Pre scores record satisfaction for Palm device 35
Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:12 pm EDT 
In a recent survey conducted by RBC Capital and ChangeWave Research, 87% of Palm Pre owners reported themselves as happy with their purchase, with 45% ranking as “very satisfied.” This seven-out-of-eight satisfaction level is the highest that any Palm device has ever scored in RBC’s surveys. The 45% very satisfied rating is also the highest Palm has scored, though it still ranks behind Research and Motion (48%) and Apple (82%). On the subject of Apple, a parallel survey was run of iPhone 3G S owners, who registered a whopping 99% satisfaction, a number that is, like most iPhone success metrics, both unbelievable and not surprising.
The same survey also explored what users liked and disliked about their respective phones. The favorite feature of both phones? The touch screen interface. There are a few interesting comparisons to be made in the results for dislikes, however. The top rated dislike of the Pre was its admittedly not-that-great battery life at 45%, and that same flaw registered at 41% disapproval on the iPhone survey, but only as the second most mentioned flaw - #1 was AT&T’s network at 55% dissatisfaction (the Pre’s tie to Sprint only registered a 11% dislike rating).
Interestingly, the Pre and iPhone scored statistically similar results for both touch screen interface satisfaction (47% vs. 45%) and ease of use (39% vs. 41%), as well as lack of support from their IT department (both at 8%). The survey also pointed out some distinct differences between the two phones: 21% of Pre users rated Synergy as one of their favorite features, while 8% of iPhone users cited the difficulty of importing their contacts into the phone. On third party apps, 24% of surveyed Pre owners were not satisfied with the App Catalog’s selection, while 31% of iPhone owners pointed to the App Store as one of their favorite features.
Most of us here at PreCentral probably fall into the very satisfied portions of the Palm Pre owner demographic, but we’ll readily acknowledge that the Pre does currently have its shortfalls. The iPhone has always had very high satisfaction ratings (new owners of the first generation iPhone rated at 92% satisfied), so it's satisfying for the Pre to score so well in comparison so soon after release (without the Apple aura to boot).
Be sure to check out the full survey results after the break.
[via: our friends at The iPhone Blog]
What do you like most about your Palm Pre?
What do you dislike most about your Palm Pre?
What do you like most about your iPhone 3G S?
What do you dislike most about your iPhone 3G S?
35 Comments
Solid results
Don't you mean "...if you wanna compare 'apple trees' to 'palm trees'..."?
That was a crap survey. Barely anyone took it for the Pre. 200 iphone owners and some 40 Pre owners. I'm satisfied with the Pre and it seems the issues i do have can be corrected with updates which i'm more than willing to wait for.
i agree. a new neutral poll should take place. i am 100% satisfied with my pre. apps and homebrew are great. screen is great. camera is great. my battery life, even though most people dont have great life with it, is great. it last me all day with no charging. only at night. synergy is great. and i like the way palm is handling things. they seem to give a crap about what the customer wants. i cant say the same for apple (the evil empire lol) as for sprint i am satisfied with them. ive been with them for a long time. back when they sucked. they've come a long way. i look forward to web os updates and new features
No, don't you kid yourself, just because they are not eligible for an upgrade doesn't mean they aren't buying it, a lot of 3Gs ownsers were 3G owners and most of them are iPhone 2G owners. Not new customers. Very few new customers in comparison to existing so don't kid yourself. Apple has an installed fan base even outside of the iPhone. These arguments and fanboyism is useless until we are about a year down the road when WebOS is on 2.0-3.0 and in many countries and iPhone is 3.5-4.0. Only then will it be a fair comparison. Right now it just can't be.
Anytime I see such high 'satisfaction' numbers involving any Apple product, I am, immediately, skeptical. The problem is that most Apple fans will never admit any real dissatisfaction or displeasure with said product, no matter how they really feel. They may complain from time to time, but they will temper those complaints with a defense of the complaint. "Well, Apple had to do this way because..."
Disgusting, really.
