New study shows iPhone users to be in a class by themselves
iPhone users are richer, younger, and perhaps even more productive at work than those who use competing smartphones, according to a new study released Friday.
The study ($750 fee) from independent market analysis company Forrester Research suggests iPhone users comprise the elite upper class of smartphone customers. The data was compiled from 32,228 working U.S. adults in 2008. It found that those who own an iPhone are typically more active on their phones and more connected to the internet than those who fell into generic “smartphone” or “mobile phone” categories.”
The study, compiled by Ted Schadler, found that iPhone users are “more than twice as likely to access the Internet from their phone as working BlackBerry, Palm, or Windows Mobile device owners.” The research was inspired by anecdotal comments from companies such as Kraft Foods and Oracle that implied employees have a personal drive to use an iPhone at work, even when one is not provided by the employer.
The research suggests that an employee with an iPhone could be more productive: Those who carry Apple’s handheld device are more likely to stay connected to their employer’s network. Workers with an iPhone also usually leave their laptop at work, suggesting the phone essentially replaces the need for a traditional full-form mobile computer.
When comparing customer Internet usage, the study shows that the iPhone blows away its competitors. 78 percent of iPhone users reported they access the Internet at least weekly on their phone, while only 38 percent of the rest of the smartphone market were on the mobile Web that often.
The report has been a long time in the making. The survey was first conducted a year and a half ago, when the iPhone had only been available for six months and its starting price of $500 was considered by many to be prohibitively high. With Apple announcing this week a $99 iPhone 3G (subsidized by carrier AT&T) the phone is expected to have even more mass-market penetration. Forrester Research, based in Cambridge, Mass., plans to re-visit the study this year to see how the iPhone’s user demographics may have changed.
Among the study’s other findings:
iPhone users are younger. 30 percent of iPhone users in 2008 were of Generation Y, a larger portion than the rest of the smartphone market.
iPhone users are more educated and affluent. 49 percent of iPhone users have a college education, and 67 percent earn more than $70,000 a year.
iPhone customers spend more on their service. The average monthly phone bill for an iPhone user was $87, compared to $76 for the smartphone market, and $66 for traditional mobile phone users.
Employers are slightly less likely to subsidize an iPhone. 24 percent of respondents with an iPhone said they are compensated by their employer for their phone bill, while 28 percent of smartphone users have their employee pay all or part of it.
The study ($750 fee) from independent market analysis company Forrester Research suggests iPhone users comprise the elite upper class of smartphone customers. The data was compiled from 32,228 working U.S. adults in 2008. It found that those who own an iPhone are typically more active on their phones and more connected to the internet than those who fell into generic “smartphone” or “mobile phone” categories.”
The study, compiled by Ted Schadler, found that iPhone users are “more than twice as likely to access the Internet from their phone as working BlackBerry, Palm, or Windows Mobile device owners.” The research was inspired by anecdotal comments from companies such as Kraft Foods and Oracle that implied employees have a personal drive to use an iPhone at work, even when one is not provided by the employer.
The research suggests that an employee with an iPhone could be more productive: Those who carry Apple’s handheld device are more likely to stay connected to their employer’s network. Workers with an iPhone also usually leave their laptop at work, suggesting the phone essentially replaces the need for a traditional full-form mobile computer.
When comparing customer Internet usage, the study shows that the iPhone blows away its competitors. 78 percent of iPhone users reported they access the Internet at least weekly on their phone, while only 38 percent of the rest of the smartphone market were on the mobile Web that often.
The report has been a long time in the making. The survey was first conducted a year and a half ago, when the iPhone had only been available for six months and its starting price of $500 was considered by many to be prohibitively high. With Apple announcing this week a $99 iPhone 3G (subsidized by carrier AT&T) the phone is expected to have even more mass-market penetration. Forrester Research, based in Cambridge, Mass., plans to re-visit the study this year to see how the iPhone’s user demographics may have changed.
Among the study’s other findings:
iPhone users are younger. 30 percent of iPhone users in 2008 were of Generation Y, a larger portion than the rest of the smartphone market.
iPhone users are more educated and affluent. 49 percent of iPhone users have a college education, and 67 percent earn more than $70,000 a year.
iPhone customers spend more on their service. The average monthly phone bill for an iPhone user was $87, compared to $76 for the smartphone market, and $66 for traditional mobile phone users.
