iPhone vs. BlackBerry: Consumers Speak Out

iPhone vs. BlackBerry: Consumers Speak Out
In ChangeWave's recent Smart Phone report, the results
showed a rapidly evolving two-horse race between Research
In Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry and the Apple (AAPL) iPhone -
with second tier companies like Palm (PALM) and a host of
others being shoved to the sidelines.

To follow-up, this report takes a closer look at the
features users love and hate most about their BlackBerrys
and iPhones as part of a March 2008 survey of 864 smart
phone owners.

The previous report showed excellent consumer satisfaction
levels for the two top rated smart phone frontrunners -
with Apple sporting a 79% Very Satisfied rating for its
iPhone models and RIM grabbing a highly respectable 54%
rating for the BlackBerry. But what is it about these two
brands that have consumers so very satisfied?

RIM BlackBerry

We first asked RIM BlackBerry owners. By an overwhelming
margin, the feature they liked most is the BlackBerry's
extraordinary access to email (56%).

No other feature comes even close in terms of popularity.
As respondent MBR29407 explains, "The email integration of
the BlackBerry 8800 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 particular 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 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 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 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%).

But the bottom line in this horse race is Apple and
Research In Motion are both giant winners, while the rest
of the smart phone manufacturers lose.

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For the latest ChangeWave news on Smart Phones and other
technology trends, visit: http://blog.changewave.com
The ChangeWave research network is composed of 15,000
highly qualified business and technology professionals.
Members are surveyed on a range of topics, and the findings
are converted into quantitative and qualitative reports.