So much hype, every single year another version of the iPhone from Apple hits the shelves and people are lined up around the block just to get into the store to buy one. A new report from Prosper Mobile Insights claims that smartphone users that have money are more likely to buy a BlackBerry than they are an iPhone. Prosper Mobile Insights report, called “Simultaneously Media Usage Survey”, had some very interesting results after interviewing about 25,000 people back in June of this year. The survey found that affluent smartphone users owned a BlackBerry device instead of an iPhone and that Android devices were the top in middle to upper-middle income groups.
11.3 percent of households that had incomes of $150,000 or more preferred the BlackBerry, 10.9 percent preferred an iPhone and 7.2 percent preferred an Android device. For as popular a device that Android is, apparently those with more money don’t feel the same way. Furthermore, the age group that is in tune with Android is a much younger crowd with far less money. In the next lowest income group, $100,000 to $140,000, the results stayed the same with BlackBerry on top, followed by iPhone and Android in third.
Looking at the $75,000 to $99,000 income range the results start to take a little turn. In that income group the iPhone tops the BlackBerry 20 percent to 18 percent, with Android right behind. The lowest income group that was surveyed certainly expressed their love for Android which totaled 14.3 percent of the users in the survey. That would be for users in the $35,000 to $49,000 income group. There is no doubt that BlackBerry is tops in the business class, but some reports have shown that iPhone and Android are picking up steam. The issue is that when a smartphone excels in one area, they fail in another area and vice versa.
Other reasons that BlackBerry might be a better choice for the income groups it’s in is because of the price. An iPhone costs much more to purchase than a BlackBerry device, plus the BlackBerry has excellent multi-task ability.
Another part of the study showed that BlackBerry users are less likely to download and us apps. Only 59.5 percent of BlackBerry smartphone users actually use apps compared to over 85 percent of iPhone users that download and use apps.
