Survey -- Engadget

survey posts

Best Buy-sponsored survey shows that Americans want smartphones even though they don't understand them

by Tim Stevens, posted Jul 1st 2009 at 6:57AM

Do you understand your smartphone... really understand it? Know its moods, its wants, its desires? A survey hosted by Best Buy Mobile shows that half of people don't, with 47 percent saying the things confuse the heck out of them, while 60 percent of those aged 35 - 49 feel that people with smartphones spend too much time working and not enough time playing Wii Sports Bowling. Those feelings of confusion and ire doesn't stop a "sizable segment" of the rest of the 1,000 people surveyed from wanting a handset with brains, with most desiring access to the sort of apps you can't get on dumbphones, and 14 percent of women saying that playing games was "very important" -- only nine percent of men said the same. Sadly, there was no figure indicating how many people enjoy paying too much for text messages and signing their lives away on lengthy contracts.

Plain English Campaign wants to bring down walls of technobabble, rule the world

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 28th 2009 at 10:55AM

So look, we fully understand that not everyone "gets" technology-related lingo -- we've had to walk our mums and dads through setting up a WLAN router with a WPA2 password and 1337 encryption many, many times. But this... this is just comical. Peter Griffiths, who we can only imagine looks and speaks exactly like Peter Griffin (pictured), is hoping that his Plain English Campaign can knock down the "walls of techobabble" by "pulling our heads out of the digital clouds and using plain English." Ironic, really, given that most of the technologically illiterate wouldn't know that a digital cloud actually refers to an off-site storage hub where information is exchanged. At any rate, it seems the campaign is pushing to have flummoxing terms such as digital TV, phone jack, desktop and dongle (yes, seriously) changed, or at worse, have them defined clearly in a dictionary that precisely no one would ever read.

TiVo survey hints at new name, direction for Series4 boxes

by Richard Lawler, posted Apr 20th 2009 at 2:58PM

We don't know exactly what the next generation of TiVo hardware will be like, but if these survey screenshots are to be believed, we have an idea what they might be called. EHD reader Justin tipped us off to a recent online survey road testing new names like TiVo eVO, TiVO OmniBox, TiVo Series4 and TiVo OnDemand for new hardware with the TiVo features we've come to know and love plus video on-demand access. Squaring off against competition like the Roku player and Xbox 360, peep the gallery and see how these roll off the tongue, or suggest innovation and environmental friendliness.

Gallery: TiVo Naming Survey

Report finds single women enthusiastic about technology, single men enthusiastic about single women

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Apr 16th 2009 at 7:14PM

A new report, entitled "The Single Female Tech Buyer: Cast Aside Myths And Embrace This Target Segment" may read like the latest Tom Clancy techno-thriller (okay, not really) but its message is crystal clear: "cast aside myths," it says, "and embrace this target segment." In its study of one thousand single men and one thousand single women residing in the United States and Canada, Forrester Research uncovered a slew of facts you can use to sell single women stuff that they probably don't need. Behold: When asked about their next computer, the vast majority of women (forty-seven percent) said they were planning on buying a laptop, while most of the men (again, forty-seven percent) said they'd be buying a desktop. Clearly, laptop makers should be concentrating hot-to-trot models like the Vaio P (or, for the budget conscious, the Vaino), while desktop manufacturers should concentrate on superhero or vicious animal-themed desktop rigs. But that ain't all! Ownership amongst bachelors and bachelorettes were darn near equal for things like gaming consoles, handheld games, and digital cameras. If you can't wait to dip into what is sure to be a real page turner, make sure you hit the read link -- the report can be yours for a mere $749.

[Via CNET]

Survey shows increasing preference for MP3 by youngsters, audiophiles weep

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 9th 2009 at 6:43AM

We can already envision the flame fest on this one, so we'll just cut to the chase. Jonathan Berger, professor of music at Stanford, has been conducting some pretty interesting tests on incoming students, and he's been recording results that'll surely make audiophiles cringe. He has been asking his students to listen to tracks in MP3 format as well as in formats of much higher quality, all while asking them to select the one they like best; increasingly, youngsters have been choosing the sizzling, tinny sounds of MP3 over more pure representations. The reasoning may have more to do with psychology that audiology, as many conclude that generations simply prefer what they're used to. Ever known someone to swear that vinyl sounds best, pops and all? So yeah, what we've really learned is that MP3 is more of an "acquired taste," but those still attempting to build their SACD collection should be genuinely afraid of the future.

