The annual Millward Brown BrandZ survey was released recently, with Apple holding fast to its number one spot. Apple's brand worth for 2012 actually grew 19% since last year to $183 billion, followed by IBM with $116 billion brand worth, and Google which dropped a down a rank. It's worth noting that telecom and tech brands claimed about 44% of the top 100 chart's value, compared to a third in 2006. Among the carriers, AT&T still claimed a higher brand value than Verizon, but Verizon has a lot more forward momentum. The Brandz survey spanned over 380 categories, and was generated after over 65,000 different brand measurements in 41 countries.

It's not a huge surprise to see Apple's brand value so high, and one would expect the trend to continue well into next year. In fact, the effectiveness of Apple's branding has gotten to the point where competitors can't help but attack the cult-ish mindset in courts. Apple has created an iconic brand with no small help from their marketing efforts, retail locations, and not to mention world-class products. In fact, at this point it's hard to imagine many other companies being able to command the same clout among the masses as Apple has. Seriously, what could other manufacturers even do to  recreate the same kind of mystique as Apple without just looking like a copycat?

Brand value has real tangible returns, and isn't just an indicator of how good Apple is at marketing itself; UBS Research showed not long ago that iPhone users are overwhelmingly the most likely to stick with Apple for their next device out of every smartphone manufacturer. That's part and parcel of having a strong brand.

You can download the full BrandZ 2012 report here, which is actually really, really detailed. Included are a bunch of interesting editorials on marketing across a variety of industries and regional trends.

Source: Reuters

Mobile game developer and publisher MocoSpace recently polled 10,000 players to find out "Y U Play?", and the most striking data showed that a whooping 31% if respondents were playing games in the middle of class.  Just about as many respondents were playing mobile games because they were bored as those who played because they actually enjoy the games. Those two categories combined made up two thirds of the top reasons. 10% were looking for competition, 9% were trying to meet new people, 6% were just trying something new 3% were looking for somewhere to flirt(!), 3% played because they were always on the go, 2% played to connect with friends, and 1% to connect with family.

I could only imagine that it's an uphill battle for educators to keep the attention of younger generations that were pretty much born with these gadgets in their hands. Higher learning institutes are certainly doing their best to engage through mobile tech, but games are always going to be a temptation, especially with so many great free ones available. I know I would have had a hard time staying focused in class if smartphones were a big thing when I was in school.

It was also a little disconcerting to see that many people weren't actually that engaged with the games and were just looking to kill time. It's not surprising considering the rise of casual games, but it does mean that developers face an uphill battle against fickle end-users. It's more funny than anything that flirtation is a significant enough reason to play games to even show up on the chart, nevermind that it's a bigger pull than being a way to connect with friends.

I play smartphone games because they're fun, plain and simple. Meeting new people and competing aren't particularly high on my list, but what about you guys? What impulse drives you to bust out Angry Birds?

Source: CultofMac

Just in case we needed any more convincing that people love their iPhones, the American Customer Satisfaction Index has found through recent surveys that Apple's smartphones are leaving customers the happiest. The iPhone scored 83 on their system, compared to to Nokia, LG and HTC who are all tied at 75, Motorola at 73, Samsung at 71, and RIM at a sad 69. The ACSI also looked at U.S. service providers. Topping the list were regional carriers like U.S. Cellular with 76, then Sprint with 71, followed by Verizon with 70, and AT&T and T-Mobile tied at 69.

Lots of other studies have consistently backed up customer satisfaction for the iPhone, but it's always interesting to see just how much of a lead Apple has on the competition. The fact that the competition is nearly ten points suggests it will take a whole lot of work to bring Android and the other platforms up to snuff with iOS.

Do these rankings stack up with the sentiment you see among friends? Is Sprint really ahead of the other three major U.S. carriers?

Source: ACSI via Wired

Help Mobile Nations help you! Yes, the network behind iMore -- and all your favorite smartphone and tablet communities -- wants to get a little more insight into your phone buying habits. When the iPhone 5 hits this fall, will you be pre-ordering online or lining up at an Apple Store? Will you be getting it on-contract, or buying officially unlocked? (And if you're planning on buying something other than an iPhone, we'd love to know how you're planning on buying that too!

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Most players on iPhone and iPad tend to spend more money than those playing on an Android device -- five times more, to be exact. This according to a Newzoo study that examined the growth of mobile gaming in Europe and North America. It showed that there are now 101 million American mobile gamers, 69% of which are playing on smartphones and 21% play on tablets. Of them, iPhone claimed 19 million gamers, which is 28% of everyone that plays games on a smartphone. Surprisingly, the iPod touch managed to snag nearly as many with 18 million players. As you might expect, the iPad rocks the tablet gaming world with 12.7 million gamers (a 60% slice of the whole tablet pie). In the U.S., the vast majority (91%) of revenue was made through various in-app streams, not counting advertising, though that figure is a bit lower for Germany and France, which ranged between 73% and 87%.  This data was gleaned from a survey of 17,000 people plus data from Distimo, who do regular reports on app downloads.

This data isn't a huge surprise considering how much Apple has polished the purchasing process on iOS and through iTunes. Game piracy is a very real concern for many Android developers, and likely contributes to iOS being as profitable as it is. What's more surprising to me is that in-app purchases constitute such a big chunk of revenue; I'm rarely interested in spending any cash on in-app purchases, and would much rather pay cash up-front for a full game without being harassed by ads or prompts to buy virtual currency. The good freemium games out there will tend to have their IAPs mostly in the background, and will naturally lead people to them through engaging gameplay rather than obnoxious pop-ups.

