Nov. 17, 2006

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications’s handsets rank the highest in customer satisfaction, according to a new J.D. Power and Associates’ survey.

The consumer survey also ranked Motorola’s handsets fourth in satisfaction after LG Electronics and Sanyo Corp.

While Sony Ericsson’s overall satisfaction score clearly led the group, LG, Sanyo and Motorola’s scores were virtually the same and all were above the industry average in the study. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. ranked just below the average, while Nokia Corp. and Kyocera Wireless Corp. were well below the average score.

Motorola is the leading handset vendor in the United States based on shipment numbers.

The study measured customer satisfaction based on physical design, operation, features, handset durability and battery function.

Sony Ericsson’s handsets ranked highest in durability and performed well in features and battery function. The vendor improved the most in overall rankings of any brand included in J.D. Power’s studies, beginning last year.

The study was based on the experiences reported by more than 21,000 wireless users who owned their handsets less than two years. The data came from reporting periods in April and July 2006.

The study also found that:

1) Average purchase prices at retail are up to $94, an increase of $8 since May, which J.D. Power attributed to the popularity of thin fashion phones and music-enabled handsets.

2) The handset replacement cycle is about 16.6 months, down from 18 months a year ago.

3) The most frequently used features include speakerphones, cameras, text messaging and games.

Source: RCR News