iPhone buyer survey says Treo users & T-Mobile customers most likley to have switched

[Fire14]

IPhone's First Round Punch Lands Hardest on Treo and T-Mobile

According to a new report from The NPD Group, early buyers demonstrate that the iPhone is managing to bridge the gap between content-focused feature phones and productivity-focused smartphones. NPD's iPhone Report is a top-line view of initial buyers of the iPhone, which provides insight into how Apple's entry into the market is affecting mobile phone product sales among consumers in the USA.

"The iPhone's Internet and media capabilities have resonated with consumers -- especially those who previously owned Treos and Sidekicks," said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD. "Its advanced operating system makes it competitive with smartphones for many tasks, while its sleek design and lack of expandability is reminiscent of fashion phones."

Initial iPhone buyers were 10 times more likely than other new phone buyers to have previously owned a Treo and three times more likely to have owned a T-Mobile branded phone, such as the popular Sidekick model. Both the Treo and the Sidekick offer a physical keypad -- something the iPhone, with its touch screen-based interface, does not. In contrast, iPhone buyers were no more likely than the average buyer to have previously owned a Blackberry.

"The iPhone's lack of corporate email support appears to make it less appetizing to current Blackberry owners," Rubin said.

When it comes to carrier switching, Alltel and T-Mobile took the biggest hit from Apple and AT&T's iPhone marketing juggernaut. Consumers who switched carriers to buy an iPhone were three times more likely to switch from Alltel or T-Mobile than from other carriers. Sprint and Verizon also lost customers to AT&T and the iPhone, but not nearly to the same degree, due to their existing over-the-air (OTA) music offerings, rich video and data services and 3G networks already in place.

Surveys were received from more than 13,000 consumers who acquired mobile phones within the prior 30-day period -- among this group, more than 200 purchased a new iPhone. The data was weighted, balanced and projected to represent the total U.S. population.

IPhone's First Round Punch Lands Hardest on Treo and T-Mobile

[Quint101]

Originally Posted by Fire14

When it comes to carrier switching, Alltel and T-Mobile took the biggest hit from Apple and AT&T's iPhone marketing juggernaut. Consumers who switched carriers to buy an iPhone were three times more likely to switch from Alltel or T-Mobile than from other carriers. Sprint and Verizon also lost customers to AT&T and the iPhone, but not nearly to the same degree, due to their existing over-the-air (OTA) music offerings, rich video and data services and 3G networks already in place.

This looks like Alltel and TMo need to ramp up their 3G networks and/or offerings. Alltel has 3G in my area, but most people dont seem to notice or dont care about it. They have a few 3G phones like the Wafer, RAZR V3a, and the Q... maybe Alltel needs to market their 3G more like the other guys... expanding EVDO can only help.

TMobile only has EDGE and one high speed Samsung launched last week... one can only reincarnate the Sidekick so many times. Maybe these new Iphone buyers were bored by the sidekick. The delay in launching 3g has only hurt Tmo... but most people are with Tmo for value and cheap data and can care less about the iphone.