14 DAY TRIAL // Surveys are showing that iPhone customers are very pleased with the little devices, so pleased that they have actually managed to take industry observers by surprise. The device has managed to capture the heart and imagination of users much like the Mac and iPod before it, if not more so.
Apple and AT&T are gaining customers from everywhere as a result of customer satisfaction with the iPhone. In one of the very first studies, 90% of iPhone owners were "extremely" or "very" satisfied with their phone. And 85% said they are "extremely" or "very" likely to recommend the device to others. These findings are "pretty much off the charts," according to Jason Kramer, chief strategy officer at market researcher Interpret, a firm whose clients are in the entertainment and mobile industries. Despite what other companies might say, there has never been a device like the iPhone and customers are very aware of that.
Apple has a history of customer loyalty through quality and user experience and customer satisfaction is very important to them. Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of worldwide marketing for the iPod and iPhone, said positive word-of-mouth reaction is "critically important" to any product, as it was with the iPod. "We're getting even greater reaction to the iPhone," he says.
As with nearly all first generations of radically new and different devices, the cost of the iPhone is still high and this remains the most cited reason for not purchasing one. Other common complaints about the device include battery life, network speed and internal memory, all of which will undoubtedly be addressed in future versions. Regardless of these shortcomings, the iPhone is definitely extending Apple's reach, with 30% of buyers being first time Apple customers and 40% of them never having owned an iPod before. The device is also good to AT&T as approximately half of the iPhone owners had to switch from another carrier.