Android and iPhone battle for Blackberry Users
Crowd Science, a company that generates analytics based on demographic surveys of website visitors, has published their semi-annual study that shows that nearly 40% of Blackberry users continue to prefer Apple's iPhone as their next smartphone purchase, but a third of them would also switch to the Android operating system. The study also found Android users rivaling iPhone users in loyalty, with about 90% of each user group planning to stick with their current brand when buying their next phone.
Asked if they'd swap their present phone for Google's new Android-based Nexus One, 32% of Blackberry users said "yes," compared with just 9% of iPhone users. This figure zoomed to 60% for users of smartphones not made by Blackberry or Apple.
Other survey results include:
- Android users are younger and less affluent than iPhone and Blackberry users.
- Users of all types of smartphones had downloaded more free applications than paid ones, with iPhone users more likely to pay for apps, Android users leading in free apps, and Blackbery users far behind on both.
- Both Android users and iPhone users were found much more likely than Blackberry users to use their phones only for personal use (32%, 28% and 16% respectively).
- 7% of Blackberry users use their phone only for business, with only 1% of iPhone users making that claim, and non-existent in the Android base.
- For the survey, the Crowd Scientists used 1,140 respondents from websites. 44% of these used a regular cellphone, not a smartphone. iPhone users composed 17% of respondents, followed by Blackberry users at 15%,Nokia at 10%, Windows Mobile user were 4%, Android 3% and Palm 2%.
For more details of the study click here Crowd Science Study
We would really like to know our members feelings on this issue. Would you be willing to swap for an iPhone ? Would you switch to an Android ? Would you answer be "No way I'd trade my Blackberry!! " This could have very interesting results. Personally, I am very comfortable and happy with my Blackberry Storm2. It's not perfect, but I doubt the others are either. It fits my needs...so I would NOT swap mine for either.
Please share your thoughts here.
Had a Droid and Returned it for what it Doesn't
I have had a blackberry on my hip for many years. My 8330 curve contract was up and I decided to go to the Droid. Long story short, I am now running a Blackberry Storm2.
It all depends on what is important to you. I needed a device that is a good email unit and a good phone. Browsing/games etc... are nice but these two are my top criteria.
The Droid is superior on paper. FAST, beautiful screen, tons of free apps and is configurable to a degree only dreamed of in BB land. Its more like a laptop for your pocket.
Its duties as a phone, however are an afterthought. There is no dedicated button for phone. Want to make a call? Unlock the phone, find your phone app and dial. On the blackberry, I can push a green phone button and there it is. I can also tap my bluetooth and use voice dial. Want to hang up? Push the red button. On the droid its all done on the screen, which is funny if the screen is off, or if you have switched to a different app than the dialer.
Ever try to add a signature for an exchange account to the default droid mail app? It doesn't exist outside of Gmail at the moment.
Cut and Paste? Not as easy as blackberry, nor is it universal.
It also seems that I have thumbs that are evidently not the form factor Motorola designed around. The hardware keyboard is a bad joke, and the virtual ones are neat but I made far too many mistakes. I like the click through, tactile feel of the Storm 2 much better.
I am hopeful the new webkit based browser improves the Internet experience of the native browser. The current one is sub-par. I make do with Opera 5 mini.
In any mobile device it all boils down to what is important to you. Try your next device out for a while and see if it does what you need it to do, the way you want it. Everyone's experience is different.
