Consumer Preference for iPhone and Android Returns to Neck-and-Neck Race

[MacRumors]

Market research firm ChangeWave has published the results of a new survey of its professional and early-adopter consumer audience, once again revealing nearly equal preference for the iPhone and Android devices among those planning to purchase a handset within the next three months.

The numbers show a return to the neck-and-neck race between the two platforms that saw the iPhone temporarily grab a 20-percentage-point advantage over Android back in June as customers awaited the launch of the iPhone 4.

Discounting the iPhone 4 blip seen in June, both Apple and Android appear to still be growing at the expense of their competitors, with preference for the iPhone moving from 29% to 38% between March and September while Android saw an increase from 30% from 37%. Interest in Research in Motion's BlackBerry operating system has been halved to 6%, while Windows Mobile has fallen from 5% to 1% and Palm has disappeared from the radar over the same timeframe.

The iPhone continues to top ChangeWave's user satisfaction ratings, with 74% of customers saying that they are "very satisfied" with their handset, a figure that has been relatively stable over the device's entire lifespan. That compares to 65% of Android customers registering as very satisfied, down slightly from some earlier editions of the survey but still much closer to the iPhone than to Palm, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile, which all find themselves in the 24-32% range for user satisfaction.

Article Link: Consumer Preference for iPhone and Android Returns to Neck-and-Neck Race

 

[Popeye206]

Looks like Apple and Google are cleaning up in the satisfaction arena! The others should be worried.

 

[mysticalone]

Wow, the difference 2 mobile OS can make, and to think not too long ago, there really wasn't much of a choice.

I think it helps that both Apple and Google listens to it's users feedback while the others seem like the feedback just goes to that suggestion box that gets thrown out once it's full.

 

[russweb72]

Flaw in any comparison data

Until you can get an iphone and the top of of the line android phone on the same carrier, Any comparison data doesn't have true relevance.

 

[tekmoe]

I can honestly say I am very satisfied with my Android phone.

 

[kntgsp]

Interesting that the iOS preference dropped 12% between June and September.

 

[NebulaClash]

both Apple and Android appear to still be growing at the expense of their competitors

That is the key sentence. People love to pretend Android is a threat to Apple. In fact both Android and iOS are growing quickly in parallel, and it's all those other guys who are being threatened by the growth of those two.

 

[kenypowa]

Interesting that the iOS preference dropped 12% between June and September.

That's what antennagate will do for ya.

Nevertheless this report is great news for both Apple and Google.

 

[slackpacker]

Apples loosing ground apps and tech has caught up to the iphone.... its all about software and OS. The Android os is basically there and not having to deal with one carrier is Apples big issue now that the android phones are a valid first choice in the "Smart" Phone market.

Think of it this way the iPhone is getting competition the iPods NEVER EVER HAD! Creative, Arcos and the rest of the MP3 Player market could never come up with anything that was as useful as the iPod. Here we are a mere few short years and products that best the iPhone and the iPod are here.

 

[OllyW]

Until you can get an iphone and the top of of the line android phone on the same carrier, Any comparison data doesn't have true relevance.

Was the survey taken only with US residents?

Top end Android phones and iPhones are available on the same networks in other countries.

 

[Stella]

Until you can get an iphone and the top of of the line android phone on the same carrier, Any comparison data doesn't have true relevance.

You can already get iPhone and Android on the same carrier, for example, many countries in Europe and Canada.

Though, I'm assuming this survey was in the states?

 

[OllyW]

Though, I'm assuming this survey was in the states?

It doesn't say anywhere and I'm not about to pay $1500 for the full report.

 

[KnightWRX]

Until you can get an iphone and the top of of the line android phone on the same carrier, Any comparison data doesn't have true relevance.

Uh ? I can name a few carriers that offer such a combo. AT&T being one in the US, and Telus and Bell in Canada, with Rogers following soon (mid-October launch of the Samsung Galaxy S).

Was the survey taken only with US residents?

Top end Android phones and iPhones are available on the same networks in other countries.

It's also available in the US. The Samsung Captivate, which is a Samsung Galaxy S, is a top end Android phone offered by AT&T.

You can already get iPhone and Android on the same carrier, for example, many countries in Europe and Canada.

Though, I'm assuming this survey was in the states?

Taps the link :

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...ce=Samsung+Captivate+-+Black&q_sku=sku4760319

 

[heisetax]

They should stay #1 & #2 for a while

That is the key sentence. People love to pretend Android is a threat to Apple. In fact both Android and iOS are growing quickly in parallel, and it's all those other guys who are being threatened by the growth of those two.

