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New survey says iOS 6 users aren't as happy as they were with iOS 5
The word from mobile customer research firm On Device (as reported by TechCrunch) is iOS 5 eked out a bit more customer satisfaction than iOS 6 has thus far. The company checked with 16,000 iPhone users, and even though it's only a small deviation, it's the first time there has been a dip in the numbers measured by On Device. iOS 6 users have a reported satisfaction rating of 7.65, compared to 7.75 for iOS 5. When iOS 5 came out, that number was a jump from 6.93. In fact, every iOS release has seen an increase until now. If I had to make a guess, I'd say it's all the negative talk of the new Maps app, and because such a large percentage of users are using their phones for navigation, any trouble with Maps can have an effect on user satisfaction. It's just one set of numbers, and the satisfaction change is very small. We'll see more data from more surveys in the coming weeks and see if a trend develops. [via TechCrunch]
Boxee's Early Access program is looking for a few good testers, dangles Cloudee preview
While Boxee's oddly shaped set-top box is still its main claim to fame, it's been testing a cloud-based video hosting / sharing service for several months in closed beta. We got a peek at Cloudee, which could evolve into additional features for the Boxee Box some day, back then but you could get your own peek as Boxee is recruiting new (US-based only, for now) blood for its Early Access program. According to the Facebook posting you could get to test some new things for the Boxee and Cloudee projects, so if you're a fan in need of storage and like living on the cutting edge, hit the source link for a shot at joining in.
SkyDrive adds recycle bin, Excel surveys for the chronically indecisive
For all of the talk of cloud backups and sync, there isn't always a safety net when working from the cloud itself -- delete a file online and it might be gone forever. With that in mind, Microsoft just brought Windows' recycle bin concept to SkyDrive through a low-key update. You can now delete anything immediately, knowing that you can change your mind within three days -- and longer still, should the recycle bin occupy less than 10 percent of the storage limit. If you're just as uncertain about creating content as scrapping it, SkyDrive has also received support for creating and sharing Excel surveys to narrow down the scope of a project. The recycle bin should slide into your SkyDrive account within the next day; Excel surveys aren't yet polished enough, but they should be ready "soon."
iPad tops JD Power's tablet survey
A recent study by J.D. Power and Associates suggests iPad owners are overwhelmingly happy with their tablet purchase. The survey of 1,900 tablet owners found that the iPad ranks the highest for owner satisfaction. Respondents gave the iPad high marks for its performance, ease of operation, styling and design, and features. Apple's tablet beat out Amazon's low-cost Kindle Fire, which did well in the pricing category. The survey also showed that people who are very satisfied with their tablet are more likely to buy another consumer electronics device from the same manufacturer. This "halo effect" is nothing new for Apple, as consumer interest in both the iPod and the iPhone have been linked to increased sales of the Mac. Now, we have the ability to easily share data and sync information between an iPad, iPhone and Mac using iCloud, which is yet another compelling reason to have all three devices.
iPhone tops J.D. Power satisfaction survey ... again
Every year at about this time, J.D. Power and Associates releases the results of the U.S. Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study. For the eighth consecutive year, Apple is at the top of the list in terms of customer satisfaction for smartphones. On a 1,000-point scale, Apple ranked first with a score of 849, performing well in all key factors used to determine the overall score. Physical design, which makes up 23 percent of the overall satisfaction figure, and ease of operation (22 percent) were given particularly good marks by iPhone consumers. HTC was in second place with a overall score of 790, while rival Samsung trailed the average for the study with a score of 782. Apple was the only company in the survey to gain a Power Circle Rating of "Among the best," while Samsung was "About average" and beleaguered BlackBerry manufacturer RIM was just among "The rest." via The Loop
SquareTrade study shows why iPhones and iPads dislike Mississippi
If you're an iPhone or an iPad making your way from a factory in China to the United States, just hope that you're not going to end up in the clumsy hands of someone from the state of Mississippi. A new SquareTrade study shows that some the highest levels of accident damage to both iPhones and iPads occur in the Magnolia State. The two graphics you see here show that an iPad or iPhone in Mississippi has a projected accidental damage rate of 30 to 35 percent over two years. Simply stated, that Apple product has a one in three chance of being damaged in 24 months. Ouch. Where are iPhones and iPads relatively safe from accidental damage? If you're an iPhone, you want to live in Iowa, where there's only a 5 to 9 percent chance of being hurt by your clumsy owner. For iPads, the safest places to live are Hawaii, Montana, and West Virginia, which also have a 5 to 9 percent two-year accidental damage rate. SquareTrade offers independent warranties to purchasers of consumer electronics, and the statistics on clumsiness were based on customer claims.
