Apple tops for smartphone satisfaction

Stephen Withers
Friday, 07 November 2008 06:38

IT Industry - Market

The iPhone (especially the 3G model) also delivers most of the most popular features: GPS (desired by 37 percent of users), Wi-Fi (25 percent), touch screen (23 percent) and voice controlled dialling (15 percent).

While the iPhone doesn't natively support voice dialling, the $A2.49 VoiceDial application from Makayama.com adds this feature.

"With the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, Apple has clearly differentiated itself from the competition in areas that are most important to business smartphone users," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services for JD Power and Associates.

"By making basic applications and features easy to use and providing functionality in a thin, lightweight device, Apple has performed well in exceeding customer expectations."

One quarter of smartphone users reported that they had experienced at least one software-related issue with their handsets.

Among that group, 44 percent said they had to reboot their phone at least once a week, and 34 percent reported applications would freeze or otherwise malfunction at least once a week.

Clearly there's no room for complacency on the part of smartphone makers or software developers.

What was JD Power's take on the reliability issue? Please read on.