TWICE Staff On Oct 1 2012 - 12:00am

Apple, Amazon Tablets Tops In User Satisfaction

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIF. – Apple tablets are tops in customer satisfaction, followed by Amazon’s Kindle Fire, but Samsung tablets are related below the industry average, a J.D. Power survey found.

Samsung’s score wasn’t that far behind Apple’s, however.

The study measured satisfaction using five factors on a combined 1,000-point scale among people who owned their tablet for less than two years. The factors are weighted in the following order of importance: performance (26 percent), ease of operation (22 percent), styling and design (19 percent), features (17 percent) and price (16 percent).

Apple ranked highest, achieving a score of 848 by performing well in four areas: performance, ease of operation, styling and design, and features, J.D. Power said. Amazon followed closely at 841, performing particularly well in the price category, the company said.

Samsung came in third, but below the industry average of 832 points, followed by Acer, Barnes & Noble, and Hewlett-Packard.

The survey was based on experiences reported by 1,985 tablet owners in July 2012.

Overall satisfaction was 857 among owners who watch three or more hours of video per week on their tablet, or 45 points more than people who don’t. In addition, people who spend three or more hours viewing video content are more likely to purchase another tablet from their current manufacturer in the future than are those who do not watch as much video content, the company said. The percentages are 90 percent and 81 percent, respectively.

The survey also found that tablet owners spend 7.5 hours per week browsing the Internet, watching videos, listening to music and reading books on their device compared with 9.6 hours per week on a personal computer for the same activities. The survey also uncovered these facts:

• Tablet owners who also have a smartphone spend 40 percent more time browsing the Internet on their tablet than on their smartphone. They also spend 56 percent more time using gaming apps on their tablet than on their smartphone.

• One-fourth of owners use their tablet for business.

• 37 percent of tablet owners said they are likely to buy a new tablet within the next 12 months.

• Among tablet owners who rate their device 10 on a 10-point scale, 90 percent said they are likely to purchase additional devices from the same manufacturer.

• 61 percent of owners share their tablet with at least one other person.