Employers are slightly less likely to subsidize an iPhone. 24 percent of respondents with an iPhone said they are compensated by their employer for their phone bill, while 28 percent of smartphone users have their employee pay all or part of it.
Comments
I am a windows mobile smartphone user who preordered the iphone.
I see a lot of people who wouldnt normally have a smartphone with an iphone but i dont think the states are right on blackberry and windows mobile smartphone users.
iPhone users are richer, younger, and perhaps even more productive at work than those who use competing smartphones, according to a new study released Friday....
Wow. As a "Gen V" person who isn't rich I'm in a distinct minority.
Maybe I should switch to WinMobile and start listening to Dinosaur Rock?
This seems about right. I'm older, poorer and not very productive at work and I haven't got one!
ha ha- was about to write the same words-older, poorer and not very productive with the addition that i have an do iPhone so i must be in my very own class!
I dont think this is a good survey. What did they count as the mobile web? I have a smartphone and dont use the actual web that much but remote into work via remote desktop on the phone , use map software that accesses the web and youtube apps and things like that but dont access a web broswer that much.
Someone with that behavior wouldn't show up on their survey. Nor should you, because the number of people doing that sort of thing is so small as to be unmeasurable anyway.
Fitter, happier, more productive, comfortable, not drinking too much, regular exercise at the gym
A pig in a cage on antibiotics.
I am so shocked.
So what is next? British Queen is driving in Rolse Royce..?
I was thinking their attitude, was the beginning of a breakdown, in mass-consumption in the youth culture but these number imply that there are a bunch of rich kids who want this crap as badly as their older counterparts. I thought the kids we're more hip than that.
I hope they make it much harder for ad execs like myself to sell crap to them and I hope they don't start thinking I'm not paying them enough so hey can buy their own iphone.
This is June 2009. Since that time there have been far to many new smart phones released for these numbers to even be considered relevant.
Old news articles don't reflect current market trends.
Wow. As a "Gen V" person who isn't rich I'm in a distinct minority.
Maybe I should switch to WinMobile and start listening to Dinosaur Rock?
Generation V? I don't think that's an actual term... I believe it's the "Baby Boom Generation."
The average monthly phone bill for an iPhone user was $87
Wow! That amazes me if true. And if that's the average, with the low end being $69, then a lot of people are higher than $87!
They must rely on SMS a LOT and talk WAY more than I do. I feel like I'm on my iPhone constantly, but with some of being evening minutes and in-network minutes, I never use up the included minutes. I just accumulate--so even if my habits change I have a huge cushion.
Baby mamas keeping Apple afloat!
Wow! That amazes me if true. And if that's the average, with the low end being $69, then a lot of people are higher than $87!
They must rely on SMS a LOT and talk WAY more than I do. I feel like I'm on my iPhone constantly, but with some of being evening minutes and in-network minutes, I never use up the included minutes. I just accumulate--so even if my habits change I have a huge cushion.
It actually says an average of $87 spent on ALL mobile phones so I'm not really sure it's $87 per iPhone account - seems fuzzy when they say "all mobile phones" because if you have more than 1 I'm sure you pay more than $87 a month.
These numbers are taken from a 2008 poll.
This is June 2009. Since that time there have been far to many new smart phones released for these numbers to even be considered relevant.
Old news articles don't reflect current market trends.
I agree. It doesn't seem like any sort of revelation that a survey that was conducted when the iPhone could only be had for $499 and a minimum $70 monthly service fee would show that it was mostly being purchased by people with higher incomes. Nor does the fact they made more use of the internet; if I plunked down $500 for a device, I'd be darn sure I used it frequently as well at least initially (I'm looking at you, $500 PS3 that now sits mostly idle and even then mostly for movie watching). And again not much of a shocker that most purchasers were young males who are ALWAYS the majority demographic when it comes to new electronic gadgets.
The real title of the article should be "Survey states the obvious about early iPhone adopters."