Asian vendors score best in customer satisfaction
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.-Overall satisfaction among wireless mobile-phone owners is up 5 percent from last year, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ newly released “2004 U.S. Wireless Mobile Phone Evaluation Study,” representing the first significant increase the industry has recorded since the report began three years ago.
For the survey, which measures satisfaction among consumers who have owned their phones for less than two years based on features, durability, physical design, battery function and operation, J.D. Powers received responses from 13,458 households.
The study found that Sanyo ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction, performing above average in all five categories. Samsung Corp. and LG Electronics followed Sanyo in the ranking.
The study showed consumer satisfaction with the phone’s features is up most significantly, at 8 percent, mainly in the text messaging and Internet capability categories. Satisfaction with the phone’s design, including weight and visual appeal, also rose significantly.
The study also found the average handset purchase price in 2004 is $99, up from $88 in 2003; the average replacement cycle for a handset is 18 months; camera-phone ownership is at 15 percent, up from 4 percent last year; and more than half of all handsets purchased during the past year have color displays.
