Survey Says Most iPhone Users Love AT&T

Hugh Pickens writes "In a report sure to raise eyebrows, CNN Money claims that despite a very vocal group of detractors, the vast majority of iPhone users love AT&T. A survey released this week by Yankee Group reports that 73% of iPhone owners scored their satisfaction with the carrier as an 8, 9, or 10 on a 10-point scale. The results seem surprising, given the pounding AT&T has taken in the media and on the blogosphere about its service-related issues with the iPhone and AT&T's recent iPad-related security glitch. For its part, AT&T says its network really isn't as bad as many people think. 'There's a gap between what people hear about us and what their experience is with us. We think that gap is beginning to close,' says Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman. 'It doesn't mean we're perfect; we still have work to do. But that's no surprise to us, because we have a great network.'" Buried in the penultimate paragraph is the somewhat alarming note that "77% of iPhone owners say they'll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of Android customers who say they'll buy another Android phone."

Comments

Ignorance

[SquarePixel]

Actually, I think it's just ignorance and lack of technical knowledge from the users. Apple and its users tend to run around telling how great their products are and there are no faults in anything. They most likely think it must be the same thing with every device.

Another great example of this ignorance (and misinformation spread by Apple) is that Mac OSX is virus-free and will stay so, while in fact there have been several recent instances of malware on OSX. The funny thing is that because Apple spreads these lies and users blindly trust them, they also are ignorant and can't see it. It's the classic lalalalala.

Ignorance is what is happening here too.

Re:Ignorance

[Anonymous Coward]

Your post is a nice example of the ignorance that permeates /.

You're the smartest man in a theater. While the rest of the audience enjoys their dumb comedy, you're shouting "Stop laughing! Can't you all see the plot is nonsensical?!". There is a problem, but it isn't with the rest of the audience.

Re:Ignorance

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

Are you saying the users are dropping calls and are unaware of it?

Re:Ignorance

[mistashizzle]

So everyone who likes their iPhone is ignorant and has no technical knowledge? Is that how it works? That statement is a blatant lie and shows a lot of ignorance on your part. I have owned the last two iterations of the iPhone (I bought both the 3GS and 4 when they launched) and I love both devices. I don't suffer from a lack of technical knowledge, I am a college student majoring in a computer science related field, and have had an interest in all things technology since I was in grade school. I own an Apple laptop because I enjoy their above average battery life, their design, and the fact that I can install windows on it should there be anything I need to run. I don't think it is infallible, I had a problem with the battery but Apple's customer support handled the issue that day and got it replaced. Along with that laptop I own a windows desktop that I built over the summer, and have previously built and helped built other computers. I know the specifications of my phone compared to other phones on the market. I am aware of their faults, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't like the device more than any other phone. It is largely a matter of personal preference. I wouldn't mind owning an android phone, I think most of them are great, but I enjoy the iPhone more. I think the design is fantastic, it has an equivalent if not (for the time being) better hardware than other phones on the market, and I like the software. I can make the signal drop if I take the phone out of the case and hold it in my left hand, but I am right handed and I ordered my case with my phone before the antenna was even a problem, so it isn't like I wouldn't have used one anyway. For others it's a deal-breaker and I can't fault them for that. The incessant need for people the validate their own technology choices by berating others is unnecessary. People will use what they like.

As for AT&T it also largely depends on who you ask. I live in a suburb of Philadelphia and AT&T provides pretty much the same coverage as my old Sprint phone and other people's Verizon phones. I have my areas and they have theirs, but overall it is a moot point. I have yet to experience a dropped call because where I live the service is fine. Chances are the vast majority of iPhone users live in a place where the service is not an issue. Other than the service the carrier is just like any other.

tl;dr The arguments are unnecessary, it boils down to individual preference / a personal choice.

Re:Ignorance

[Wyatt Earp]

I've owned Apple computers since 1993 and an iPhone since March 2009. What exactly am I doing wrong by owning and using them?

This is being typed out on an ASUS G73 I bought to game on. From an experienced Windows, LINUX and OS X user, here is an observation, Windows and modern Linux distros are a pain in the butt to use compared to OS X. PC hardware from the big vendors like Lenovo, ASUS, Dell or HP don't last as long as a Mac.