How much do you guys tend to spend on iPad and iPhone gaming? Are in-app purchases appealing to you? Developers, how much more profitable do you find your iOS titles compared to Android?

Source: Forbes

A recent survey by UK-based online casino, RoxyPalace, found that 11% of single men would prefer to have a new iPad rather than a new lover. In fact, 3% would even be willing to leave their current partner for the latest iOS tablet. Meanwhile, 84% of women said they would stick to their companion, and "only a small percentage" would be willing to trade them for a new iPad.  4% of respondents would make the trade for something other than an Apple tablet - sorry Android, iOS beats you on the seduction front. The survey also examined iPad usage when it comes to romance. 44% had used an app to solve relationship problems, 15% consulted the internet for advice, and 71% would prefer to call someone over FaceTime before going on a first date.

While I wouldn't exactly call a casino a steadfast source of empirical research, the results are still pretty interesting. It's a classic "what would you do for a Klondike bar?" situation, except this Klondike bar costs over $500, and satisfies a lot more than your sweet tooth. Then again, so does a loving (human) partner. While not many of us would be willing to admit to being that one in ten that would pick an iPad over a girlfriend, do you personally know someone who would make the trade?

Source: Macworld

Apple now has 13.5% of the U.S. mobile market (i.e. not just smartphones), according to recent survey data. Combined with Motorola's drop to 12.8% market share, that puts iPhone in third place behind LG (with 19.4%) and Samsung (25.6%). comScore's data was gathered from 30,000 American mobile customers in the three months leading up to February, and also examined smartphone operating system market share. Of course Android is ruling the roost with 50.1%, which climbed 3.2% since November, while iOS sits at 30.2%, which only grew 1.5% in the same time frame. Meanwhile, BlackBerry and Windows Phone saw drops of 3.2% and 1.3%, respectively.

Beating out Motorola, which has been fairly well-entrenched since the dumbphone days, is a big symbolic win for Apple. Motorola is basically the figurehead for Android OEMs since Google plans to acquire them. Although the mass of smartphone manufacturers can gang up on Apple to push down iOS market share, few (if any) have a shot at duking it out one-on-one with the iPhone. It's also a testament to the iPhone's popularity that, despite having only one form factor, and despite being beat on price (i.e. total cost of ownership) by feature phones, Apple's still able to climb the ranks. The only other manufacturer in the position of exclusively making smartphones in these rankings is HTC, and they aren't making a lot of progress.

Anyone taking bets on how long it'll take for Apple to take the number 2 spot from LG?

Source: comScore

A recent survey of 5,600 U.S. high school students found an impressive 34% used the iPhone. Another 34% owned a tablet, and of them 70% were using an iPad. 86% intend on buying a smartphone, with 51% opting for iOS, versus 22% of those who are interested in Android. 40% of those surveyed were planning on buying a new iPhone within the next six months. Expected iPad purchases are even higher; 19% of teenagers are going to get a tablet in the next six months, and of them, 80% will be buying an iPad. The survey was conducted by analyst firm Piper Jaffray.

Obviously, the kids still love Apple products, and odds are good that if they're being hooked young, they'll stick with iOS as the grow up. Apparently a big driver among this segment was the price drop of the iPhone 3GS  when the 4S was released. Even though the vast majority of shoppers are siding with the iPhone 4S, production of the 3GS was still strong through late 2011.

Any high school kids reading able to vouch for the popularity of the iPhone among the young whippersnappers? Parents, which phones do your kids drift towards?

Source: BusinessWire

Steve Jobs put an end to the Newton project, in part because he hated the concept of using a stylus. The original Palm Pilot was a runaway hit -- in part because of the use of the stylus and its handwriting recognition. Now, Palm is dead and Apple is ginormous and Samsung is trying to bring the stylus back with the Galaxy Note line... So, who was right?

Just as the iPad is reaching the stratosphere in usage, the stylus is making a comeback.

We ran a quick poll and the initial results were intriguing enough we wanted to get a better sense of just what was going on across all platforms and all of our mobile communities. So here's a short survey. Does the stylus inhibit or amplify your touch screen experience? Let us know!

Take the Survey!

Nielsen has wrapped up their latest market research data, and in the three months leading up to February, 43% of U.S. smartphone buyers got an iPhone. By comparison, 48% bought an Android phone, and 5% picked up a BlackBerry. Nielsen has also concluded that smartphone penetration in the U.S. has reached 49.7%, nearly overtaking feature phones. At the same time last year, smartphone penetration was still at 36%. Woo, progress.

I would be curious to see these kinds of figures for other major international markets. I can only imagine that feature phones are still huge in India, and most Japanese "feature" phones have specs comparable to our smartphones. At least for Android handsets, cost is becoming less of a barrier in emerging markets, but I have a hard time imagining Apple offering an affordable entry-level iPhone to displace feature phone usage.

Quick show of hands - how many of you still have friends with feature phones? Have you tried convincing them to upgrade? Why are they holding out? And then, just for fun, jump into our forums and let us know what phone you had before making the switch to iPhone.

