It’s not a big surprise that Apple is on top of the J.D. Powers recent Smartphone study. What is a surprise is how close LG and Samsung are to the iphone.
Apple claimed top honors in consumer satisfaction among smartphone manufacturers according to J.D. Power and Associates’ 2009 Wireless Consumer Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study. Measuring key device factors including ease of operation 30 percent, operating system 22 percent, features 21 percent, physical design 18 percent and battery function 9 percent, the J.D. Power survey awards Apple a score of 791 on a 1,000-point scale, noting the computing giant excelled in ease of operation, OS, features and physical design. LG 772 points and Samsung 759 points follow closely behind.
via Apple tops rivals in smartphone customer satisfaction – FierceMobileContent.
The differences in scores are probably within the margin of error for the study itself. The question is, why are we surprised at the lack of difference in how people perceive the experience? My belief is that the answer lies in how each of these OEM’s crafts and targets their experiences. The OEM’s are able to compete successfully in the market due to the differences in user tastes. The iPhone, though a compelling experience, is not equally compelling to everyone. I feel that this is one of the main reasons the uber converged device will continue to be an elusive myth. People are different and companies will continue to be successful by exploiting and supporting those differences.