I have had the original Iphone, Iphone 3G,T-mobile G1, T-mobile my touch,Blackberry Storm and a slew of other phones (PHONE WHORE) and overall I like my Pre the best. After I got rid of the original Iphone I could not find a phone to compare to it (in my misled mind) I went to the G-1 that wore off. On to the Blackberry Storm (Nightmare) back to the G-1 (eeww). Then to the Iphone 3G (which is when I realized the Iphone was not all that) Then to the Pre (loved it but had severe reception and build quality issues) Sadly went to the T-mobile my Touch(took me a week to realize this sucks) Ordered a Pre from Sprint web sales, got it Thursday. I MISSED MY PRE. For a first Gen. device the Pre is very slick, I mean when the first Iphone came out I paid $500 with no subsidy offered and lest ye forget there was NO APP MARKET. I will stick with the Pre and I feel good things coming.
In my list of phones I would like to give honorable mentions to a few I left out
Samsung Instinct and S30 instinct
Lg Dare
Samsung Omnia
motorola krave
helio ocean
This guy has to be at the top of the dissatisfied group for the iPhone, though... 4 shots and a pyre...
http://www.geardiary.com/2009/08/15/upset-user-murders-his-iphone/#comments
The ringtones are completely customizable, just not the notification tones, which, like you said, can be changed with firmware updates.
The cons you have pointed out are so minor ("
The survery did not measure that Pre owners probably expect more than iPohne users. As one who moved from the iPhone to the Pre the Pre is far superior to the iPhone and my only disapointment with the Pre is that I have higher expectations for my Pre than for any iPhone!!!!
Some of those numbers don't make any sense. As a user of the pre myself I certainly know what's great and not about it. One of the worst problem the pre has is lag. I mean when you want to do something and it doesn't respond quick enough it's just frustrating. It's like every other palm device previously in that department. Now synergy is great, but it only works in contacts and email and calendar. It needs notes....when are we going to get that. Oh and the apps part is probably the most important thing. The app store is pale in comparison to the iphone. Sure there might be a high percentage of crapware on it, but 1 percent of iphone app good would still be more than what the pre has that are good.
The Pre does need some updates but pretty much everything you mentioned can and will be fixed OTA. As for the lack of apps as I stated before when I bought the original Iphone for $500 and no subsidies for a 4 gig model that couldn't send picture mail with no removable battery and it dropped calls like it was designed to do that, THERE WAS NO APP STORE not even 35 apps like the Pre has NONE.
I'm initially happy with my Pre, but with the caveat that I know it's a 1.0 version and my expectations are low.
I have some concerns that Palm seems to be going in the wrong direction with the Pre however, and seems to be marketing it as another iPhone. This is a huge mistake.
The Pre to me and everyone I talk isn't an iPhone - it's a more fun and usable BlackBerry.
That said, Palm needs to:
* Fix the Calendar so it doesn't take 5 seconds to update every screen.
* Fix the Tasks app so it's usable.
* Fix the horrible Memos app so it syncs with Exchange.
* Email: Should add sent Outlook appointments to the Calendar, also needs a Search feature.
Note all of the above relate to Productivity. Sure, some games would be nice - but if that's Palm's focus they're going to lose to the iPhone.
The sample size compared to units solds makes it ridiculous to call it a survey for both cases. However, the PRE has really anoying issues. I would have answered "somewhat satisfied". I came from the TREO 650. What a piece!
That the Pre wasn't as good as the Treo 650 (near the bottom of the Treos) is a tragedy. Period. Palm has no excuse here. But, knowing they had the iPhone to battle with and still come up with a half ass device like the PRE, they simply F--ked Up. Worse, that it is taking them MONTHS and still have not fixed the majors problems with the Calendar, contacts, Notes, Camera/Video, and Tone control is beyond stupidity. They have a Goliath like the iPhone in front of them, a great background like their Treos, and a limping PRE is what they still have to show for, you know what, they deserve the pounding they are getting from surveys to stock downgrades. They have no excuse. They already had a great product with their last TREO. All they needed to do was to add synergy, and the other few things the PRE brought forth, but WHY drop all the benefits of its predecesors we all had been so accustomed to work with? Dumb as hell!