A new Goldman-Sachs survey regarding Apple, RIM, and the smartphone marketplace finds that the iPhone and Blackberry brands are running away from the competition based on differing user perceptions.

The survey shows that RIM and Blackberry enjoy the approval of the business enterprise, which should come as no surprise. Major corporations have been using Blackberries for as long as there have been smartphones. On the other hand, the Apple and iPhone cachet are steadily infiltrating the business marketplace like a smartphone ninja. The battle has truly been joined, leaving Palm and Motorola outside looking in.

The marketplace for which they are fighting is a large one already, and is growing fast. Goldman Sachs sees smartphone sales growing 12 percent in 2010, 22 percent in 2011 and 29 percent in 2012. Those are very large increases. Clearly, a basic cellular phone is no longer enough. But which phone do smartphone consumers want? Goldman Sach’s survey of 300 smartphone users found that Apple’s iPhone gets higher marks for loyalty and satisfaction, but that the difference is not great enough to steal much market share from RIM. There appears to be some interest in Palm, while Motorola is a non-starter, according to a ZDNet story.

The Goldman Sach’s report contains a great deal of analysis for a survey among just 300 smartphone users. The following nuggets are among the conclusions reached by survey analysts:

• Of the 300 consumers surveyed, 57 percent of them owned a BlackBerry. Twenty-eight percent of respondents that didn’t own a smartphone said they were inclined to go with a BlackBerry. Overall, enterprise spending and BlackBerry employer subsidies will boost RIM for some time to come.
• Subsidies matter. Seventy-one of respondents said that their companies subsidized their BlackBerries. The comparable tally for the iPhone was 45 percent. Companies are introducing the BlackBerry to consumers. Employees are introducing the iPhone to their employers, the exact opposite paradigm.
• Apple has good news and bad news, but most of it is very positive. Goldman found that three-fourths of current iPhone users plan on staying with Apple. And half of those expecting to upgrade to a smartphone are leaning toward the iPhone. On the downside, call service quality is the biggest complaint about the iPhone.
• Consumers rate carrier choice as the least important aspect of their smartphone. Add that nugget to the connection complaints and Goldman Sachs reckons that tiered pricing for data services is coming.
• The iPhone is already being used for business. The survey found that smartphones are used for personal and business use. The difference between BlackBerry and the iPhone appears to be this: Corporations issue BlackBerries that are ultimately used for personal reasons. iPhones are bought for personal reasons first and then wind up for business use. Telling information, indeed.

In short, Apple’s iPhone is sneaking in the back door of corporations because their users love them. The Blackberry is still the dominant force because corporations are paying for them and issuing them to their employees. It would appear that it comes down to a money issue. The users of the phone would rather have an iPhone. If corporations were paying for iPhones instead of Blackberries, RIM would be another also-ran. As it is, Apple is catching up despite the employer subsidy advantage that is currently enjoyed by RIM.

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Entry was posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 3:32 pm under News, iPhone.  Print This Post

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