Smartphones find a growing role in the kitchen
This is a trend that has been going on for a while now, but this is the first time I've seen some real, solid numbers on it. Smartphones are playing a bigger and bigger role in kitchens, of all places. Back in the day, I remember most phones being too fragile and too problematic in the UI department to really be useful in the kitchen, but with big, sturdy tablets and phones these days, and apps that let you do anything with voice commands or just a swipe on the screen, smartphones while cooking or baking are more popular than ever. Allrecipes.com says that a full 15% of all cooks have viewed a cooking video on their smartphones, while even higher percentages have used iOS and other tablet devices to snap photos of food while cooking or out and about, or looked up a recipe online. Most recipes are still found through search engines, but cooking sites make up a big percentage of recipe lookups and information finding about food. And Allrecipes says the future is even brighter: 44% of people polled say online cooking sites are their best source of food information right now (as opposed to cookbooks or other cooks), and that figure will likely grow as these websites become more useful. Cooks also expect the role of the smartphone itself to grow, as they use their smartphone for coupons, or to even order or pay for food in the future. There are a number of factors going into this transformation, but if smartphones continue on in the direction they're going, we could use them not just to call up and order a meal, but to pay for that meal, and then also see how to serve and cook it as well. [via Gigaom]
Dropped calls, slow download speeds rank among top gripes of mobile users
Everyone has an opinion, and if they all stink, then Pew must have one hell of a tolerance for foul odors. The research group recently surveyed a number of mobile phone owners to determine their primary complaints, and while it's not much of a surprise, slow network performance stole the show. In all, 77 percent aired at least some dissatisfaction with download speeds, and nearly half of all respondents cited frequent frustration. The story is similar for dropped calls, as 72 percent of those surveyed claim to experience the annoyance at least occasionally. While less widespread, the distribution of those who receive unwanted marketing attempts via either telephone calls or text messages is roughly equal -- it seems reasonable to assume that many respondents are harassed by both means. For more surveys*, just text #eng-123 to 9999. *Outrageous fees will apply.
Apple becomes Asia's second most popular brand
A company called Campaign Asia-Pacific has released the results of its latest survey, examining the popularity of various brands in Asia. Apple has reached number two on the list. The company from Cupertino has topped big names like Sony and Panasonic, and jumped up along with Nestle (which is also growing hugely in Asia lately) to take the second spot inside the top five. But Apple still has a little climb to go. Samsung is currently still the top brand in the Asia region, and that's a company that's going head up against Apple itself, both in patent battles and on retail shelves. But Apple's growth is still huge, especially when you consider that this is a survey of all consumer brands. Clearly, consumers in that region are interested in high quality electronics, and Apple's making a big push to get noticed over there as best it can. [via AppleInsider]
ArcheAge seeks info on Western demographics with survey
For sandbox fans in the Western part of the globe, watching the development of ArcheAge is a bittersweet experience: sweet that a game with so many coveted features is being developed, but bitter that the game is only launching in the East for now. But XL Games has indicated that a Western launch is not so much an "if" as a "when." With that in mind, the fan site ArcheAge Source is seeking fan opinion and information on North American and European demographics through an unofficial survey posted on Facebook. (No Facebook account is needed to take the survey.) The information garnered from responses may be used to shape decisions concerning ArcheAge in the NA and EU markets, but it is mostly for the fan site "to have some statistics to show at Gamescom 2012 and whenever else we have need for them." [Thanks to Halldorr for the tip!]
