The iPad comes first in a new consumer satisfaction survey

[dgstorm]

Are you happy with your Apple tablet? Well, you aren’t the only one. Apparently the tech giant has a lot of happy iPad customers. A new survey coming out of JD Power and Associates found that Apple’s tablet was ranked highest in general customer satisfaction. The runner ups of course turned out to be Amazon’s Kindle and Samsung’s range of tablets.

Users participating in the survey were asked to rank their tablet in 4 different categories: how easy they operate, style and design, performance and features. The maximum grade each tablet could have achieved was 1000. Contributors to the study were also presented with a ranting scale of 0-5 circles.

Following this grading guidelines, Apple ended up scoring 848 points with five of five circles. Amazon did slightly worse and managed to snatch 832 points and just three circles out of five. Apple’s tablet competitors got much lower scores: Samsung got 827, Acer 811, Barnes&Noble 803 and HP just 790.

The J.D. Power report also mentioned that out of users who own both an iPhone and an iPad, 40% tend to do their online business on the iPad rather than on the smartphone. 56% see their tablet as perfect gaming devices, while 61% share their tablet goodness with at least another soul.

By Radu

Source: Press Release - 2012 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Study | J.D. Power

 

[Kaykaykay]

Surprising how well Amazon did out of the gate with a first-generation device that cost 200 bucks and had practically no storage. They managed to outscore Samsung, which has been pumping out tablet after tablet, at higher prices and with more flexible uses.

To me, that underscores what I thought from the start with tablets: Easy access to content far outweighs hardware for most users.

 

[kierandill]

WTH is a ranting scale, and why should I be impressed by one?
BTW, if you actually go to the JDPower article, Amazon actually scored 841 and 4 circles, not 832 and 3, which was the industry average. Copying and pasting, like reading, are fundamental.

 

[Kaykaykay]

WTH is a ranting scale, and why should I be impressed by one?
BTW, if you actually go to the JDPower article, Amazon actually scored 841 and 4 circles, not 832 and 3, which was the industry average. Copying and pasting, like reading, are fundamental.

Relax. The OP made an error. Not a big deal. No one is demanding that you be impressed. And I thought it funny that you referred to a "ranting" scale, lol. That at least was spot on.

 

[janner43]

The glaring omission in this survey is ASUS - where are they mentioned?
Without ALL the major tablet suppliers - Asus supply the Google Nexus7 tablet as well as the highly regarded Transformer range - this report is pretty meaningless IMO.

 

[janner43]

The glaring omission in this survey is ASUS - where are they mentioned?
Without ALL the major tablet suppliers - Asus supply the Google Nexus7 tablet as well as the highly regarded Transformer range - this report is pretty meaningless IMO.

Oh, & Motorola & Lenovo are missing too.

But the report includes HP????? Fire sale anyone

 

[AQ_OC]

The glaring omission in this survey is ASUS - where are they mentioned?
Without ALL the major tablet suppliers - Asus supply the Google Nexus7 tablet as well as the highly regarded Transformer range - this report is pretty meaningless IMO.

Given that apple sells 20x the volume of tabs than asus does, not so meaningless, at least from volume. I think it is meaningless for other reasons. Most people tend to pleased with things they buy and keep, but I just think it goes without saying that if you poll customers about devices they continue to own that most of them are going to say they are satisfied. I own both and iPad 3 and a Kindle and I think comparatively, the Kindle is unsatisfying in comparison. I am more satisfied with the Nexus 7 made by Asus, but Asus has pissed off a lot of people with the mis-steps they made with the Transformer Prime. I would not want to deal with trying to get a problem with the Nexus 7 repaired, though. There, Amazon is much better to deal with, and Apple is first in class (if you have a nearby Apple Store).

Strong Apple Shipments Drive Robust Tablet Market Growth in Second Quarter, According to IDC - prUS23632512

 

[Kaykaykay]

Given that apple sells 20x the volume of tabs than asus does, not so meaningless, at least from volume. I think it is meaningless for other reasons. Most people tend to pleased with things they buy and keep, but I just think it goes without saying that if you poll customers about devices they continue to own that most of them are going to say they are satisfied. I own both and iPad 3 and a Kindle and I think comparatively, the Kindle is unsatisfying in comparison. I am more satisfied with the Nexus 7 made by Asus, but Asus has pissed off a lot of people with the mis-steps they made with the Transformer Prime. I would not want to deal with trying to get a problem with the Nexus 7 repaired, though. There, Amazon is much better to deal with, and Apple is first in class (if you have a nearby Apple Store).

