For the fourth consecutive year Apple has come top of the J.D. Power customer satisfaction survey within the smartphone category, the iPhone got a score of 800 out of a possible 1,000 points.
LG ranked top in the traditional handset category with a score of 731.
Apple was particularly strong with regards to ease of operation, operating system, features and physical design but was faulted on "battery function", despite the iPhone 4 having superior battery life older models presumably brought down the score.
J.D. Power's survey also found that customers are holding onto handsets longer, possibly driven by the global economic downturn. The average time to have a handset is now 20.5 months, a significant increase from 17.3 months in 1999.
“One possible reason for the significant increase in the length of mobile phone ownership is that more customers are delaying an upgrade purchase due to the general economic downturn, in which the expense of purchasing a new device could outweigh the added benefit of owning it,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. “Typically, when upgrading to a new cell phone, there’s the added expense of either subscribing to a more expensive service plan and/or incurring termination fees when switching service providers. Today, consumers are really watching their wallets, and any added discretionary expenses are being considered more thoughtfully than in the past.”
