Shortage? Pshaw. “Death grip" … who cares?
That’s the word from iPhone 4 owners who overwhelmingly told Changewave Research that they are happy with their new purchase. A survey by the company, taken in July, asked 213 iPhone 4 owners about their experiences.
The most telling statistic was that 93 percent said they were satisfied with their new toy, and overall, 72 percent said they were “very satisfied." Sure, that’s not quite as good as the numbers ChangeWave reported from a survey last summer about the third-generation iPhone, the 3G S, but they’re not far off. Last August, 99 percent of 3G S owners said they were at least somewhat satisfied. Eighty-two percent labeled themselves as “very satisfied."
Apple must see these numbers as redemption for what’s been a difficult year on the public-relations front. First, a prototype for the iPhone 4 is left in a bar and the specs are leaked all over the Internet. Then, there’s an almost immediate shortage when the device goes on sale. Finally, “Antennagate," the widely reported problems with dropped calls being caused simply by putting your finger over the built-in antenna.
Of course, these problems can also be spun more positively. The leak led to more news coverage and might have built some more excitement for the device; the shortage was due to tremendous sales; and surveys like this one show “Antennagate," or the “death grip" as it’s been called, might be overblown.
Specifically on that topic, ChangeWave asked iPhone owners if they were being impacted by this antenna issue. Two-thirds said not at all, while just 14 percent said it “wasn’t much of a problem." Fourteen percent called it “somewhat of a problem." Another 7 percent called it a “very big problem." But also remember that AT&T, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone, has had a big reputation problem for dropped calls associated with this device, and existing reception problems weren’t taken into account for this survey.
Speaking of AT&T, the carrier remained the No. 1 “dislike" reported by iPhone 4 owners, who wish other telcos had a shot at selling the device. Screen resolution was tops in “likes," followed by the 5-megapixel camera and the touchscreen interface.
Click here to read the entire survey.