[Via techdirt, image courtesy of iasos]

Seattle crowned most wired city in America: where's your town?

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 24th 2009 at 9:41PM

Check it, Pacific Northwest -- Seattle, Washington was just named Forbes' most wired city for 2009, followed closely by Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Orlando and Boston. Of course, having Amazon and Microsoft within spitting distance probably didn't hurt matters, and the eleventy billion Starbucks WiFi hotspots likely pushed it over the edge. There are 25 other locales in the top 30 that we've yet to mention here, so head on down to the read link to see if your hometown made the cut. Oh, and way to represent, Raleigh -- numero fifteen ain't too shabby.

[Via cnmoody]

Nokia survey finds that many Americans work on the can

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 21st 2008 at 3:33PM

We already know that a solid chunk of Britons use mobile internet while in the throes of passion, and now Captain Obvious (today known as Nokia) has awkwardly landed to tell the world that Americans do too. A recent survey, which we can only imagine was absolutely thrilling to conduct, found that some 53% of working Americans "have been interrupted by a work-related phone call or e-mail while in the bathroom." Furthermore, some 23% have allowed a call / e-mail to interrupt them while on a date, but that's probably because 59% of those polled never, ever turn off their mobile. Just think -- the next time your buddy answers with a hint of stress in his / her voice, there's a statistically significant chance that you're barging in on some seriously personal business.

[Image courtesy of fletchy182]

Sprint's CSR response time skyrockets to first in recent survey

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 20th 2008 at 5:36PM

Last summer, Sprint was the laughing stock of the major US carriers in terms of customer service. Fast forward 15 months, and the very same carrier is now sitting atop the pile. A recent report compiled by Pali Research has found that Sprint's wireless customer care response times were best in class, and just 2.5 years ago in its first survey, Sprint was dead last. The carrier answered a whopping 91% of calls that researchers placed to the care center in under 30 seconds, while 99% of calls were answered within 2 minutes. If you're curious how the other guys did, try this: Verizon grabbed the silver with 85%, T-Mobile followed with 43% and AT&T took home the award of shame with just 33% of test calls answered within half a minute. So, the real question is: have you Sprint customers noticed an uptick in service levels? And are you AT&T subscribers growing increasingly impatient?

[Via phoneArena]

Microsoft survey hints at Instant On OS concept

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 15th 2008 at 8:06AM

Hmm, what have we here? A recent Microsoft survey sent out to select users has us wondering what on Earth the mega-corp is planning to do next, and judging by the looks of things, it has everything to do with Instant On. We've seen a number of these lightning-fast boot applications, with the most recent being ASUS' Splashtop OS and the iteration loaded onto Dell's freshest Latitudes. The survey makes mention that the "Instant On experience is different from 'Full Windows' because it limits what activities you can do and what applications you have access to." The survey also asks about which applications would be most important to have quick access to, and it very plainly states that in this "scenario," your PC would "be usable in eight seconds." So, is Instant On coming to Windows? Who knows -- but it's clear someone at Redmond is giving it some thought.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Gallery: Microsoft survey hints at Instant On OS concept

Analysts say HDTV sales could decline in current economy, snow could fall in Montana

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 14th 2008 at 11:26AM

Hey, the analysts have to find something to talk about, right? As the Blue Chips rise and fall like the tides, so have bobbed the reports regarding how this economy will affect HDTV sales. Just a week ago, one survey found that 73% of non-HDTV owners were still forging ahead with plans to pick up an HDTV within the next 12 months, and given the record low prices we're apt to see on Black Friday, we don't half blame 'em. Merely 24 hours later, out popped another report backing the claim. Now, however, Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., is suggesting that the current credit crunch could already be eating away at TV sales. Or, you know, maybe all these intelligent souls out there understand that massive sales are just over a month away. How's that for analysis?

