappiness with the iPhone’s lack of copy & paste functionality.
Mirror Mirror On the Wall
So now that we’ve briefly reviewed the evidence, which smart phone is the fairest of them all?
The answer is clear – both Apple and RIM dominate the U.S. smart phone industry and are in the process of overwhelming the competition.
Each has a super-loyal cadre of users that fervently support their phone brand – and each has extraordinary room to grow.
Today there are over a billion cell phones in the world, and our ChangeWave surveys have picked up a seismic shift occurring among U.S. consumers towards the high end smart phone market. In simplest terms, that’s where the momentum lies.
And as consumers gravitate towards quality multidimensional cell phones – i.e., smart phones – our research shows both Apple and Research In Motion are the big winners. In other words, just as the Apple iPhone has captured the hearts and minds of its user base, so has the RIM BlackBerry.
RIM BlackBerry: While the Apple iPhone boasts some of the highest satisfaction rates we've ever seen in a ChangeWave survey, the bottom line for RIM owners continues to be, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Respondent PAN18809 demonstrates RIM’s extraordinary hold over business users when he writes, “My BlackBerry enables one simple truth – work is something I do, not someplace I go.“
RIM’s enormous strength in our ChangeWave business user surveys (73% market penetration) strongly suggests they’ll maintain momentum in their core market going forward.
Apple iPhone: For all its momentum, there are still some core issues iPhone owners want to have resolved – and first among them is 3G capability. According to the survey, that's the number one feature iPhone owners want integrated into the next generation of the iPhone (19%) – even more so than third-party software (18%), GPS functionality (15%) or E-mail integration (10%).
The same holds true among respondents who say they are interested in but haven’t yet purchased an iPhone. One-in-four say they are holding out to wait for the next generation iPhone (14%) or for 3G network compatibility (11%).
That's great news for Apple – assuming that the next generation of the iPhone is 3G compatible. Stay tuned. We'll know in June.
But the bottom line in this horse race is Apple and Research In Motion are both giant winners. The rest of the smart phone manufacturers lose.
Jim Woods co-wrote this article.
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This article summarizes the results of a recent ChangeWave Alliance survey. The Alliance is a research network of 15,000 business, technology and medical professionals who spend their everyday lives working on the front line of technological change. For more info on ChangeWave, or to sign up for real-time alerts email on the hottest technologies and companies, click here.
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This article has 27 comments:
Who can beat iPhone 2.0?
counternotions.com/200.../
Point made. The question is "Why didn't Paul see that, given HIS data, Apple's won and RIM is sucking wind?"
Email access is the predominant feature RIM's users love. Apple will add push email this summer. How about Apple's strong points? Looking at the 1st chart, Rim has a CHANCE of neutralizing ONE of those this year. Apple's OS X based advantages are way too advanced and powerful for RIM to overcome.
I give RIM a year to figure out a business solution and I'm also betting that msft will be in the picture.
seeksomething.com
Comparing just email on both devices would give iPhone a higher email score than the Blackberry.
Nothing to do with personal tastes. It's to do with usefulness.
Apple is smart to ramp up the iPhone slowly. They knew that the user interface alone would be enough for the first year. Then they come out with the 3G, M$ Outbreak monopoly email, etc... and it will be hard for many to resist. Blackberry will be history.
You might have noticed Blackberrys are being advertised on national TV now for the first time. This is because they see iPhone II coming and they are desperate to get as many people on Blackberry before it's too late. They're sales will go off a cliff when the iPhone II goes on sale.
Aren't their other wireless phones out there these two companies could be compared to?
Why is Rim and Apple turned into a rivalry?
Does seeking alpha hold short positions on either of these companies?
Are they putting a slant to their articles?
Let's compare Seeking Alpha to The Street.
The same kinda shoot from the hip credibility (or lack thereof) in their articles, but at the street, Cramer calls a spade a spade without subtle little article writing effects that twist the facts out of context.
Seeking Alpha is the Jerry Springer of investment reporting.
Probably also hard on a number of investors, who also believed money could buy anything. Except competency. And, you can't buy a company which has competency and expect it will survive in a company's culture totally different than that of the acquisition.
Been there.
check out www.investorslive.com/...
If RIMM's only magic is email, why haven't Pocket PC phones and other devices that also have email/internet haven't beaten RIMM? You think the Treo can't do email/browser? what bout the MotoQ or others?
The iPhone will gain "user push" email this summer. This is not the same as "mobile server push" such as the Blackberry Enterprise Server.
RIMM makes their money selling the enterprise server to manage idiot clueless "investors" users. The magic behind that allows you to send meeting requests, corporate mailing address lists, etc.
Try mimmicking Exchange Server capability, Steve Jobs.
And this summer, with the Beijing Olympics, Apple will have a confluence of big time exposure and hype. They're opening their first Chinese store in the Beijing's Sanlitun area, the iPhone will be spreading to three more corners of the world, thanks to Vodafone, America Movil, Rogers Communication, and Telecom Italia. The icing on the cake is the lower price, it's a killer combo.
-zach
www.zachbass.com
Why does this article need to written?
The Blackberry is a BUSINESS device.
The iPhone is a CONSUMER device.
Surveys of OWNERS indicate the iPhone far and away has a higher satisfaction rate than the Blackberry.
Thus the answer to the question is: iPhone - far and away what consumers love most.
What do teenagers - the ultimate consumers - want most? iPhone. What teenager wants a Blackberry? It's not cool. A teenager would rather have a Sidekick than a Blackberry. Texting is far more important than email to the kids. The iPhone can do text very well thank you - as well as be the best iPod with Video.
This summer - with push email, with .Mac offering push email for a lower cost than what the Blackberry provides, with integration with Microsoft exchange, with 3G, with a whole new world of applications with over 200,000 developers chomping on the bits, with easy unlocking, with discount prices from the mobile provider (think $199 iPhones), the iPhone is set to overwhelm and rock the cell phone market. Let's rock! Yeah!
I wouldn't call 54% "sky high".