Strong Apple Shipments Drive Robust Tablet Market Growth in Second Quarter, According to IDC - prUS23632512

Strong Apple Shipments Drive Robust Tablet Market Growth in Second Quarter, According to IDC - prUS23632512

It's true that people tend to have a confirmation bias, but that distortion probably runs relatively consistently, and I'd expect them to notice flaws even if they keep their devices. In cases of tablets, there's also limited choice, so you'd probably keep a tablet despite flaws unless you're willing to go without any tablet.

As for those tablets not mentioned: They don't say how they found the roughly 2,000 people surveyed, but if they roughly reflect sales figures, the most popular tablets (as in numbers sold) would probably be most represented. It's not as if they did a head-to-head comparison and surveyed say 2,000 owners of each tablet. Take the findings for what they are -- a rough indication of satisfaction of those surveyed.

 

[Kaykaykay]

The glaring omission in this survey is ASUS - where are they mentioned?
Without ALL the major tablet suppliers - Asus supply the Google Nexus7 tablet as well as the highly regarded Transformer range - this report is pretty meaningless IMO.

Look at the timeframe for when they did this. The Google Nexus had barely hit the market, for instance.

 

[AQ_OC]

Look at the timeframe for when they did this. The Google Nexus had barely hit the market, for instance.

Asus has been the game a while now.

 

[Kaykaykay]

Asus has been the game a while now.

Yes, I researched them and dismissed them before iPad existed. My point was specific to the Nexus.

 

[janner43]

My point was not meant to suggest that Apple shouldn't be top - they are in every survey & rightfully so for very good reasons.

I was trying to say that a survey that only samples that small in a country the size of the US is pretty meaningless - especially when it leaves out 3 of the major manufacturers. I'm pretty certain that Asus & Motorola have sold more volume than HP when it comes to tablets.

It does, however, match other surveys I've read which suggest the order of sales & satisfaction goes...
1. Apple
2/3. Amazon Kindle Fire or Samsung
4. Asus
5,6,7 The rest...

 

[Kaykaykay]

My point was not meant to suggest that Apple shouldn't be top - they are in every survey & rightfully so for very good reasons.

I was trying to say that a survey that only samples that small in a country the size of the US is pretty meaningless - especially when it leaves out 3 of the major manufacturers. I'm pretty certain that Asus & Motorola have sold more volume than HP when it comes to tablets.

It does, however, match other surveys I've read which suggest the order of sales & satisfaction goes...
1. Apple
2/3. Amazon Kindle Fire or Samsung
4. Asus
5,6,7 The rest...

A sample of 2,000 isn't necessarily too small. Depends on how they chose that sample, which isn't revealed. What is highlighted, as you've mentioned and as other surveys have indicated, is that the results are pretty consistent.

From my reading (I've been interested in tablets for a long time, but found none viable for non-geek use till iPad), Asus hasn't been producing quality tablets for general use till relatively recently. And that's been too recent to judge solidly, IMO.

Personally, I don't need surveys to take every manufacturer into account. Unless a company can sell enough quantity, I figure chances are good that I'd be left stranded on a discontinued device sooner than later. I wouldn't consider buying an unpopular device as a non-geek, because I don't want to be left trying to figure out things on my own. Part of the appeal of owning a popular device is a communal pool of knowledge to draw from.

 

[skimonkey]

...and just to add to the question of Sample Size based on my own clinical experience. When assigning a 95 % confidence and using a +\- 5 interval, the sample size changes very little when I select 1,000 or 10,000 for total population to my calculation. I was surprised too, but realized that amount of total population does not necessarily equate to a significantly increased sample size to assign for my studies.

So as KayKayKay stated, we don't know how they arrived at their sample size, but what is consistent is the results revealed with the other surveys given. As a consumer, I like to read these surveys but am also interested in thr bottom line or conclusion to their survey or study. Reading personal reviews on a product is also more revealing to me as a consumer as well and usually help me make my decision to buy or not buy. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Kaykaykay]

As a consumer, I like to read these surveys but am also interested in thr bottom line or conclusion to their survey or study. Reading personal reviews on a product is also more revealing to me as a consumer as well and usually help me make my decision to buy or not buy. Just my 2 cents.

That's pretty much my approach. When I shop for computers and other electronic gadgets, I read reviews (from professionals as well as users). If there are forums, I check those out. I also google, because sometimes complaints pop up that way. I look for patterns, rather than isolated criticism. If isolated criticism sounds worrisome, I search for more of the same. That's how I ruled out various tablets before I decided to buy my first iPad. (I also had an iPhone, so I figured iPad would work very similarly.)

With surveys of ownership satisfaction like this one, I figure the best use of them is for general impressions when lumped together with other surveys, if consistent. I would never base a purchase on surveys alone, though.