Consumers Now More Likely To Purchase Android Device Than Iphone

By Author: Steve Deiters
Total Articles: 18
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Consumers looking to buy their next mobile device are more likely to buy an Android-based smartphone than an iPhone, according to the results of a new consumer survey recently published by industry research firm Market Force Information.

The poll involved 5,600 respondents from across the United States and Canada. About 70 percent of respondents reported household incomes of more than $50,000, while all ranged in age from 19 to 70.

It was revealed that 51 percent of respondents will opt for a smartphone running Google's Android mobile operating system. One-third of respondents said they planned to purchase an iPhone, while six percent said they will not be purchasing a smartphone at all, instead opting for a feature phone.

Researchers found these results somewhat surprising, considering the enormous hype surrounding the Verizon Wireless release of a CDMA-supported iPhone. Until then, Verizon had focused most of its smartphone efforts on Android.

"With the Verizon-Apple partnership in motion, we anticipated that more consumers would be moving to the iPhone, so it intrigued us to see the sizeable shift ...
... toward the Android," Market Force chief marketing officer Janet Eden-Harris said.

These results provide further evidence of Android's meteoric rise to the top of the smartphone market. A year ago, the platform was a minor player compared to Apple, Nokia's Symbian OS and BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion. But in mere months it has jumped to the top of the global market.

Market Force's survey also asked consumers about which mobile services carrier they subscribe to. Results closely mirror the current market share rankings, with Verizon topping the list at 36 percent, AT&T next at 28 percent, followed by Sprint and T-Mobile at 12 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Those figures may not change much in the near future, as just 9 percent of consumers said they planned to switch carriers. They said a switch would most likely be due to price or coverage issues or because the device they wish to purchase is not offered by their current carrier.

Perhaps due to the fact they are the only carriers to sell the iPhone, nearly all 9 percent of consumers who planned to switch carriers would be making the move to either AT&T or Verizon.

This is more bad news for the iPhone lately. One week after its Verizon debut, a report of sales figures leaked, showing the Verizon device only marginally out-sold AT&T's device during the same time period.

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