Source: Nielsen

A recent survey of 482 iPhone 4S owners found that 87% used Siri monthly, while a third used it daily to make calls, send SMS messages, and make web searches. 26% dictate e-mails to their iPhone 4S daily, but another 30% have never used Siri to send an e-mail. The most popular uses overall, according to Parks Associates, was making phone calls and sending SMS messages, but a whole 32% said they had never used Siri to schedule meetings, and 35% had never used it to schedule a meeting; even those who did did so with the lowest daily frequency out of any group. Satisfaction rate with Siri sat at 55%, while 9% were dissatisfied, and everyone else was somewhere in between. While the study indicates that most users aren't bothering with Siri's other notable features, like geofenced reminders, audio e-mail playback, and setting alarms, 37% said they would like to see some voice-activated TV remote control action (though that was counter-acted by another 20% against it).

Siri is still technically in beta so Apple can collect enough voice data to improve the service, so it's reasonable to expect the satisfaction rate to climb over time. Although that also means we might see additional features coming down the pipe, will anyone actually use them?

Let's face it, Siri is definitely cool, but for a lot of people, talking to your phone as if it were a real person, even if Apple has gone out of their way to give it a Pixar personality, is still a fairly foreign idea, and it's hard not to feel a bit of a crazy when using Siri in public.

If you're new to Apple's virtual personal assistant, here are a bunch of Siri tips to help get you started. If you've been using Siri for a while, how often do you use it? Are there any feature additions in particular that you'd like to see?

Source: WSJ

Strategy Analytics has just wrapped up a survey of smartphone owners in the U.S. and U.K. which concluded that 90% wanted a phone with a bigger display. The iPhone's current 3.5-inch screen seems downright diminutive compared to the 4-inch monsters that we've seen in the Android world for the last year or so, nevermind the crazy 5-inch devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Should surveys like this be a hint to Apple that their next phone should by a little bit bigger, at least, say, 3.7 inches? Or are you guys happy with the current size of the iPhone display?

Source: AllThingsD, pic (from novelty iPad app)

ChangeWave recently surveyed 1,604 IT personnel with buying power in their company, and of those planning on getting tablets in the next quarter, 84% are siding with the iPad. To properly set the context, however, only 22% of the surveyed companies said that they were in the market to buy tablets for their employees. We already knew that businesses were big on iOS tablets, but that figure is actually up from 77% in November - clearly the new iPad is spiking interest in businesses as well as consumers. Even BlackBerry, the traditional leader in enterprise, only demanded 3% of corporate tablet demand. Samsung's took second place, albeit far behind apple with 8% demand.

Is anyone really surprised by results like this? Although it continues to highlight Apple's vice grip on the tablet market, there's still plenty of room for the tablet market itself to grow. An IT folks out there on the verge of rolling out iPads to the workforce? Have any of y'all already pulled the trigger?

Source: ChangeWave

We love our communities! Each of our individual sites -- Android Central, CrackBerry.com, iMore, WPCentral and webOSNation -- has its own incredibly passionate and knowledgeable community of forum users. Each has its own strong identity and we never want to compromise that. Which is why we went with Mobile Nations as our community network brand. It allows us to continue to respect the culture of our individual communities while continuing to push all of the sites forward and making it more welcoming for users who switch between platforms to find their way into another Mobile Nations site. All combined, we truly are the United Nations of Mobile!

Help Us Improve Our Forums: We want to continue to make our communities even stronger. We've put together ten quick questions that will help guide us on that mission. Whether you visit the forums often or just casually lurk, we want want to hear from you. The survey will only take a minute or two, tops. Thanks for participating!

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The tablet wars are heating up! Apple is getting set to announce the iPad 3 next month. BlackBerry is going to release a major PlayBook OS update any day. The Kindle Fire is hot as is the Transformer Prime in a sea of Android tablets. And Windows 8 tablets are getting ready to enter the battle.

With so much going on we wanted to take a moment and find out where you weigh in on the tablet wars. We have five quick questions (and one bonus) that will take you less than a minute. Hit the link below.

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Best Buy is currently running an online survey asking for its customers views on a potential Apple HDTV. The survey suggests that the Apple iTV television could be available as a 42” 1080p LED Flat Panel set that will run iOS applications, stream movies and deliver other entertainment programs from the internet. The cost could be as much as $1499.00.

Apple finally reinvents what a TV can do," saying that it'll run iOS, support iCloud, be controllable from an iPhone or iPad, and have access to Netflix, YouTube, and Flickr — in other words, it's an Apple TV wrapped in an actual television set, exactly as you'd expect.

Source: The Verge

Many big-name companies are switching to the iPhone, and though BlackBerry is the biggest competition in the enterprise arena, iOS is doing a great job of cutting Android out of the picture. According to the latest data from Good Technology,  the iPhone 4S was just as popular new device among businesses as it was among consumers in the last quarter, commanding 31% of enterprise activations. The iPhone 4 has had a bit of a head start, but even then, only accounted for 17.6%, followed by the iPad 2 with 14.9% share. The top Android phone was the Samsung Galaxy S II, which only accounted for 1.7% of Good's business customers. The data spanned October 1 through to December 31, and included thousands of companies that had at least 5 activated devices.

The Good data also broke down smartphone activity by sector, which showed that 35% of all mobile activations in the last quarter were in financial services, followed by business and professional services at 16.2%. The iPhone 4S specifically managed to be fairly popular in the business and professional services market, snagging 25.7% of all corporate iPhone 4S activations. Unfortunately, Good didn't have any metrics on BlackBerry activations, but seeing as they're essentially the alternative to RIM's enterprise server software, I would wager their BlackBerry activation data would be lower than average anyway.

While Android smartphones were still pulling in more interest than iPads, it was a pretty close race, and combined with the massive popularity of iPhone activations, iOS is firmly planting itself in businesses. I'd love to see some more large-scale studies comparing iOS penetration in enterprise compared to BlackBerry, especially internationally, since RIM claims much of their popularity abroad. Data from November (PDF) suggests iPhone is leading BlackBerry in businesses, but there haven't been a lot of other studies backing up that research.

How many iPhones are you guys seeing around the office? Is it a common sight, or does BlackBerry still reign supreme? Maybe Android has started to make some inroads...?

Source: Good

As you might expect, anyone in the market for an iPhone is leaning towards the latest and greatest. A recent survey conducted by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners shows that 89% of U.S. consumers who bought an iPhone between October 14 (the day the iPhone 4S launched) and December went with the 4S, while 7% picked up an iPhone 4, and 4% bought a 3GS. Of the iPhone 4S buyers, 21% bought the 64 GB model, 34% went with 32 GB, and 45% bought the 16 GB version. The CIRP co-founder, Mike Levin, provided some additional context to the study.

"An amazing 19 percent of all iPhone buyers upgraded from the iPhone 4, a phone barely a year old at the time of the launch. Forty-two percent of iPhone buyers broke existing carrier contracts to get the new iPhone 4S. And 19 percent of these iPhone 4S buyers sold their old iPhone in the secondary market. Early upgrades, broken contracts, and selling used phones — all allow buyers to purchase the new iPhone 4S, when conventional wisdom suggests that these users would follow the two-year contract cycle, or at least purchase the cheaper models."

Quick show of hands - how many of you upgraded from the iPhone 4 to the 4S? Know any friends who did? Any regrets? Other surveys show iPhone 4S satisfaction is through the roof, so I doubt it.

Source: AllThingsD

ChangeWave has a new survey out indicating that 54 percent of near-term smartphone buyers are planning on picking up the iPhone 4S over competing devices.

The late December survey looked at smart phone demand trends going forward, and finds Apple iPhone demand remains incredibly strong more than two months after the iPhone 4S release. Among respondents planning to buy a new smart phone in the next 90 days, better than one-in-two (54%; down 11-pts) say they'll get an iPhone. Apple has never dominated smart phone planned buying to this extent more than two months after a major new release.

The survey, conducted in late December, studied 4,000 North American consumers with the results suggesting huge demand for the iPhone 4S even with it being more than two months old. Based on ChangeWave's history, this also advocates the iPhone 4S as being Apple's most popular release, as they've never covered the spread of planned smartphone purchasers this far after a major iPhone release.

In addition, Apple continues to lead smartphone satisfaction rates with 76 percent being very satisfied with their iPhone, compared to the nearest competition coming in at around 47 percent with Samsung.

Source: ChangeWave

ChangeWave has come out with a new survey polling customer satisfaction among new iPhone 4S owners, showing an overwhelming 96% satisfaction rating and propelling the iPhone 4S into "nosebleed territory".

Overall satisfaction with the iPhone 4S showed 77% of users being Very Satisfied and 19% being Somewhat Satisfied, compared to 72% and 21% respectively for the iPhone 4 that launched in 2010.

When asked about which features were enjoyed most in the iPhone 4S, users pointed to Siri as the big seller, and 'general ease of use' coming in second at 39%. The beefed up 8MP camera was also a big seller (33%), but interestingly enough, Apple's new iCloud service came up at just 19%.

In terms of dissatisfaction, users pegged battery life being too short as a big drawback in the 4S, although Apple has been hard at work investigating the issue. Additionally, the lack of 4G support was a downer for some users (30%), but that shouldn't be an issue next year. When looking at dropped calls, the iPhone 4S compared well against its predecessor with only 2.5% of calls dropped compared to 5.2% in July under the iPhone 4.

Overall, it seems that most iPhone 4S users are pretty happy with their purchase despite some battery life hiccups, but it's clear the positives far outweigh the negatives here. How satisfied are you with your new iPhone 4S?

Source: ChangeWave

Are the iPhone and iPad letting employees sneak a peek at porn while on the job? Recently, Harris interactive was commissioned by video surveillance company Qumu to survey 2,500 employees and ask them, "what do you search on your mobile device at work that you cannot do, or are afraid to do, from your work computer?" These are some of their top responses:

1. Look for another primary job
2. Watch pornography
3. Visit an online dating website
4. Research an STD

Harris also asked how employees sneaked a peek at their mobile devices while at work, and the most popular answers were:

1. Hiding their mobile device under the table
2. Excusing themselves to go to the restroom
3. Hiding their mobile device in their folders/notebooks/papers
4. Pretending to tie their shoes
5. Creating a distraction

While the results seem amusing, this is part of a growing trend affecting the workplace. A majority of Americans believe they should bring their own mobile devices to work to watch videos. This fits in the larger trend of a majority of Americans using more than one computing devices weekly, with 15% using 4 or more devices a week!

Obviously, Qumu's intent is to generate interest in their video solution, but it's not hard to imagine that democratized, popularized, ubiquitous internet connectivity will provide as many challenges for business as it does opportunities for individuals. Be that quickly scanning email at home, or the nudie-pic-of-the-day at work.

[Qumu]

AT&T seems to be conducting an online survey, asking customers if they'd like an iPhone with a hardware keyboard.

Which one smartphone, if any, would you most likely consider buying if they were all using the iOS (Apple) operating system.

Along with the traditional full touchscreen slab (think all iPhone models to date, four other options are presented:

1. Front-facing QWERTY (think BlackBerry Bold)
2. Vertical slider (think HP Pre)
3. Horizontal slider (think Droid)
4. Extended front-facing QWERTY (think Droid Pro)

Apple hasn't ever offered any type of hardware keyboard on any iOS device, and I doubt that's going to change any time soon. iPhone 5 almost certainly won't have a hardware keyboard, and even if Apple decides to pull the trigger on a lower-priced iPhone for emerging markets, it's hard to imagine them putting a hardware keyboard on that either. So why exactly AT&T is testing these waters is unknown. (Unless Samsung is doing some stealth product research...)

[Thanks to Phil from Android Central passing this on.]

A recent ChangeWave report surveyed 4,068 wireless subscribers and revealed that AT&T iPhone users see more than double the amount of dropped calls compared to their Verizon iPhone peers. AT&T iPhone users reported that 4.8% of calls were unexpectedly dropped on the network, a far cry from Verizon at just 1.8% of calls. This lines up with a survey of overall cell phone customers that found 4.6% of AT&T subscribers and 1.4% of Verizon customers have reported dropped calls.

In addition, 46% of prospective iPhone 4 buyers say they will be going with Verizon, with 27% favoring AT&T and the remaining 27% still undecided. If you look back at the last survey from ChangeWave, it looks like the deciding factor for consumers on which carrier to choose is network quality and dropped calls. Based on these new results, it looks like AT&T (and their new T-Mobile spectrum, if the deal goes through) has a lot of work to do in terms of improving their network and lowering dropped calls if they want to stay competitive now that Verizon has the iPhone 4.

It's not all bad news, however. Consumer satisfaction was about even, with Verizon showing 82% of iPhone users being very satisfied with their device compared to AT&T iPhone users at 80%. The iPhone has historically held much higher consumer satisfaction ratings than smartphone competitors like RIM and Motorola, so this didn't come as much of a surprise to us.

Are you planning on buying an iPhone 4 soon? Which carrier will you be going with, and why? Sound off in the comments below!

[ChangeWave]

Despite growing competition as new tablets begin to enter the market, Apple's iPad is still king when it comes to consumer demand and customer satisfaction according to a recent ChangeWave survey.

The new research, which surveyed a total of 3,091 consumers just prior to Apple announcing the iPad 2, confirms the new tablet market has drawn high demand from consumers around the world, with a large majority interested in the iPad specifically. According to the survey, 82% of consumers planning on buying a tablet in the near future will be opting for an iPad, compared to the closest competition, the Motorola Xoom, coming in at only 4%.

On the customer satisfaction front the iPad garnered outstanding numbers among current owners, with 70% being 'very satisfied' with their purchase and 25% being 'somewhat satisfied'. Apple has always done well on the customer satisfaction so we're not surprised with these results. In addition to high customer satisfaction ratings, it looks like the iPad has continued to steal market share from eBook readers like the Amazon Kindle and further suggests the iPad has had a growing impact on netbook and notebook sales.

What does this all mean for Apple? Lack of competition for the original iPad meant their was nothing to stop them from establishing a dominant position in the tablet market. While the survey was conducted just as real competition began to show up, it was also before Apple even announced the iPad 2. So we have a strong suspicion Apple won't have any trouble keeping a strong position throughout 2011.

With the iPad 2 launching tomorrow in the US and other countries shortly after, do you think Apple has anything to worry about going forward? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

[InvestorPlace]

A new survey from ChangeWave takes a look at how many AT&T subscribers are looking to switch to the Verizon iPhone. The news isn't pretty: it reveals the highest churn rate AT&T has seen since ChangeWave began surveying mobile subscribers. A total of 4,050 subscribers were surveyed, with 15% of AT&T and T-Mobile users saying they were likely to switch carriers in the next 90 days, compared to only 4% from Verizon.

Diving even deeper with AT&T specifically, things don't look much better. The survey was conducted before the Verizon iPhone was officially announced, but still shows 16% of AT&T subscribers were looking to jump ship to Verizon once they have the iPhone. Another 23% said they weren't sure, but could possibly make the switch. But when they looked at AT&T iPhone users only, they found as high as one-in-four (26%) were likely to leave AT&T for Verizon.

This somewhat falls in line with our own poll showing 41% of readers would be sticking with AT&T, while 15% were willing to switch for the Verizon iPhone. Although 15% is a pretty big chunk, it doesn't feel like we'll be seeing a mass migration from AT&T to Verizon, although the impact will definitely be felt by AT&T in the coming months.

The culprit? It looks like AT&T users aren't satisfied with reception under the network (42%) along with issues with dropped calls (27%), and although AT&T has been making upgrades to their infrastructure (dropped call rates dropped from 6% to 4.7% since the last survey) to help with the problem, it may be too little too late for AT&T with some of their iPhone customers.

So how much do you think the Verizon iPhone could disrupt the carrier market? And more specifically, will you be making the switch yourself? Let us know in the comments!

In a recent survey by Consumer Reports, US iPhone exclusive carrier AT&T ranked the worst in a whopping 8 out of 9 categories. The survey took into account the top four carriers - Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. it also looked at a few of the bigger regional carriers as well. Verizon came in at number one out of the four nationwide carriers. It only fell 2nd next to US Cellular.

The survey also ranked smartphones satisfaction. As far as AT&T smartphones went, the iPhone 4 tied the Samsung Captivate as far as customer satisfaction went. I personally wrote a comparison of the iPhone 4 and the Captivate. I thought the Captivate left a lot to be desired as far as UI and ease of use went, but it was certainly one of AT&T's more capable smartphones.

When it comes to overall satisfaction, AT&T had this to say -

We take this seriously and we continually look for new ways to improve the customer experience. The fact is wireless customers have choices and a record number of them chose AT&T in the third quarter, significantly more than our competitors. Hard data from independent drive tests confirms AT&T has the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network with our nearest competitor 20 percent slower on average nationwide and our largest competitor 60 percent slower on average nationwide. And, our dropped call rate is within 1/10 of a percent – the equivalent of just one call in a thousand – of the industry leader.

If AT&T really has the coverage they claim to have, why are customers still so dissatisfied?

[BoyGeniusReport]

Apple's iPad is gaining fast on Amazon's Kindle in the battle for eBook reader dominance according to a new survey conducted by ChangeWave Research.

The Amazon Kindle (47%; down 15-pts) is hanging on to a rapidly diminishing lead over the Apple iPad (32%; up 16-pts) among current e-Reader owners.

iPad owners are also consuming different types of content (newspapers, magazines etc) that Kindle owners aren't engaging in, and recently market share for the iPad has doubled while the Kindle has seen a quickening decline. In addition, the survey shows 75% of iPad owners are Very Satisfied with their device, while only 54% of Kindle owners could say the same.

We know the iPad does a lot more than a Kindle but this survey was specific to e-Readers, which makes it particularly impressive given the Kindle's head start and the iPad's much higher price tag. It will be interesting to see how market shares shift between the two devices going forward, especially over this holiday season.

What about you, would you prefer an iPad over a Kindle when it comes to reading eBooks, newspapers or magazines? Let us know in the comments!

[InvestorPlace]

According to Gfk's recent survey, iPhone users remain the most satisfied and claim they'll stick with their iPhones instead of jumping ship to another smartphone platform. Out of all the users surveyed, only 25% of them plan to stay loyal to their current smartphone platform while 56% of those surveyed plan to keep their options open when buying their next smartphone. Out of those users who say they're staying loyal to their current smartphone platform, Apple users made up 59% of that number. Microsoft phones showed the lowest user loyalty base at only 21%. RIM, Nokia, and Android fell between the 24-35% ranges.

Lead analyst, Ryan Garner had this to say about smartphone loyalty -

"Loyalty with a handset is a lot more complicated these days in that people buy into experiences at the high-end level,"..."If a phone doesn't do what it says it will do or what the owner hopes it will do, the maker will lose loyalty."

Most smartphone users rely on owning a smartphone that's not only user friendly but reliable and stable. Those are the types of things Apple has managed to nail. Not to mention Apple having the most extensive choice of applications available via their App Store. These things all combined could be what keep Apple users loyal. I know a huge factor for me is the amount of money I've already invested in the platform through purchasing applications. If I switched platforms, those applications would be rendered useless to me. So to all the members of the TiPb community, what is it that keeps you loyal to the iOS platform?

[via Reuters]

Apple's iPhone 4 topped the charts in customer satisfaction again with 8 out of 10 users being very satisfied with their smartphone device. From ChangeWave:

As we’ve consistently seen in our consumer smart phone demand surveys, the Apple iPhone continues to outperform the industry in terms of customer satisfaction.

If you compare Apple's customer satisfaction ratings to specific competing smartphones such as RIM's Blackberry Torch (64%) or the Motorola Droid X (71%), you can clearly see that the iPhone 4 is winning the race by continuing Apple's goal in delivering only the highest quality devices to its users. In addition to RIM and Motorola, Samsung's new Galaxy S Android smartphone failed to reach Apple's level and only saw 55% of its users to be satisfied with the device.

Something else we found interesting was that a full 1/3 of smartphone owners would have chosen the iPhone if it were available on their carrier. With the Verizon iPhone just around the corner, could this spell trouble for other high-end smartphone makers trying to compete with the iPhone?

[InvestorPlace]

iPad owners seem to be loving their devices, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Overall consumer satisfaction with personal computers has grown 4% since last year putting people's overall satisfaction level at 78 out of 100 points. When you break that down, iPads are leading the pack. Satisfaction with the iPad has grown 2% since the last survey. This puts iPad customer satisfaction at 86 points. This is higher than any other manufacturer and 9 points ahead of any other competitor. Dell, HP, and Acer all scored 77s.

CNBC looked into why this number may be so high for Apple and the iPad and they've said this:

“The iPad, even at this early stage, pulled up Apple’s overall numbers – which makes it the highest-scoring product Apple has, and therefore the highest-scoring product ACSI has ever tracked.”

Do you agree with CNBC's reasoning or do you think there's more to it? One thing is obvious, people love their iPads!

[CNBC via TechCrunch]

Credit Suisse has run a survey asking, if AT&T lost iPhone exclusivity, would users switch to another carrier like Verizon. 23% said they would go to Verizon while 3% would go to Sprint and 2% to T-Mobile.

When TiPb ran a Verizon-only switching poll, 34% of our readers said they'd make the switch in a heartbeat, while 20% said they were AT&T for life, and the said it would depend on the plans and rates.

We'll only know for certain when and if iPhone goes non-exclusive in the US, but that's got to happen at some point, right? The only question is whether or not it happens before a white iPhone 4 ships, or the Beatles hit iTunes...

[Business Insider]

Research firm Crowd Science says that almost 40% of Blackberry owners they polled are willing to ditch their device for an iPhone when next they need new hardware, and 32% said they would jump ship to a Nexus One. That leaves a dismal 28% willing to rough it with their Blackberry.

"These results show that the restlessness of Blackberry users with their current brand hasn't just been driven by the allure of iPhone," said John Martin, CEO of Crowd Science. "Rather, Blackberry as a brand just isn't garnering the loyalty seen with other mobile operating systems."

There are two main reasons that Blackberry users are wanting to jump ship. For years Blackberry has always been known as a business tool and not a device someone would purchase for regular day to day use. RIM has made two attempts to embrace the growing full-screen form factor, the original Storm and Storm 2, but neither have managed to catch on.

Then there is the lack of apps available for Blackberry devices. 7 days prior to the survey, 67% of Blackberry users did not download a single free app and 91% did not purchase any apps. Now when compared to Apple hitting the one billion download mark last April or even the successful Android market, things don't look that good for RIM in app terms.

Before this survey was completed I personally witnessed this trend take place while spending a lot of my time within our forums as well as the Android Central forums. I was astounded to see so many people abandoning their Blackberry for a Motorola Droid or iPhone 3GS.

When it comes to iPhone and Android users, 90% plan on being loyal with their current platform for their next phone upgrade.

How about you, did you come to the iPhone from a BlackBerry?

Thinking back to the hype surrounding the launch of the first iPhone, with podcasters stomping their Treo's on the floor of Moscone West and customers waiting in line outside the New York Apple Store for weeks, it's hard to imagine that interest in the iPad could be even bigger, but that's what ChangeWave's survey just may be telling us.

Gizmodo notices something interesting as well:

The lowest end and the highest end [iPad] win, with 19% each. With the 64GB Wi-Fi getting only 8% and the 16GB Wi-Fi and 3G version getting 9% of the interest. 68% of the people interested in it want to surf the internet, 44% for email, 37% for eBooks, 28% for the reading magazines and other periodicals, and only 24% for watching video.

Is 2007, a lot of people wanted something new from a smartphone and the iPhone was the first thing in a long time to really offer that "something new". Now in 2010, there are 75 million iPhone-platform devices on the market, so is there simply more awareness? Most people need a phone, we can't see most people needing a tablet... or is this measuring more want than need anyway?

[Digital Daily via Gizmodo]

TechCrunch is reporting that Apple has started sending developers invitations to take a satisfaction survey with regards to the App Store in general, and the App Store approval process in specific.

Apple asks you to answer with: “Very dissatisfied,” “Somewhat dissatisfied,” “Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied,” “Somewhat satisfied,” “Very satisfied,” or “Don’t know.”

They also ask, “What one thing could Apple do to make the iPhone Developer Program better?” and give you a text box to write anything you want. A few months ago they certainly would have gotten some interesting responses there.

Indeed and as we suspected, "wait for developers and bloggers to get really ticked off and then have Phil Schiller email them" wasn't a scalable solution. TechCrunch speculates that the improvements in the App Store approval process starting 2010 involve more and better trained staff, since approval speed has improved and reportedly even communications between Apple and developers is better.

So, if you're a developer, what will you be telling Apple? And if you're not a developer, does it matter to you that Apple is trying to improve their developer relations?

According to a study by Retrevo of more than 1000 randomly selected individuals, it seems as if the consumers interest in Apple's iPad has dwindled considerably since it was announced back on January 26th.

"As we like to say, it’s the apps that sell smartphones like the iPhone and it could very well be those same apps that motivate buyers to run down to the Apple Store and get in line to buy a shiny new iPad. Whether this device becomes a big hit is anyone’s guess but based on this study it sure looks doubtful."

Daring Fireball reminds us all to keep in mind Retrevo's not so perfect track record so take their latest survey with a heavy grain of salt. With that being said, Retrevo found that 52 percent of participants have heard of Apple's latest creation, but are not interested in making the purchase. While another 18 percent said they had not heard of the iPad and also were not interested. At least things are looking better for iPad in the business sector.

While most analysts believe the iPad will be a moderate success at launch, one can't help but wonder what will happen if some of those missing features such as multitasking turn up before the product launches, or in an iPhone 4.0 OS update shortly thereafter...

UPDATE

The Macalope takes a saner, if Apple-centric look at the numbers:

What Retrevo “oddly” (ironic quotes intentional) doesn’t call out is that the number of people who said they would like to buy an iPad tripled. Not only that, the number of people who said they were interested but needed more information also went up. Equally shocking is the fact that the number of people who said they hadn’t heard of the iPad and weren’t interested shrank from 35% to 18%! The number of people who said they “need” an iPad (as opposed to “want” – nice phrasing, Retrevo) went up as did the number of people who thought maybe they “needed” one.

[Via Apple Insider]

To quoth our good friend Phil from WMExperts (and by that we mean shameless copy): It is time, ladies and gentlemen, for the sixth annual SPB Survey. SPB Software House is looking to get a better look at your needs in the mobile applications, and they're doing so worldwide, with the survey going out in 10 languages.

And your time may be rewarded. Three winners, picked at random, will receive the following:

• First place: A free smartphone of your choice from a major Internet retailer (such as Amazon or Expansys), valued up to $1,000.
• Second place: $100 worth of accessories from Smartphone Experts (that's us), plus $100 worth of SPB Software.
• Third place: $100 worth of SPB software.

So, really, you have no excuse for not taking the survey, which runs through 7 p.m. GMT Dec. 4, 2009. Take the survey now!

So, you're an iPhone user -- what does that mean for your love life?

• You prefer gadget lovers to the college educated
• 1/3rd of you have dumped someone over SMS or email
• 1/3rd of you have outdated gadgets were a turn-off
• 1/5th of you have admitted to using the iPhone to get your porn-on (twice as many as BlackBerry users)
• 1/4th of you have dumped someone for using their own mobile too much.

So, iPhone users, are they painting a fair picture?

[Retrevo via 9to5mac]

Back in August AT&T sent out a customer satisfaction survey to all iPhone owners. Well now it seems a new survey is being sent out to all of us on the AT&T network asking how the 2.1 firmware is working for us and what we want to see next on your iPhone 3G.

Now don't get too excited yet! Just because they are asking what we want does not necessarily mean we will get it. Keep in mind Apple has stated before that certain features such as copy/paste and directional GPS take a back seat to other issues that need addressing so on and so forth. But it is better than AT&T and Apple flat out ignoring us right? So at least it is a start.

Apple Insider states:

The questionnaire asks owners to pick the top five hardware or software add-ons they'd like to see and include many of the most prominent requests made in the community, including cutting and pasting text, built-in instant messaging, Flash/Java support and MMS messaging.

So when and if you get this survey, be sure to speak your mind and let AT&T what know what you want. This is our chance... they seem to be listening. (Or at least they are pretending to be!)

[Via Appleinsider]

So, we've heard all about how the bloggers feel about iPhone 2.0 and the issues surrounding its launch, but we're not what anyone would call -- by any stretch of the imagination -- normal. We love our gadgets hard, and hate their flaws with a breathing passion, so we're skewed from the outset. What about real users, however? You know, the sane ones. What are their impressions?

Technologizer wrote in to tell us about their look into The State of iPhone Satisfaction. 2150+ iPhone Users surveyed, top 7 answers on the board:

Vast majority love their iPhone and rate the App Store highly, but are ticked off about Apple's acceptance (read: rejection) policies and think Apple responds only "fairly well" to problems/issues. Almost everyone has gone 2.1 and thinks it improves the iPhone. Half of MobileMe users loves it, the rest are mixed or haters. For those who have problems (just about everyone), freezes, crashes, slow internet, and poor coverage were the culprits. The biggest missing feature? Cut/copy/paste (who knew?). And no one cared about the lack of a tic-tac-tile keyboard.

For the full results, head on over to their expanded coverage entitled: “An iPhone Opinion Explosion”.

Apple, via Medallia, is sending out customer satisfaction surveys:

Thank you for your purchase of the Apple iPhone 3G. We would like to ask you a few questions about your experience with your new phone. [...] The information you provide will be used to improve our product support. We will not use your responses to sell you products or services.

Questions include where you've gone for iPhone help (cheat sheet: TiPb!), whether you've returned your handset to your carrier for repair or replacement, whether you primarily use Windows or Mac, whether you primarily use your iPhone for work or play, whether it's your first Apple product, and general demographic info.

These questions will no doubt better help Apple understand what you're thinking about your new iPhone 3G -- and which questions they chose to ask will no doubt better help us figure out what Apple's thinking about their iPhone 3G customers... Hmmm...

Have you gotten your survey yet?

460 iPhone users surveyed, top answers on the board. Hands on the buzzers, people!

Survey says!

80% Satisfaction level. 72% daily email use. 55% increased web browsing. 60% use the iPhone for some previous laptop functions. 50% have added at least 1 application at some point. 40% would like to add 3rd party apps. 40% would love them some Flash.

50% changed carriers. 50% switched from another standard phone. 40% switched from another smartphone. 10% were first time mobile users. 33% carry an additional phone.

Breaking it down, 23% replaced a RAZR, 14% replaced a WinMob phone, 13% replaced a Blackberry, 7% replaced a Palm, 4% replaced a Sidekick, and 4% replaced a Symbian.

13% have unlocked their phone (JAR!). 10% have experienced hand pain following use. 50% are under 30. 16% are students. 20% of purchases were gifts.

20% rock both Mac and iPod. 5% rock Mac no iPod. 75% were existing Apple customers.

Whew! Are you represented in there? Are they off the mark? Judges? What do you think?

Changewave released information from their latest survey, and the iPhone is tops again. 2% of the 3654 people surveyed have iPhones. Of the people that have iPhones, 82% are "Very Satisfied," up 5% since the last survey in July and tops in the list. The only company with "Very Satisfied" ratings above 50% is RiM with the Blackberry series. Best yet, the iPhone is set to capture a bit more than 2% -- Changewave reports that a full 16% of all people surveyed intend to purchase an iPhone within the next 6 months. Quoth Tobin Smith, founder of Changewave:

There’s no longer any doubt about the staying power of the iPhone. The continuing embrace of the iPhone by the public is a stellar example of how a new product can forever alter its own playing field."

It's unfortunately kind of a high and low quote; he's right about the 'alter its own playing field' bit. But show me anyone who thought the iPhone was just going to go away.