Even Without An iPhone 5 Release, Apple Still Leads The Smartphone Pack In Buyer Preference – ChangeWave Survey

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ChangeWave has released findings of its latest consumer survey on future demand for smartphones including mobile OS and handset preferences going forward.

ChangeWave Vice President of Research Paul Carton notes that ChangeWave’s June, 2011 survey of 4,163 consumers has taken a fresh look at smart phone demand trends including mobile OS and smart phone preferences going forward, focusing on key comparisons between the Apple iOS and Google Android OS including the impact of Apple’s new iCloud service along with the latest momentum trends for Motorola and Research in Motion.

This survey focuses primarily on the North American smart phone market with the sample being 89% U.S. respondents and 11% outside the U.S.

Mobile OS Preferences Among Consumers

The Apple iOS and Google Android OS continue to dominate preferences for mobile operating systems, according to the latest ChangeWave survey results.

Going forward, the Apple iOS remains the number one preference for buyers with 46% of those planning to buy a smart phone in the next 90 days saying they prefer to have the Apple iOS on their new phone, up 2-pts since the March survey.

Firmly in second in the North American market, the Android OS (32%) has registered a slight uptick (up 1-pt) in terms of future buyer preference. In contrast, Research in Motions BlackBerry OS (4%; down 1-pt) has once again hit its lowest level ever in a ChangeWave survey.

Smart Phone Manufacturer Demand

Despite no new Apple model launch, demand still appears strongest for the iPhone in terms of North American planned purchasing.

Nearly half of respondents (48%) planning on buying a smart phone in the next 90 days say theyll get an iPhone up 1-pt since our previous survey in March and the highest level of demand in the smart phone industry.

The same can’t be said for Motorola (8%; down 4-pts). After benefitting tremendously in the years Verizon subscribers were barred from the iPhone market, Motorola is now seeing a loss of market share at least partially attributable to the Verizon iPhone release that occurred earlier this year, Carton notes.

Still, he suggests that Motorola’s situation is considerably less daunting than that of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion’s, noting that seven of the past 10 ChangeWave quarterly surveys since 2008 have seen a drop in RIMs planned purchase share, and ‘mportantly, RIM’s customer satisfaction ratings have also fallen in nine of the past 10 ChangeWave surveys, with this latest survey showing them at their lowest level ever for this most critical of indicators.

Additional results include:
* A closer look at competition between Apple, Motorola, Research In Motion, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and HTC, among others
* Impact of Apple iCloud

* Operating System satisfaction ratings

For more on the ChangeWave Survey Results follow this link:
http://bit.ly/qQ2NwA

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