Pew survey finds that 17 percent of US cellphone users go online mostly on their phones
It should hardly come as a surprise that folks are spending more and more of their time online on their cellphones, but a new Pew study released today has shed a bit more light on just how common that's becoming. According to the research group, 17 percent of all cellphone users (including those without smartphones) go online "mostly" on their cellphone, while 33 percent primarily use another device, and five percent use both equally -- a hefty 45 percent still don't use their phones to go online at all, though. Not surprisingly, those numbers go up when broken down by those who do at least use the internet occasionally on their phone -- 31 percent of whom go online primarily on their phone -- and there's an even bigger jump when looking at younger users. Among those 18 to 29 who use the internet on their phones, fully 45 percent use their cellphone for most of their online activities. You can find the full report at the source link below.
Study: 38% of iPhone customers come from RIM, Android
With sales of iPhones still booming, you might be wondering where all of those customers are coming from. Philip Elmer-DeWitt at Fortune is citing an April survey by the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) that shows that more iPhones were sold to consumers leaving Apple's competitors than to owners of earlier iPhone models. Data from CIRP indicate that 42 percent of iPhone buyers in April were switching from another smartphone, up from 36 percent in February. 38 percent of those buyers were switching from either Android or BlackBerry -- that's up from 29 percent in February. Buyers who were coming from a feature phone or who had never owned a mobile phone before accounted for 24 percent of the buyers, while 34 percent were upgrading from an earlier model of the iPhone. Just after the iPhone 4S launched last October, that number was at about 71 percent.
Apple iPad dominates the tablet market in the US, Kindle Fire slips
A ChangeWave survey from May shows the iPad maintaining its dominance in the US tablet market. A survey of 2,893 consumers shows that 73 percent of people who plan to buy a tablet within the next 90 days will get an iPad, while only 8 percent want a Kindle Fire. The only other tablet with some consumer interest is the Samsung Galaxy Tab which was on the wish list for only 6 percent of respondents. Not only is the Kindle Fire trailing the iPad, its demand has been gradually falling since launch. The Fire started out hot in November 2011 with 22 percent of tablet customers planning to buy the tablet and dropped precipitously to 7 percent by March 2012. ChangeWave also notes that the Kindle Fire only has a 41 percent "Very Satisfied" rating compared to 81 percent for new iPad owners.
iPhone "buzz" gets a boost following celebrity ads
Love them or hate them, those new Siri ads starring Zooey Deschanel and Samuel L. Jackson are apparently effective, says a YouGov BrandIndex report. As noted by Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog, the celebrity Siri ads are creating buzz among 18-34 year old questioned in the survey. In just a few weeks, the buzz score for the iPhone went from 16 on April 19 to 51 on May 4, surpassing Android on its way up. The buzz score is based on a survey of consumers who were asked whether they've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, either through advertising, news or word of mouth, and whether it was it positive or negative. [Via Fortune's Apple 2.0]
Apple tops ACSI satisfaction survey for cellphone manufacturers
Apple has done it again, topping the American Consumer Satisfaction Index survey for cellphone manufacturers and wireless carriers. The company ended up with a score of 83 points out of 100 possible, higher than any other manufacturer. ACSI polls 70,000 consumers each year, asking questions about customer satisfaction with over 225 companies in 47 industries. This year Apple was nine points above the industry average of 74, and eight points above runners-up Nokia, HTC, and LG. Arch-rival Samsung was near the bottom of the satisfaction barrel, with a dismal 71 point total. The formerly powerful RIM, manufacturer of the BlackBerry line of smartphones, was at the bottom. It could only scrape together 69 points, a full 14 points below Apple and five points below the industry average. The survey also listed customer satisfaction with wireless carriers. Sprint came in at the top spot with 71 points, Verizon at 70, and AT&T and T-Mobile at 69 points. Surprisingly, AT&T's score was four points higher than its 2011 score. [via Wired]
Poll: Which music streaming service are you using for iOS?