But when my PC went wonky and I needed to recover data, Ubuntu 10 is the first place I went to facilitate a recovery.

In the last ten years I've had countless incidents with malware, virus or trojans ending up on my PCs, in the same period I've come across three Word Macro viruses on my Macs.

I'm not buying a new iPhone right now till Apple fixes the antenna issue or comes clean on it, but how am I ignorant for buying one?

Re:Ignorance

[Concerned Onlooker]

"...but how am I ignorant for buying one?"

Obviously you're not. But people like your parent poster tend to base their hate more on emotions and wanting to be on the anti-Apple bandwagon than on real issues. Apple makes great stuff. Not perfect, but great.

Re:Ignorance

[Darkness404]

No, rather people would think that such things are normal. Just like lots of Windows users seem to think that buying a new computer because computers just "get slow" after a year is perfectly normal.

Re:Ignorance

[mr_lizard13]

Actually, I think it's just ignorance and lack of technical knowledge from the users. Apple and its users tend to run around telling how great their products are and there are no faults in anything. They most likely think it must be the same thing with every device.

Not so sure about that - 50% of Mac buyers are 'new to Mac', and so have plenty of experience of other platforms, and their imperfections.

And the iPhone has only been around for a few years, so almost anyone that owns one will have owned some other brand of phone before, so they too will be more than aware of what the user experience is like on a 'non-apple' phone.

Another great example of this ignorance (and misinformation spread by Apple) is that Mac OSX is virus-free and will stay so, while in fact there have been several recent instances of malware on OSX. The funny thing is that because Apple spreads these lies and users blindly trust them, they also are ignorant and can't see it. It's the classic lalalalala.

Ignorance is what is happening here too.

There is, regrettably, a vocal group of apple users who spread this kind of stuff, but I'm not sure apple specifically say their OS is virus-proof. I think they point out that their computers can't 'catch' PC viruses, but they don't specifically say that a virus can't be written for the mac.

Now, you could argue that apple should make it clear that malware exists for their platform. But with any malware attack yet to gain any meaningful level of traction, perhaps it's fair enough that they keep that smug grin on their face for now?

Re:Ignorance

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

That's not what I said.

That's why I asked for clarification as opposed to jumping into argue mode. ;)

It's also not so black and white - for example the iPhone could be skipping during the phone call, not drop it completely. Which most users again would probably think happens to everyone.

Why would they be more prone to accepting that than any other phone user?

Re:Ignorance

[__aaaaxm1522]

Excuse me, but I don't know how else to put this: fuck off.

I love my iPhone, despite it's faults, and I'm a pretty technical person. How technical? I have a degree in physics, have worked with open source and Linux since 1995, was a senior Linux sysadmin for 10 years, and spent a few of the years in between working as an *embedded Linux developer* for mobile projects.

Do I go around telling people that OS X is completely safe and free from viruses and other malware? No. Do I tell them that it's a platform that lets them access the power of Unix without having to fuck around at the command line? Yes.

Same with the phone. Do I say "Hey! This phone was made by Jesus himself and is completely infallible"? Or is it more likely that I say "Hey, it's got its faults - but it's still a great phone ... especially if you're not a Slashdot commenter"?

Enough with the self-righteous anti-fanboy shit. Your generalization of "Apple users" is insulting and wrong.

Re:Ignorance

[1stworld]

Nicely done on multiple counts. Welcome to /., home of the anecdote extrapolated globally.

Re:Ignorance

[Japher]

You seem to be assuming that iPhone owners have never owned another cell phone.

Look, the bottom line is that Apple users like Apple. So what? If you don't like Apple, don't use it's products. End of story. Why the trolling?

Re:Ignorance

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would they be more prone to accepting that than any other phone user?

Because Apple users tend to be non-technical ("Computing for the rest of us" and all of that), bought the Apple iPhone for features and name-brand more than sound technical design and reliability of basic functions, and are more susceptible to slick marketing than the general population (I mean, not every CEO inspires terms like reality distortion field). That may be perceived as unflattering towards Apple's customers, and some of you may hate it for that reason, but I call it as I see it. Next question, please.