Finally someone seeing that Apple doesn't have to fail , lose or anything else bad for Android to succeed. The same goes for Android for iOS to succeed

I'm one that believes that Android helps Apple & Apple helps Android. I've had Macs since the beginning in 1984 but have an Android phone because I do not want AT&T service p;us with my age I want a bigger screen.

 

[ShiftyPig]

I thought Blackberry users loved their Blackberries That figure has to be worrisome to RIM.

 

[chris200x9]

android and iOS will merge you heard it here first.

 

[NebulaClash]

Finally someone seeing that Apple doesn't have to fail , lose or anything else bad for Android to succeed. The same goes for Android for iOS to succeed

I'm one that believes that Android helps Apple & Apple helps Android. I've had Macs since the beginning in 1984 but have an Android phone because I do not want AT&T service p;us with my age I want a bigger screen.

Yup, Android is a threat to Microsoft, and to Symbian, not to Apple. As long as Apple sells iOS devices as fast as they can make them, and as long as people are lining up in long queues to buy iOS devices, it's clear there is growth for both Android and Apple.

People love to personalize these business decisions, and pretend it's a zero-sum game. But the device market is vast and growing. It's early innings and there's plenty of room for multiple winners.

 

[OllyW]

Uh ? I can name a few carriers that offer such a combo. AT&T being one in the US, and Telus and Bell in Canada, with Rogers following soon (mid-October launch of the Samsung Galaxy S).



It's also available in the US. The Samsung Captivate, which is a Samsung Galaxy S, is a top end Android phone offered by AT&T.



Taps the link :

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...ce=Samsung+Captivate+-+Black&q_sku=sku4760319

That's good, russweb72 doesn't need to worry.

 

[Jimmy James]

Yesterday I saw a guy using a Palm device with a stylus.

 

[AAPLaday]

Windows mobile heh heh. I had a few windows mob devices that were brilliant machine built by HTC (HTC Touch, SPV c500, c600). Once you got out of HTCs top skin however it all nose dived

 

[BornAgainMac]

I hope both Apple and Google are always fighting for number one and there isn't a blow-out like with Windows and Macs. Windows taking 90% of the market was a complete train wreck. Same if Macs had 90% of the market.

 

[BC2009]

Yesterday I saw a guy using a Palm device with a stylus.

Did you ask him how satisfied he was with his device?

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.1-update1; en-gb; Dell Streak Build/ERE27) AppleWebKit/530.17 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/530.17)

You can't go wrong with either platform really. Both offer different and cool things to consumers.

Its a real good time to be into smartphones with what Apple and Google are providing.

 

[Phil A.]

Speaking personally, I feel that Android is superior to iOS on a phone device and the main reason for that is that the facilities within Android for "at a glance" usage such as a brilliant notification system and widget support on the home screens make the phone better and easier to use. iOS was revolutionary but the core OS has remained pretty much the same and I feel android has overtaken it as a phone operating system.

However, where iOS really shines is on the iPad because you don't tend to pick it up to have a quick glance but rather use it for an extended period of time. In those circumstances, the size is perfect, the creaky notification system doesn't matter and the iPad specific apps contain some real gems.

Having used iOS on phone devices for a long time (on all models up to and including the 3GS), the iPad feels to me like the natural home for iOS and it's almost as if the iPhone was an intermediate step to getting the the iPad

All this is why I've got an Android phone and an iPad and love them both (and feel each one is the right device for it's intended use) and definitely feel there is a strong market for both Android and iOS to live and grow: The success of one doesn't have to mean the death of the other...

 

[BC2009]

Uh ? I can name a few carriers that offer such a combo. AT&T being one in the US, and Telus and Bell in Canada, with Rogers following soon (mid-October launch of the Samsung Galaxy S).



It's also available in the US. The Samsung Captivate, which is a Samsung Galaxy S, is a top end Android phone offered by AT&T.



Taps the link :

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...ce=Samsung+Captivate+-+Black&q_sku=sku4760319

I've heard that the vast majority of Android users are in the U.S. and the vast majority of those are not on AT&T. The non-AT&T customer base is going to be heavily swayed towards Android because Google is the only true "smartphone" OS provider on their preferred network (I don't count WinMo or RIM BBOS in their current incarnations). Until Apple gets untangled from its AT&T exclusivity it will be hard for Apple to garner preference from that customer base.

A multi-carrier US iPhone release will yield a better test of customer preference, although I think Apple may already be a bit late to the party. According to this survey, 68% of Android users are satisfied with their device. That means customer loyalty. Apple would have to overcome that loyalty to garner preference from the customer base they have excluded for so many years. It would take time and a significant advancement over Android to motivate customers to leave an ecosystem in which they already have an investment.