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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."
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.
---Technology will liberate us if it doesn't enslave us first.
Obligatory
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.
Around me, AT&T has nearly (I'd say 85-90%) of the coverage of Verizon, and probably 130-200% more coverage than the next best. When comparing my speed to those on Verizon about a year ago, my data was twice as fast. Then again, I'm not in a major metro area. I doubt we have a lot of iGoobers streaming youtube and pandora on every cell.
I will say that the iPhone appearance of speed in Safari is about twice that of any WinMobile phone I've had, though no faster or slower than the browser on the couple of Blackberries I've seen.
I suspect the satifaction, aside from the Apple factor, has more to do with the particular default setup of the OS than the actual OS efficiency. Android can do a hell of a lot more, but since most (80%? 90%?) of users never change the defaults, most of the people with Android phones are missing out a lot of the potential features. iPhones, otoh, are more of a WYSIWYG experience - if it doesn't exist in the default profile setup, it simply doesn't exist.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
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.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
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.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
I have an iPhone and where I live voice and data coverage is great, much better than Verizon. I go to LA a lot and I usually have a lot of problems with reception there for some reason. As for the device itself, I can compare iPhone with Droid directly since my girlfriend has one and I can tell you I wouldn't swap the phones or the providers. She would though. They both do more or less the same things but iPhone UI is much nicer. Btw I can't make the antenna problem happen at all. The best I can do is get one bar to drop and that's with holding it in a completely unnatural way.
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
I write apps for the android, I've compared 5 different models in my office full of engineers. I continue to stick with each iPhone version because I find the android interface and integration with my computers to suck frankly. I do not have reception problems, I've never been bricked.
I keep hoping android will do better, but the carriers are acting like music companies and screwing up the products in ways I find problematic. I'm not basing this on news, but on evidence from personal experience.
Am I in the reality distortion field or are you?
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.
This ain't rocket surgery.
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.
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.
Its not like they had the opportunity to try an iPhone with another carrier.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
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?
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...
Stockholm Syndrome?
Malware != virus, just so we're clear. Do you have any citations to back your claim up about OS X viruses? Didn't think so.
Yes, I do. Also OSX is a BSD variant, which have had several viruses in the 80's and 90's.
Besides, Apple over-simplifies a lot for customers. When they're talking about viruses, they mean all of them - viruses, malware, spyware, trojans and so on.
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).
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.
"...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.
http://www.rootstrikers.org/
You did the switch wrong. If you aren't a Mac-fanboy you need to find the relative that is the one that gets fed up and tries a Mac and begins drinking the kool-aid. Then you need to let them evangelize Macs so your other relatives purchase them. Then when a computer eventually has a problem, HDD crashes, they delete something they didn't want to, who knows. When they come to you for help you just turn around and say, "I don't know/support Macs". At this point you are no longer the family tech support guy.
Ah, the "Yankee Group".
Let's take a look at the "independent research organization" called the "Yankee Group" who was the publisher of this rather surprising "study".
The single-sentence introductory paragraph to the rather glowing Yankee Group Wikipedia entry reads as follows: "Yankee Group, a Massachusetts company, sells advice and market-research information relating to information technology".
The Yankee group makes a considerable amount of it's income from the "consulting services" it offers to corporations. Consulting about what? About marketing products.
You might remember the Yankee Group because they were the ones who Microsoft hired to do a study showing that Windows 2003 was superior to Linux "in terms of quality, performance and reliability and that the Windows users are more satisfied than Linux users (think about that). Who did Yankee Group hire to do the actual "study" part? Ah, well, they hired "Sunbelt Software, a vendor of Windows utilities, which publicised the survey solely through a mailing list called W2Knews, billing itself as "the World's first and largest e-zine designed for NT/2000 System Admins and Power Users"."
So, the impartial study about Windows vs Linux was solely published in a Windows user group's online forum.
When Yankee Group was criticized for the many press releases that they put out trumpeting Windows obvious superiority over Linux, this is what happened:
This according to ZDNet.
