Survey finds growing interest in smartphones: Sony Ericsson comes out on top in customer satisfaction

The success of smartphones among U.S. shoppers has served to boost the average purchase price for cellphones, according to new research from J.D. Power and Associates. According to the firm’s survey of almost 20,000 cellphone owners, the average price paid for a phone has increased by $9 over the past six months, to a record high of $101.
J.D. Power said that figure was the highest average purchase price for a cellphone in the United States since the firm began tracking the number in 2003.
“As more customers start to upgrade to mobile phones that offer real-time connectivity and access to Internet content – particularly those offered by smartphone devices – we should continue to see the wireless handset price point rise,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power. “Sales of smartphone devices have increased considerably over the past year to 6.3% from 1.7% in overall market share at the beginning of 2007.”
Among other findings in the report:
–Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications ranked highest in overall wireless customer satisfaction for a second consecutive time. LG Electronics Co. Ltd. also ranked above the industry average, while Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. came in just below the industry average. Samsung was followed by Motorola Inc., Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd., Kyocera Wireless Corp. and, finally, Nokia Corp.
–Seventy-four percent of all cellphones have a clamshell design – an increase of 24% from 2006. Meanwhile, 21% have a candybar style and 5% have a “slide-cover” design.
–The average reported length of cellphone ownership is 17.7 months-an increase from 16.6 months in 2006.
–The most frequently reported reasons customers select their current cellphone include: pleasing design style (41%); received for free (25%); easy to use (23%); discounted/reduced price (21%); digital camera features (18%); variety of features offered and small size (17%).