54 Percent of online consumers don't plan to buy iPhone
By siliconindia   |   Friday, 20 June 2008, 19:30 IST
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Bangalore: A survey by PriceGrabber.com, a part of Experian, which explores iPhone purchasing trends and smartphone pricing history, says that 54 percent of the online consumers are not in a plan to buy Apple iPhone. While only 4 percent of survey respondents currently own an iPhone, 42 percent are considering purchasing one. Of the remaining 54 percent who do not intend to purchase the iPhone, 41 percent say that the mobile device costs too much and another 22 percent prefer a network carrier other than AT&T. Prior to Apple's announcement that the new iPhone 3G will cost $199, Apple and Nokia, on average, had the highest-priced cell phones, while Blackberry, Motorola and Samsung provided prices on the low end. With Apple's recent announcement of the lower-priced iPhone 3G, Apple may see online consumers changing their minds about purchasing an iPhone. Results are based on a survey of 3,066 online consumers conducted from May 20 to June 5, 2008. As Apple attempts to appeal to enterprise users and IT departments with the iPhone 3G’s Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync capabilities, the company is becoming more of a competitor with long-standing corporate-friendly devices like Research In Motion’s Blackberry. Out of the 4 percent of respondents who currently own an iPhone, 40 percent own two devices - one device for work and the iPhone for personal use. More than half of those respondents plan to get rid of their second device because of the Apple's new synching capabilities. Of the top 20 most popular cell phones on PriceGrabber.com, 19 have MP3 player capabilities, although only 29 percent of respondents actually use the feature on their phone. Survey respondents also indicated that the MP3 player within the iPhone is one of their least favorite features. The majority of online consumers say that the fingertip navigation feature is the best feature of the iPhone, while 17 percent chose the Web browsing connection and 16 percent enjoy the integrated applications. Forty-six percent of consumers indicated that the second most important cell phone feature behind a large color display screen is Bluetooth compatibility. With 22 U.S. states enforcing cell phone driving laws, five states that have banned handsets completely and 17 others that have varied regulations, Bluetooth and hands-free headsets are becoming a required accessory with devices such as the iPhone.

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