Pre scores record satisfaction for Palm device

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]

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