[Image courtesy of StarTribune]

InfoWorld finds 35% of enterprise-class users downgrade to XP

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 18th 2008 at 7:11PM

Hold your horses, vaquero. Let's not blow this all out of proportion here. While it's no secret that a certain amount of Vista purchasers are utilizing that "downgrade to XP" option to its fullest extent, a small (and let us emphasize "small") collection of data suggests that some 35% of "mainly enterprise-class users" have opted for XP over Vista on their newly-purchased rig. By scouring data from the 3,000 or so members feeding information to the InfoWorld Windows Sentinel tool, the site found that just over 1 in 3 users had defected to Microsoft's previous OS. Granted, the tool cannot take into account Linux users or even the "Hackintosh crowd," though as Randall Kennedy puts it, 35% is "still a huge percentage, and way out of proportion for even the dramatically unpopular Windows Vista."

87% of PlayStation 3 owners watching Blu-ray movies? Survey says yes

by Richard Lawler, posted Jul 4th 2008 at 9:09PM

Buried under predictions that 2012 will bring dominance for Blu-ray over DVD and breaking news that the PS3 just may have had a hand in winning the format war the Entertainment Merchant's Association 2008 Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry holds survey results showing 87% of PS3 owners reported they watch Blu-ray movies on their console. That's a stark contrast to last year's NPD survey indicating 60% of owners didn't even know it played them. We don't know what's behind the jump, be it better marketing/consumer education, or something wrong with how one the surveys were conducted. You can mull that one over during the fast money round while also peeping results that say 22% of HDTV owners think they're watching HD programming, but in fact are not -- not like we haven't heard that before.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Worldwide PCs in use surpass 1 billion, next billion to come in 2014

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 23rd 2008 at 9:59AM

So, we hear that Planet Earth is home to four billion phone lines. Now it can claim to house over one billion installed PCs -- what do those neighboring planets have on that, huh? According to research firm Gartner, the number of "installed PCs worldwide has surpassed 1 billion units," and it estimates that said figure is growing at around 12-percent annually. Should this trend continue, we'll be reporting on 2 billion sometime during 2014. It should be noted that this figure accounts for computers in use rather than units shipped, and while the current ratio remains slanted towards mature markets, Gartner expects emerging markets to (expectedly) account for a larger share as we climb to 2 billion. Unsurprisingly, the firm also suggests that around 180 million PCs will be replaced this year, with around 35 million of those hitting landfills "with little or no regard for their toxic content." Kind of puts a damper on things, wouldn't you say?

[Via Reuters, image courtesy of Wikimedia]

Study finds that we're all arrogant jerks, can probably fix its own damn iPod next time

by Nilay Patel, posted Jun 19th 2008 at 5:09PM

Hey you -- yeah, you. The one reading this here gadget site. You know what? You're a jerk. A complete kneebiter. That's the conclusion of a recent study conducted by Mindset Media and Nielsen Research, which evaluated the "mindsets" of 25,000 American adults and found that technology fans scored high on such traits as leadership, "dynamism" and assertiveness, but had low marks in modesty and could be perceived as arrogant and conceited by others. That's fine by us -- we're not going to turn down leadership for being well-liked, after all -- but we've got a feeling those survey results are going to change as soon as someone at Nielsen needs his or her printer drivers updated. Obligatory Nick Burns video after the break.

[Thanks, Benjamin; hoodie from ThinkGeek]

Continue reading Study finds that we're all arrogant jerks, can probably fix its own damn iPod next time

Survey: 74% of US Americans say NO to in-flight calling, YES to data

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 21st 2008 at 8:58AM

In a Harris Interactive survey of 2,030 US adults of whom, 1,778 have actually flown in an airplane, a full three quarters say that cellphone usage on airplanes should be restricted to "non-talking features." In other words, email, texting, and surfing the Web. That's a pretty significant majority seeing as how the EC has cleared the way for calls within European airspace. 69% of consumers agreed that if voice calls are permitted, a special "talking zone" should be established so that other passengers are not interrupted. While the survey reflects our own opinions, take note that the results benefit sites like Yahoo! Mobile, the very company which commissioned the survey. It's also worth highlighting a comment made by a certain Miss Teen, South Carolina who said, "That some US Americans should be unable to do so, because, uh, some-a people out there in our nation don't have cellphones, and such as, maps." Good point.