Smartphone, iPhone User Study: Apple in Class by Itself, Phones Not for TV

The iPhone is among the foci of a Compete, Inc. study of consumer online shopping and browsing behavior - specifically regarding wireless-device demand, pre-purchase cross-shopping patterns, and consumer attitudes toward entertainment and productivity-oriented devices, writes MarketingCharts.

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Shortcuts to charts featured in this article:

1. Weekly online research for the iPhone & Samsung Blackjack
2. Top 10 sites visited from searches containing “iphone”
3. AT&T iPhone cross-shopping
4. Smartphone use - personal vs work productivity
5. Most important features/uses for smartphones

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Among the key findings regarding iPhone and smartphone online shoppers:

• Measured by online consumer interest, the iPhone was the biggest handset launch ever (see chart: Weekly online research for the iPhone & Samsung Blackjack):
  • The iPhone drew 20 times more interest than the average phone launch.
  • It drew higher volumes of shoppers than either the Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii at the height of their respective launches.

• Apple’s site was the biggest beneficiary of traffic from searchers whose search words contained “iphone”; it was followed by everythingiPhone and engadget (see chart: Top 10 sites visited from searches containing “iphone”).

• Consumers evaluating iPhone are only half as likely to cross-shop other phones as the average wireless consumer. When they do consider other phones, they gravitate toward smartphones and music phones (see chart: AT&T iPhone cross-shopping):

• More than 50 percent of Palm and Windows Mobile smartphones users rely on their devices primarily for personal use; but that’s not the case for the Blackberry (see chart: Smartphone use - personal vs work productivity).

• Consumers of advanced wireless devices consider web or internet access (68 percent) the most important feature on smartphones, and are least interested in mobile TV (17 percent) (see chart: Most important features/uses for smartphones).

“The iPhone represents an important milestone in the evolution of consumer attitudes and behavior towards advanced wireless devices and services,” said Adam Guy, Compete’s general manager of telecommunications and media.

“As the mass market continues to adopt increasingly advanced technologies, players throughout the wireless value chain will find new opportunities to offer dynamic and flexible products.”