iPhone Ranks First in Business Smartphone Satisfaction: J.D. Power

While some analysts have said the iPhone is not yet Enterprise-ready, apparently those who have tried the device for business use disagree, at least when asked by research firm J.D. Power. According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Business Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study released Thursday, Apple ranks first in overall customer satisfaction among business smartphone users.

The survey ranks the companies across a 1,000 point scale in the following "feature factors": ease of operation (27%); operating system (24%); physical design (21%); handset features (18%); and battery aspects (10%).

According to J.D. Power, Apple ranks highest in overall smartphone customer satisfaction with a score of 778 --- and they note it performed particularly well in the ease of operation, physical design and handset feature factors.

BlackBerry manufacturer RIM (703) and Samsung (701) were ranked #2 and #3; the industry average score was 681.

In their press release, Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services for J.D. Power and Associates said:

"With the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, Apple has clearly differentiated itself from the competition in areas that are most important to business smartphone users, By making basic applications and features easy to use and providing functionality in a thin, lightweight device, Apple has performed well in exceeding customer expectations."

The study also found that 25% of users report experiencing at least one software-related problem with their current smartphone device. A need to reboot the device was a top issue (44% report having to reboot their device at least once on a weekly basis during the past 12 months). It figures: it's software after all, and even without saying the obvious, that if you're using Windows Mobile, think of how often you have to reboot Windows, this type of scenario applies across OSes.

Parsons added:

"Given that smartphones are actual mini-computers, it’s not unexpected that users experience software-related issues. However, with the increasing number of features and applications that can be used on these devices, both the devices and software platforms will need to be more reliable if market penetration of smartphones is to increase over time. It’s critical for manufacturers to offer a complete package of functionality that is easy to use and has minimal operation malfunctions."

This result is in spite of the fact that the iPhone only has a virtual keyboard. Given that fact, manufacturers and carriers are starting to push devices with that interface, on top of other platforms such as Windows Mobile. They really need to know that slapping a touch-screen band-aid on top of the clunky WM OS is not the way to go.

Take a look at a graphical representation of the results, below (click to enlarge):