In light of Spotify launching its long awaited iPad app, and iMore's recent in-depth look at the top three music streaming services available for the iPhone, we thought we'd take a little TUAW poll to see just which music streaming services (if any) TUAW readers use on their iOS devices. Trend setters say more of us are streaming the music instead of buying it. Let's find out if this is true among our readers. And if so, which service is the most popular? Check out the poll below and vote for the option which best suits you. %Poll-75009%
Dev survey: 59% of app devs not breaking even
A marketing firm named App Promo has released some data on a developer survey it took, asking over 100 developers about how they were doing with selling and marketing their apps. Of those developers asked, over 59% told App Promo that they weren't even breaking even on the App Store. And a full 80 developers said they weren't making enough from App Store earnings to "support a standalone business." App Promo also discovered (though it's not quite as surprising, given that this survey was done by a marketing firm) that the biggest earners they talked to spent almost $30,000 on marketing for their apps, and dedicated up to 14% of their time promoting and selling the app itself. That makes sense -- apps with bigger budgets and marketing money are more likely to be seen in the busy App Store listings. Outside of App Promo's promotion here, that 59% stat means a lot. There is a lot of action on the App Store, it's true. But it's becoming harder and harder for individual developers to find a profitable place on Apple's platform.
Demand for the iPhone 4S still high six months after its release
A recent ChangeWave survey suggests demand for the iPhone 4S is still high six months after the handset launched. ChangeWave surveyed 4,413 consumers and 56 percent of future smartphone buyers say they plan on purchasing an iPhone. This is up two percentage points from a previous survey conducted in December 2011. During this same period, demand for Samsung's phones stayed the same while Motorola slipped one percentage point. [Via Fortune 2.0]
Nielsen: Assassin's Creed 3, Halo 4 most anticipated console titles this year
You guys are so predictable, except when you're being unpredictable. This year gamers are most excited to play Halo 4 (which still doesn't have a release date) on Xbox 360, Assassin's Creed 3 on PS3 and Madden NFL 13 on Wii, Nielsen reports from a recent study.What baffles us is how low BioShock: Infinite rates (9th on 360 and 8th on PS3) and how eager PS3 owners are to play Prototype 2 -- it ranks 7th for PS3 gamers and doesn't even hit the top 10 on Xbox 360. We won't even discuss what business Battleship thinks it has being in 3rd place for Wii gamers.Nielsen aggregated the scores based on eight "key customer metrics," such as "awareness" and "purchase interest." We are now certainly "aware" that we can't guess the general consumer's mindset, when all we hear about is how they have no "interest" to "purchase" another game ever again, but mainstream, full-price titles crowd the most-anticipated list. Check out the complete list here.
2011's game industry salary stats push us once more toward business school
With this week's annual release of Game Developer Magazine's "Game Industry Salary Survey Results," we're once again reminded that game industry professionals – on average – make kind of a lot of money. How does approximately $81,192 per year sound to you? Sounds pretty damn good to us as well, and that's the average take home for people across a variety of disciplines: business/legal, programming, production, sound/art/video, design, writing, and QA. Despite the survey having existed for 11 years now, it still doesn't include the press (though you can tell from our cushy leather chairs that we're clearly doing all right).But who is making the biggest bucks, you ask? Unsurprisingly, the "business/legal" category brings home the most dough on average, pulling in approximately $102,160 annually. Similarly unsurprising, QA testers pick up the bottom end of the scale, earning around $47,910 on average. Salaries on both the high and low end dropped a bit compared with last year's survey, but not by much more than the 2.4 percent margin of error.The survey's data was once again culled from respondents across the game industry in North America, the UK, and the EU, as well as a sizable chunk of indies/independent contractors (though the salary averages are pulled specifically from US-only data). Outliers – folks making dramatically more or less than the average – were removed from results before averaging "to prevent them from unnaturally skewing the averages." That sounds like another good reason not to include game journo salaries!