Re:Ignorance

[BasilBrush]

In your experience vs. data which Apple has.

In his experience vs. how you've chosen to interpret an ambiguous statement.

I'm wrong because I'm pointing a part of an important PR published during a very publicised debate (hence surely with some oversight), not "clarified" in a manner you'd like despite some other industry heavyweights adressing it specifically? Cute :)

No, you're wrong because, unlike the other poster, you lack the experience of Macs to know what happens when Flash crashes. So you don't know which way to interpret the ambiguous statement.

No, Steve Jobs has no oversight. He's the boss.

Re:Why is this alarming?

[nysus]

I bought a 3G 2 years ago. Then bought a 4 as soon as I could.

I've played a little with my friend's Androids. They don't do anything for me. Too many options. I'm a fairly hard core geek but sometimes you just don't want to be bothered with all the options. They just make things confusing.

Re:Why is this alarming?

[morari]

I didn't realize that telephones were capable of becoming obsolete. All they have to do is transmit a vocalized conversation... nothing to really update there.

Re:translation

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

77% of iPhone users are fan boys/girls
80% of Android users value freedom of choice

95% of all fanboys don't realize they're fanboys.

Re:Why is this alarming?

[Anonymous Coward]

Analog cell phone are obsolete. Modern cell phones will become obsolete as well when they start turning off the radios on the towers.

Re:What a joke of a survey.

[gyrogeerloose]

Who did they ask? People inside of Apple's campus.. You've got to be kidding me.

Got to love it--some research challenges your preconceived notions so, of course, the only thing to do is reconsider said notions, right?

Wrong. Better to disparage the research than admit they might have been incorrect.

It's actually true

[RafaelAngel]

The vocal minority bitch and moan. The majority of people like the service. It can't be all bad otherwise people would flee. Also, Apple would have nothing to do with a company that its consumers don't support. If Apple is happy then the majority of people are happy.

Makes Sense Complaints Are Augmented

[Apple Acolyte]

After all, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and in addition to that, satisfied customers usually don't go to great lengths to praise service they're satisfied with.

How would they know?

[Kenja]

Its not like they had the opportunity to try an iPhone with another carrier.

Phone Companies = Banks

[painandgreed]

I think phone companies are much like banks. They're fine until something happens that causes the user displeasure, and then they become the most evil thing on the face of the earth causing them to change their service to some place else. The new place is fine, or even great, until something bad happens there, and then there are two most evil things on the face of the planet.

I'm with AT&T (and an iPhone). They have good service in my area ( I did ask around first for people's opinions of various phone company's service in my city), they had the phone I wanted (pre-iPhone), the store next to my house where I bought my phones, they give my company a discount, and I've never had any issues with them. Why shouldn't I like them?

Only 20% of Android users will return to Android?

[IrrepressibleMonkey]

Buried in the penultimate paragraph is the somewhat alarming note that "77% of iPhone owners say they'll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of Android customers who say they'll buy another Android phone."

It's a throw away comment at the end of the story, but I don't believe that 'statistic' for a second.

The only way I can make sense of it, is perhaps the idea that only 20% would buy another Android phone from the same manufacturer. Due to the number of options, the grass always being greener and the effective 'arms race' between Android manufacturers etc that sounds vaguely plausible. But 80% ready to abandon the platform? That has to be nonsense. Apart from anything else, where are they gonna go?

FWIW I have an iPhone, never owned an Android, blah, blah...

Come on, parent is not a troll.

[Abcd1234]

In fact, he nailed it spot on. The GP doesn't like the conclusions of the study, so he just assumes the study or the researchers are wrong. It's an excellent illustration of confirmation bias (or, in this case, its inverse).

Re:Not surprising....

[Abcd1234]

Android users come from a more diverse population who are probably not loyal to any one thing but want good 'product' in a smart phone but have no tying factor to the platform.

Let's just say this BS is right. That doesn't change the fac that *80 percent of them* don't believe Android is "a good 'product'". Ignoring how customers feel about competing products, if that isn't an indictment of the Android platform, I don't know what is.

Re:What a joke of a survey.

[Anonymous Coward]

I travel between Phoenix, San Jose, Salt Lake City, St. George, and Las Vegas, and I've never had an issue with ATT and my iPhone 3gs.

People in New York and Boston that I call do, however.

Re:Not surprising....

[smack.addict]

What a lovely little world you live in. It's one in which people who don't agree with you don't "want a good product".

I use an iPhone and continue to use it because it is a better product for my needs than the Android. I'm not being a doofus like you and claiming that the iPhone is a better phone for your needs.

It would seem that the only honest conclusion is that, of the survey population, more iPhone users than Android users believe that the iPhone best meets their needs and will continue to meet their needs.

Re:Why is this alarming?

[svirre]

I herby revoke your geek license.

Re:All depends on where you are and what you do

[farnsworth]

Part of the reason there is so much negative buzz about AT&T is that their network *does* suck in NYC and SF, and people from these areas make up a disproportional amount of the blogosphere and media.

Whenever I'm outside of these areas, AT&T is totally fine. But it's pretty well-known that trying to place a call on Friday afternoon in either NYC of SF is an exercise in futility.

Meaningless statistic

[Solandri]

Um, if you do a subjective survey of only people who use the service, of course it's going to get high marks. The people who are dissatisfied with it have mostly left for a different service. This is why you do random samples. So you get a representative sample of the entire population.

The only way the stat they measured carries any weight is if you compare to an identical survey of customers with other phone networks. The relative satisfaction rate between different providers can carry some statistical meaning. e.g. If AT&T's satisfaction rate is 73% and Verizon's is 90% (made up as an example), that tells you something. Otherwise, all you're doing is measuring the degree of self-selection of a self-selected population, which is pretty useless for market analysis.

Proof that Google has fanboys too.

[pushing-robot]

I had no idea Android phones' ratings were so low; I'd like to see some other studies to make sure this isn't a fluke. That said, anyone who is spinning these numbers as good for Google is self-delusional. If you're claiming a 20% "Would buy again" rating as proof that Android is superior to iPhone, you've crossed into Baghdad Bob territory.

I think Google has done a great job with Android as an operating system, but they really need to start thinking about the Android "experience". As much as people obsess over Apple's banning of apps, it's much easier to write for the iPhone as it has a standard screen size and aspect ratio and the feature set is always a superset of the previous phones. Writing for Android means you have no clue what the screen size, aspect ratio, or resolution will be. You don't know how fast a CPU or how much memory you'll have, or what hardware buttons you'll have, or if you'll have a keyboard and what its layout will be. Android developers either have to only target a subset of phones or try a clunky generalist approach.

Since Android is open-source and has rather permissive licensing, Google doesn't have a huge amount of control over who uses their code. But they could still do like Mozilla and limit use of the Android trademark and logo. Google could insist that "Android"-branded phones meet specific requirements, like, say, their suggested hardware for Android 3: 3.5" screen, 1GHz CPU, 512MB RAM. Giving developers a specific target for would do wonders for the Android app market and for the user experience.

Re:Proof that Google has fanboys too.

[IamTheRealMike]

In fact Android is a trademark, there are requirements for its use, like for example having standardized hardware buttons and minimum performance specs. The iPhone meanwhile does not have a standard screen resolution (retina display, hello!), nor are capabilities or performance consistent across the different devices. In fact the same version of the OS may offer wildly differing capabilities depending on what hardware it's on.

The differences between Android and iOS are blown out of proportion by the media. There's really not a whole lot in it. Especially in regards to user interface. Quick, pick a random iPhone app and tell me if it has settings and if so, whether they're in the app itself or a part of the Settings app?

Re:Proof that Google has fanboys too.

[tomasf]

The iPhone meanwhile does not have a standard screen resolution (retina display, hello!),

From a developer's point of view (which is really what matters here), the screen does have the same amount of points. It's just that on the iPhone 4, 1 pt = 2 px. Thus, apps designed for earlier iPhones behave well on the new display.

Re:translation

[jellomizer]

So If I looked at the Android and the other networks and I decided to go with AT&T and iPhone because they were the best products for me. I am most likely a fan boy?

I agree a lot of the Android Phones are getting really good... However Apple has been the company that has been really raising the bar... Not Android. What Android does is raises their bar to Apples Level for Apple to raise it again.

Having been a Verizon Customer then to switch to AT&T I have to say I was happier with AT&T... Their Reps were always more polite... I never had a pushy sales person on me. And were very nice on finding ways to lower my bills. Now I may have been lucky and just gone to the right locations and called at the right time, while with Verizon I was rather unlucky. Also perhaps AT&T just has more towers in the areas I travel too... But really the only part I hate about AT&T is that their plans cost as much as Verizons.

Now I am not saying AT&T is perfect. Gosh Darn It! I want Unlimited 3G networking, and allow the Smart phones to tether. Nor is Apple perfect either, Let me put run my own apps without jail breaking the phone, or going threw iTunes. Allow me to backup my music any way I want. and Give Me Flash support...

But having made decisions and seen the competitors I am Happy with the iPhone and AT&T. Now I know a lot of people who rather have some of the features Android is better then Apple is at, that is great more power to them... However I dislike being called a Fan Boy who does what Mr. Jobs says just because I buy Apple Products. Or I value freedom of choice any less just because I don't choose an Android or a Linux or GNU based choice.

Linux loonies

[iceperson]

I think we have a pretty good example of what she's talking about here in the comments section. I own one apple product, an iphone 4. I'm happy with it. I've looked at my co-workers android phones (including the EVO) and I still prefer my iphone but I'm constantly ridiculed as a "sheep", fanboi, etc...

Re:Why is this alarming?

[Patik]

What a load of crap. It's impossible to come up with any sort of 'translation' without knowing what question was asked of the pollees. If it was "when you buy your next phone, will it be the same one (iPhone/Android)?" then your rewording would be entirely false.

You're also insinuating that 77% of iPhone users are numbskulls who will just keep buying iPhones until Apple makes a 'good' one, in their eyes, while Android users are much more thoughtful and bright. As much as slashdotters love to drag out that old joke, you know it's ridiculous.

Additionally, it's laughable to assume that any smartphone owner who is happy with their current phone will never buy an updated model in the future. I'm guessing you were happy with your PC in 1995 -- do you still use that PC as your main machine, or have you upgraded since then?

Re:Not surprising....

[NekSnappa]

He doesn't say it's a better product overall. Just that it's a better products for him.
Try reading at least the part of the post you quote.

Re:Hold the Phone!

[Anxiety35]

I don't know who paid for this survey, but you have heavily implied it has a positive outcome for AT&T because it was funded by them or a similar party. This seems unlikely if only due to this quote:

"Consumers transfer the high gloss of their Apple iPhone experience to AT&T," says Carl Howe, Yankee Group analyst and author of the study.

If I were paying to have my company come across positively, I would not want the reasoning for it explained quite like that.

All the carriers suck

[cbuskirk]

Everybody's service sucks. I hear Verizon customers bitch all day long then someone mentions iPhone and all off a sudden they love Verizon and AT&T is the devil. I have had many carriers and they all suck. I tolerate AT&T's suck because the iPhone is better than any other phone I have tried.

Re:Hold the Phone!

[sznupi]

Maybe. OTOH it might be that, despite such legitimising quotes, the desired message gets through just fine.

I own

[kurtis25]

I own an iphone and don't hate att. There coverage is often lacking and inconsistent but I'd rather deal with that then Verizon's desire to lock down parts of my phone like the ability to blue tooth files and other petty usage issues.

Re:Why is this alarming?

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

Too many options. I'm a fairly hard core geek but sometimes you just don't want to be bothered with all the options. They just make things confusing.

Sorry, you just lost your geek cred. Go astroturf on the Apple forums, please

Here's a novel concept for you - sometimes people just like to perform a task at hand without having to endlessly tweak the tools they want to use. Now if you'd please go back to the Gentoo forums, that'd be great.

Best post ever.

[Brannon]

I love posts like this. You bought an Apple for the *right* reasons, everyone else bought an Apple because they are brand-fucking Mactards...priceless.

You, my friend, are what we (in the business) call a dick. Because of this, in all likelihood, your wife likes her computer more than she likes you. Chew on that for awhile.

Here's a novel idea

[Anonymous Coward]

If they are so confident about the strength of their network... Let's have actual competition between networks and say a big "fuck you" to exclusive devices. Ban subsidies and 2-year contracts. Mandate GSM for Sprint and Verizon. Get the phone manufacturers to produce phones that operate on all frequencies.

Of course, they don't really mean that they're confident in the network strength. The carriers do not compete on the basis of network strength in the United States. That is the way they want it.

Re:BSD viruses and over-simplification

[catmistake]

History is a slut. I, for one, thank you for remembering the salient facts. It's unfortunate, but one popular book and one researcher that repeats an inserted "legend" or something as fact and... there goes what really happened (can't help... drifting off)

I think Mac OS X is the ultimate product bootstrap. The real trouble at Apple when Jobs left was the future of the operating system. History is going to believe, once it's watered down, that Steve realized this, realized what a monumental task it was, and left Apple for this purpose. NeXT took Mach, which is free, cutting edge stuff, and grafted FreeBSD, which is free, wonderful solid amazing OS, and created something different that does the same thing as most modern operating systems.... what's so great about Mac OS X? Under NeXT, APIs and developer environments were created... enticing developers. NeXT will just appear to be a developer stage for an Apple product, and there are other (usually failed) examples in Apple's history of creating products this way. Mac OS X isn't simply FreeBSD??Mach... it's that, with all the other technologies and software Apple has built, and third party devs have created.

Most users (no slashdotters) probably confuse their operating system with their user interface. They think Mac OS X is Finder, and Dock, and Desktop, menus, windows, the pointer, etc. And it's so much more than that. Oh.... it's FreeBSD/Mach, too, the backend... but, yeah, but.... that's just the skeleton, the frame upon which all the really great things about Mac OS X are extended from, built onto, tucked away into, and decorated.

So it's in the filling in the gaps... and the way Jobs with NeXT, away from Apple, shaped an incredibly essential piece of technology for Apple (i.e., a fully modern, scalable and proprietary operating system). And Apple now boldly cannibalizes Mac OS X developers now to fix software in other products. "Their" OS is now so resilient, or at least the user base is satisfied enough with it, that development can slow to a crawl on the most essential part of a computer to a typical user, without the sky falling.

Jobs (and an army of devs) created a really nice piece of tech for Apple, a product that they give away with their hardware, a product that sells their hardware, that is nimble enough for platform jumping whims without developers caring anymore.

I have some negative Apple moderators stalking me, so no one will ever see this but, I think Mac OS X, Snow Leopard, as much as it annoys me, is underrated running on Mac hw. Linux is sweet for it's purpose and I believe will do more cycle per cycle, but takes babysitting; Windows is... incomprehensible to me now (who's it for now exactly?). But Mac OS X can be quickly customized to do almost anything, which is why old macs running old Mac OS X can still be very useful in audio, print, and on the LAN.

For the last few years, and for a precious few more, I think a Churchillized view of consumer OS's is applicable: Apple's Mac OS X is the worst computer operating system there is for almost anything, collectively, anyone would want to do, except for all the others.

Re:BSD viruses and over-simplification

[Anonymous Coward]

So let me get this straight, the parent you're replying to says that apple over simplifys viruses on OSX and gets modded off topic.

You post a link to apples site that says on the top page..

Mac OS X doesn’t get PC viruses. And its built-in defenses help keep you safe from other malware without the hassle of constant alerts and sweeps

and get modded 4 insightful..

Perhaps if you mac fags stop abusing the slashdot moderating system people would take you more seriously..

Location, location, etc.

[Altanar]

I suppose location matters most in the survey. Did they do a geographic spread representative of the country or did they stick to urban centers? In the somewhat rural area in which I live, almost no one uses AT&T because they can barely get any reception. In fact, if I were to travel five miles north and stand downtown of the nearest town, I would get no AT&T reception at all. This while I get maximum Verizon signal do to the huge tower that's nearby.

Re:What happened to "Think different"?

[jewishbaconzombies]

There's a difference between "thinking different" and acting out like some poor bastard with Tourette syndrome.