RIM's Blackberry Wins J.D. Power & Associates Award

BlackBerry devices manufactured by Research in Motion (RIM), ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction among business wireless PDAPhone users, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Business Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study which was released yesterday. This was their first study of PDAPhones (they called them Smartphones, but targeted the segment we call PDAPhones here at PPH) and I am happy to see that they have finally looked at this growing business segment. It is not a surprise to me that RIM won this given that they have done a great job of what they do - push email - and in most cases are deployed with the support of the IT organization.

The study looked at how business customer's satisfaction with their PDAPhones compared across six key factors. In order of importance, the surveyed categories were: ease of operation (22%); operating system (21%); physical design (20%); audio (14%); battery aspects (13%); and utility features (10%). RIM ranked highest with a score of 702 points on a 1,000-point scale. The excelled in the operating system and battery aspects categories. While RIM took the win, they were followed very closly by Palm and Samsung who tied for second with a score of 698. From my own personal use of these devices, I would think that the margin would have been greater, but then I'm not using a Blackberry so that probably says something.

The study identified some interesting trends:

Repairs - Only 13% had to get their device repaired for "software application issues, device locking up or display not working". I would think that this would be higher, but then we probably hear from more people here having problems, than the norm.

Integrated Features - Over 40% would like and integrated GPS (global positioning system), followed by 26% for Wi-Fi, 22% for touch screen, and 19% for an integrated TV. That last one kind of surprised me, along with no mention of audio player and camera.

Cost - The average price paid was $261. Palm owners were highest at $313 compared with Motorola being the lowest at $194.

Why Chosen - The top reasons for picking a device brand were: PDA or PIM functions, i.e. Contacts, Calendar, ToDos, etc. (50%), Internet access (48%), Bluetooth connectivity (46%), ease of use (44%) and overall design and styling (44%).

Software - Third party software was used by 35% of owners. The most popular software categories included games (51%), travel programs (42%), and business applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel (36%).

This information is useful in understanding why we see carriers and manufacturers going in certain directions. It explains puzzling market trends like the absense of a good PDAPhone of the flip-phone design. With the absense of the Samsung i500, and failure to launch of its much awaited i550 (which was later retagged on a completely different product), it is possibly explained when we don't find portability anywhere in the top answers of this study. You can read more about the results at J.D. Power & Associates.