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Touch Screens Drives Satisfaction with Smartphones and Mobile Phones

By Carolyn J Dawson
TMCnet Contributor

In the customer satisfaction study, according to J.D. Power and Associates, the overall satisfaction among smartphone and traditional handset owners is substantially higher than phone owner's satisfaction that has other input mechanisms.

Among smartphone owners whose device has a touch screen, satisfaction averages 771 on a 1,000-point scale, nearly 40 index points higher than among those whose smartphone uses other input methods, such as a text keyboard. Presently, more than one-half of owners indicate their smartphone has a touch screen for navigation. The touch screen phones satisfaction averages 756 - 53 index points higher than the industry average.

Kirk Parsons (News - Alert), senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates said that the Touch screens are ideal for people who use their phone for entertainment due to the larger display and provide a richer viewing experience. Kirk said that it is critical, however, that manufacturers meet expectations with regard to provide enough battery life, as these large displays run out batteries very quickly. Kirk also said that the wireless carriers must continue to provide problem-free, high-speed downloads, as customers rely on them to deliver content quickly.

These two studies measure customer satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets and smartphones throughout various key factors. The key factors of overall satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets are: operation (30 percent); physical design (30 percent); features (20 percent); and battery function (20 percent). For smartphones, the key factors are: ease of operation (26 percent); operating system (24 percent); physical design (23 percent); features (19 percent); and battery function (8 percent).

Apple (News - Alert) ranks highest in customer satisfaction between smartphones manufacturers with a score of 810, and performs well in ease of operation, operating system, features and physical design. RIM BlackBerry (News - Alert) (741) follows Apple in the rankings.

LG ranks highest in overall wireless customer satisfaction with traditional handsets with a score of 729, and performs well in physical design, features and operation. Sanyo (712) and Samsung (News - Alert) (703) follow LG in the rankings.

J.D. Power and Associates is a marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence and customer satisfaction. The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information services company meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands.