J.D. Power's Smartphone Satisfaction Rankings Place Apple, Samsung At No. 1

In J.D. Power's "Smartphone Satisfaction Study," Apple and Samsung have once again been awarded the coveted first- and second-place positions, having beaten the likes of HTC, Motorola, and RIM's BlackBerry. This time round, however, J.D. Power's rankings have been divided between U.S. carriers, and as such each individual carrier reports slightly differing results. Apple took the No. 1 position with both AT&T and Verizon, according to J.D. Power's press release. For AT&T, the iPhone scored an above-average rating among consumers, with a total score of 856 (based on a 1,000 point scale). The average for this carrier was 843, and the second-place position was awarded to Nokia (with 840), while Samsung came in at No. 3 (with 839). For Verizon, smartphone satisfaction is somewhat different. Here, Apple came in at No. 1 again, with a more impressive score of 861. Consumer satisfaction for the iPhone is highest among Verizon subscribers, the report indicates. Samsung then took second-place with a score of 827, marginally ahead of the carrier's average score of 825. Finally, Sprint situated the iPhone in second place with a score of 849 among its subscribers, while Samsung took the No. 1 position with a slightly higher score of 853. Both manufacturers, however, were ahead of Sprint's 835 average. J.D. Power's "key findings," then, include:

• Overall satisfaction with smartphone devices is highest among AT&T customers (843), followed by Sprint (835); T-Mobile (825); and Verizon Wireless (825) customers¹.
• Among Apple smartphone owners, satisfaction with their overall experience is highest among Verizon Wireless customers (861). Among Samsung smartphone owners, satisfaction is highest among Sprint customers (853).
• Smartphone models that perform particularly well across all four U.S. wireless Tier 1 carriers^[1] include (by OEM in alphabetical order): Apple iPhone 5; Blackberry Z10; Nokia Lumia 920 and Samsung Galaxy Note II.
• The primary reasons for purchasing a smartphone device differ by carrier. Sprint customers are more likely to purchase their smartphone device because of phone features, while T-Mobile customers are more likely to select their smartphone due to price.
• Overall customer satisfaction among smartphone owners is 833 on a 1,000-point scale.

Kirk Parsons, senior director of telecommunications services at J.D. Power, said: "It's very interesting to see that satisfaction performance differs by smartphone brand across Tier 1 carriers. This indicates that carrier services and how these carriers position specific features and services on their devices influence the experience customers have with their smartphone device." J.D. Power's survey is based on "experiences evaluated by 16,421 smartphone customers" who are signed-up with AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, and who have owned their present smartphone less than one year. Consumer satisfaction is measured in four factors, the press release adds: performance (33 percent), physical design (23 percent), features (22 percent), and ease of operation (22 percent). As such, it's clear that owners are pleased with their iPhone handsets. That being said, of course, a recent Consumer Reports survey placed Motorola's Droid ahead of the iPhone 5s, drawing particular attention to differences in smartphone screen size and battery life. See also: Pinterest 3.0 Brings New iOS 7-Inspired Design And New Way To Navigate Between Pins, Today's Best Apps: Indigo Lake, Device 6, Mega Dead Pixel And More, and Microsoft’s Remote Desktop App Is Now Available For OS X And iOS.

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