US consumers: "Give us cheap flips"
J.D. Power's 2006 U.S. Wireless Mobile Phone Evaluation Study (whew) has dropped, giving us a glimpse into the mind of the average cellphone-enabled American. What have we learned? In a nutshell, we apparently love us some cheap Sanyo clamshells. Allow us to clarify: from 2004 to 2006, the average handset purchase fell from $99 to $86. Since 2002, candybars accounted for some 70% of phones sold; that's dropped to 39% in 2006 while clamshells have skyrocketed from 7% to 58%. To a certain extent, we have the chicken-and-egg phenomenon in effect here -- flip ownership has naturally risen signifcantly as attractive models (read: RAZRs) have come on the scene. Perhaps most surprising is that dark horse Sanyo ran away with the "overall customer satisfaction" title, with LG in a distant second. Satisfaction in the "phone operation" category -- that is, ease of use -- rose a whopping 5% across the board from last year, indicating that phones are getting simpler or users are getting smarter. Either way, we're all for it, as long as it doesn't lead to more people choosing ringtones in restaurants. [Warning: PDF link]
Filed under: Studies
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sascha Segan @ Jun 2nd 2006 11:53AM
Great story to pull out, Chris. But I'd like to amend your post a little.
The JDP press release says that in 2002, 70 percent of existing wireless users owned a candybar handset. That's different from 70 percent of handsets sold in 2002 being candybars, because (as the press release also says) we have around an 18-month replacement cycle. So many of those candybars were sold in 2001 or 2000. Meanwhile, now 58% of users own a clamshell - once more, that's ownership, not sales in 2006. So the story there is that the switch to clamshells has basically been happening since 2001.
Also, Sanyo isn't necessarily a dark horse. They just have an exclusive contract with Sprint. But Sanyo phones on Sprint are incredibly beloved. That shows up every year in our PC Mag Service & Reliability survey.
Donald @ Jun 2nd 2006 12:50PM
They must have surveyed a higher portion of CDMA users when they did the handset reliability.
Because all the GSM LGs I've dealt with are flaming piles of excrement.
flamer's grill @ Jun 2nd 2006 4:25PM
LG's have a legendary reputation based on two handsets: the VX600 and VX8000 for Verizon. Both are excellent phones in every category and both were popular choices. My friend still has his VX6000 from three years ago and refuses to upgrade.
Very few LGs otherwise are any good. The "V", the VX9800, seems to have developed a similar cult-like following, but just about every other LG is crap. Remember the VX6100? Complete piece of garbage. PM325 on Sprint? Horrible. LG seems to fluctuate between greatness and negligent ineptitude.
Sanyo's first-place finish shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who uses Sprint. They allegedly have the best reception and voice quality of any Sprint handset. I owned the Sanyo 8300 for about four months and I tend to agree with all the hype - it wasn't a beautiful phone, but it was a great phone. I think Sanyo has placed first in the JD Power survey a few years in a row. Although, looking at the Katana... that could all change very soon.
Jamar @ Jun 3rd 2006 10:12AM
LG? Flaming piles of excrement? Great, another person who hasn't tried an import. I can say (having tried some GSM LG phones) that I honestly do not see any reliability problems from their phones. Of course, if you live in the us, then yes, LG might have problems, but that's mainly because their "good" models aren't sold there (from my experience- I'm a semi-frequent traveler between the US and China)
Brian @ Jun 3rd 2006 5:45PM
I owned the VX6000, VX7000 and both were excellent phones in every catagory. I used my VX7000 as a modem for a while also. I currently work for GSM provider in the US and now use the Sony Ericsson Z520a. I like the phone enough that I will upgrade to the W600 very soon. You have to buy what works best for you and the provider you are with.