So, at a time when Microsoft was engaged in a FUD campaign against Linux, pushing their "revolutionary" 2003 Server, they hire the Yankee Group to frame "radical" Linux users as "extremist fringe" and "loonies" and are "disrespectful" and "threatening".
So you're an IT manager and you read that. You want "disrespectful and threatening loonies" working for you or do you want to hire the more satisfied Windows administrators whose platform is "superior" in terms of "quality, performance and reliability"? That was exactly how the press releases from the Yankee Group read.
So, all you iPhone users are just thrilled to death with AT&T? Fascinating...
You are welcome on my lawn.
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?
"We live in a global world" - Harvey Pitt, former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman
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.
I herby revoke your geek license.
Seriously, AT&T and the iPhone are probably good enough for the majority of people for what they need it to do. People know nothing is perfect and, so, good enough is fine.
Be more satisfied with what "is" than dissatisfied with what "could be".
Me? I own a Qualcomm QCP-1900 from around 1997 using PrimeCo/nTelos. Don't use it a whole lot, but the phone still works like a champ and I have *never* had a call dropped. I say "bah" to your fancy text and web-enabled phones, mine actually works as a *phone* :-)
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
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.
If I were to write a Mac OS X virus and prove that it works, is there any chance you'll quit saying that? No? Didn't think so.
I think if you wrote a Mac OS X virus Steve Jobs would drive to your house and ask you to stop it. He's a very persuasive guy. ;-)
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.
You're asking us to choose from two quotes, that you've put in quotation marks, that you've made up yourself.
The answer behind the stupid question is that the Flash browser plugins crash browsers on OSX. They don't crash the OS.
(nvm that other OSes do fine when Flash goes bonkers)
i.e. The same story as OSX.
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?
Enough with the self-righteous anti-fanboy shit. Your generalization of "Apple users" is insulting and wrong.
But... but.. but... the headlines on all the ad-supported news sites and blogs I read say that Apple phones don't work, the factory workers kill themselves, no apps get approved, moisture sensors get tripped, there are useful features on the phone but you don't really want to jailbreak it, and that the iPad is a clone of an unsuccessful device from the 90's. Based on that, only millions of exceptionally stupid people would buy the phone!!1!
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
1. What BSD had in the 80s and 90s, those were worms, not technically viruses. But you can be forgiven for not understanding the distinction.
2. OSX kernel is not a BSD variant. the userspace is a BSD variant. The kernel is a Mach variant with a BSD personality welded onto it. (If I showed you some BSD code in the Windows98 kernel would you claim that Win98 is a "BSD variant").
3. Apple's website specifically mentions malware. So any over-simplification is on your part, not Apple's in this case.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
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.
That is 80% of AT&T Android users. AT&T only sells gimped Android phones.
Good for you, iceperson, but the point here is that the Yankee Group, the outfit that did this "study" showing how iPhone users love AT&T are known to do greasy things with their "studies". It has nothing to do with whether or not you like your iPhone.
The study they sponsored, showing how Windows Server 2003 is "superior" to Linux, was done using a survey that was only published to a Windows user group.
It would be like publishing a survey in Mac Life asking whether OSX was superior to Windows and Linux, and then publishing the results as evidence that OSX is clearly superior based on an "independent study".
You are welcome on my lawn.
I was on the old Cingular network when I first went into business. My first smartphone was a Treo 650. It sucked. Switched to a Treo 700p on Verizon a couple of years later when it came out. Network was a little better, phone sucked worse. Far worse.
After debating it with myself for a while, I bought the first iPhone when it came out in 2007. I still wasn't impressed by the AT&T network, but the phone worked so well I didn't care. When 3G came to pass I was unimpressed enough that if Verizon had an equivalent phone then that could have done simultaneous voice and data I might have switched.
Starting in late 2008, the AT&T network in my area's gotten a lot better. Good enough that I'm not tempted to switch anymore. I upgraded to the iPhone 4 last month, and antenna problems or not it improves reception even more for me - drop spots I had with older AT&T phones (going back to my Treo 650) are not a problem anymore. 3G speeds are excellent. When my VZ contract expires for the data card I have with them next month I will cancel it and just use tethering on my iPhone to save more money.
Basically, I pay less than I used to, have a better phone, and next to no network issues anywhere I go regularly. On the rare occasion I've had to call customer service they've been helpful and easy to reach. More than once they've called me back to follow up and make sure I'm happy. Bottom line for me - I'm happy with AT&T, and I see no reason to change. And I'm a happy iPhone user as well. As long as they don't screw it up, I'll stick with AT&T.
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
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.
I'll laugh my ass off, though, if the iPhone comes to Verizon and it drops calls constantly. If it doesn't, I'll be pissed that, for some reason, every other phone manufacturer can handle weaker coverage but Apple can't.
FWIW I live in europe and have an iPhone which I've used on several networks (and countries) and it performs the same or better as the other phones I've had (last phone was a SE-550.) YMMV, sample size of one and all that.
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
Oh no, you're not getting away so easily with that one. Here, a word from the messiah: "We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash."
And the story with supposed impressive stability goes on for a long time (and is featured in Apple marketing - so quick to forget "Hi, I'm a
Flash will cause Safari/Firefox to crash but it doesn't bring down OS X, at least not in my experience. I've had OS X crash on me a few times for all kinds of reasons but never because of "Adobe Flash" of all things. As of it's latest iteration even Safari doesn't even crash on you anymore because of Flash. It just throws up a dialog box informing you that Flash has had yet another one of it's familiar brian farts and gives you the option of sending a crash-report to Apple. You can wheel out some badly worded comment by Saint Steve but it doesn't change the fact that you are just plain wrong.
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
Well.
I have an Android phone - an HTC Legend, running Android 2.1
So - what's it like?
Coverage issues aside (I am on Vodaphone in Australia and cannot get any reception at the desk where I work, it's infuriating. I actually have my number forward to another phone just for that problem), it's ok.
Not fabulous, just ok. As a phone it is average - I previously had a Sony Ericsson K660i which I loved, it was surprisingly capable (I could get GMail and sync my contacts, but not calendar unfortunately) and the battery lasted ages. Great little thing. Keypad starting to wear out after 2 years of light use.
The HTC/Android software feels mostly average. Not brilliant. It feels a bit - well - clunky. I find myself with iPhone envy.
Battery consumption - pretty high - if I actually use the phone, I need to recharge every 1-2 days.
WiFi - reception is not great. In my front room I can use a laptop on wireless, but not the HTC.
The main phone apps could be so much better. When I look someone up, I may want to phone them, or I may want to message them. This takes far, far too many clicks.
The games are great - and I love the app store with a lot of useful things. Bit hard to find actual good ones, but such is life.
Am I satisfied - yes. Am I overjoyed - no. Am I looking forward to 2.2 - yes. Would I buy another Android - maybe. Hopefully it will improve a lot!
"Cats like plain crisps"
You obviously need an iPhone. With a degree in physics, you need something to balance your vast uncoolness.
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.
What you are describing sounds a lot like that "Think different" stuff, yet you say it as if it's a bad thing.
Since when did nonconformity become a positive thing only if it's used to sell Apple products?
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
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.
It depends on the market, for sure. Here in the Washington DC area, AT&T is the combined 1900 MHz AT&T and 850 MHz Cingular. The service has provided superior voice coverage, moved to the higher-coverage 850 MHz band, with data in the 1900 MHz band. People tend to notice problems more on the voice network so it's top-notch here in DC.
On the other side of things, the New York City market is where AT&T coverage suffers. In the past, T-Mobile and Cingular created a network called "GSM Partners" which created a powerful, market-saturating 1900 MHz network for Cingular and T-Mobile, while the also-ran AT&T competed with a spotty, pathetic 1900 MHz network with hardly any 850 MHz coverage. When Cingular and AT&T merged, that network was required to be divested to sole owner T-Mobile. As a result, T-Mobile is solid coverage in New York City, but AT&T is a pathetic, spotty player.
It really depends on where you live. Los Angeles market has a similar situation. Here in DC, we love our AT&T network with solid 850 MHz voice and 1900 MHz data. It's too bad it's not so good in NYC and other markets.
Kriston