Some other things you didn't know about iPhone users

Earlier today I told you about the survey of US iPhone users that Rubicon Consulting just conducted (link). When you publish a big study like this, there are always a few secondary data points that don't fit into the whitepaper -- kind of like outtakes in a movie.

I thought you might be interested in seeing the outtakes. So, here are some other interesting factoids about iPhone users...


How do you carry your iPhone?

To me, one of the most interesting findings of the study was that half of iPhone users are under age 30. I had expected them to be older, because PDA and smartphone users have traditionally been in their 30s and 40s.

With the younger age of iPhone users comes some other differences, including how they choose to carry their iPhones...

"How do you carry your iPhone?"



What was your primary motivation for buying an iPhone?

People usually have multiple reasons for buying a product, some of which they won't even admit to themselves. But when we asked iPhone users why they bought the product, I found their answers to be refreshingly candid...

"When you obtained your iPhone, what was your number one motivation?"



The iPhone is a babe (or guy) magnet

One of the benefits of a popular new technology product is its ability to attract members of the opposite sex when displayed at a party or bar. We assumed that the iPhone would have such an effect, and more almost 70% of iPhone users agreed.

"Does the iPhone help you meet members of the opposite sex?"



Which websites do iPhone users visit?

In our whitepaper on the survey, we reported that most iPhone users say they browse on the iPhone a lot more than they did on their previous mobile device. But we didn't have enough space to report which websites they visit on the iPhone most often...

"Which websites do you visit on your iPhone, and how often?"


I was very surprised that the new social communication service Spitr (link) didn't make the list.


What other devices did the iPhone replace?

About a quarter of iPhone users said it is replacing use of a notebook computer. But given the enthusiasm of iPhone users, it's not surprising that they are also using it to replace some other technology products:

"What else did the iPhone replace?"



What other features do you want in the iPhone?

In the whitepaper, we listed some of the most desired iPhone features. We didn't have room to list other features that people also asked for. Here they are...

"What other features would you like to see added to the iPhone?"

Eight point scale: Strongly interested = 7 or 8, mildly interested = 5 or 6,
mildly disinterested = 3 or 4, strongly disinterested = 1 or 2.


Personally, I was disappointed that Strategic Conquest (link) wasn't listed higher.


When and where do you use the iPhone?

An advantage of a mobile device is that it can go with you anywhere. This leads to some unusual usage patterns that the industry doesn't like to acknowledge. I think it's important to report them.

"When and where do you use your iPhone?"



So now you have the full picture of iPhone users. As you can imagine, these usage patterns are having a profound effect on the thinking and behavior of companies in the mobile industry. I think they probably had a lot to do with Google's decision to buy Sprint (link).

I should add one other piece of information -- as I said in my earlier post on the iPhone user study, the study is definitely not an April Fools joke. However, I can't make that same assurance about the post you're reading now.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

seen plenty of iPhones around, gotta say I've never seen one attached via body piercing...are we sure people are taking the survey seriously?

Michael Mace said...

Hi, Daniel.

20% of them said they use the iPhone as a pizza cutter, and you're worried about the piercings thing? ;-)

Not sure if you're joking or not, but check out the last line in the post.

Anonymous said...

interesting study on iPhone usage..I just had to laugh seeing the charts.. iPhone attached to a body piercing, used as a pizza cutter?? Thinking that iPhone users become more and more younger, I was actually starting to believe what I read..good thing I read til the last line in your post. :)

Anonymous said...

iphone as a body piercing attachment?? hmm thats taking a fad too far!

on a serious note. 2 things for me are indicative of the growing importance of iPhones for business

1) email being the no 1 function
2) increased openness to browsing the net on iPhones

Anonymous said...

Wow! Great post...that just made my day...*big grin*

Of course as a young (under 25) owner of an iPhone I can relate to some of those points...but...

Pizza cutter? You are having a laugh! That never crossed my mind..guess I will give it a shot next time before making any further judgements :-)

Anonymous said...

Lol... nice surveys. I too carry my iPhone via body piercing.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see that users are utilizing their iPhones while sleeping (some of them doing so daily!) When will people realize that surveys are pointless collections of random data? Funny article.

Daniel Ashfield said...

Haha, excellent (more funny though) study here - I actually find some of these hard to believe, but maybe that just shows I don't think outside the box as much as some of those who were part of this ??? ;-)

Daniel,
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