The seamless connectivity offered by mobile social networking applications like Twitter and Facebook play a critical role in overall smartphone satisfaction, according to two studies by J.D. Power and Associates. The study found that customers who regularly use mobile channels of social media and gaming applications are more satisfied with their device and spend more per month for mobile service than customers who do not.
In 2012, 67 percent of smartphone customers have downloaded social networking apps on their device and report spending more than 100 minutes per week using those apps, while 69 percent of smartphone users have downloaded gaming apps and report spending an average of 81 minutes per week playing games. On a 1,000-point scale, overall smartphone satisfaction among customers using social networking applications is 810, 55 points higher than smartphone users who do not. Satisfaction among customers using gaming applications is 813, 61 points higher than those who do not.
Customers who use gaming applications spend USD 13 more per month on average for their mobile service than those who do not use gaming apps, and customers who use social media app users spend an average of USD 12 per month on their service than customers who do not use social media apps.
The two studies measure customer satisfaction with traditional handsets and smartphones among owners who have used their current mobile device for less than one year. Key satisfaction factors measured for traditional handsets include performance (29%), ease of operation (26%), physical design (24%) and features (21%). For smartphones the factors include performance (33%), physical design (23%), features (22%) and ease of operation (22%).
The studies also found the cost of a traditional mobile phone averages USD 56.00, compared to USD 66.00 a year earlier, and 44 percent of customers report receiving a free mobile phone when subscribing to a wireless service. Of smartphone customers, 47 percent chose their device primarily because of the features compared to 57 percent a year earlier, and 19 percent chose their smartphone based on price compared to 14 percent the previous year.
Nearly two in ten current smartphone owners report experiencing a software or device malfunction. Malfunctions have a significant impact on overall satisfaction; there was a gap of 90 points between customers who experience software malfunctions and those who do not.
The two studies are based on experiences reported by 8,736 smartphone owners and 6,272 traditional mobile phone owners. Both studies were fielded between January and June.
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