JD Power finds the battery is the smartphone user’s only complaint, while dumbphone users want GPS, aren’t as likely to cut their landlines.

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It’s easy to argue the study was stacked in Apple’s favour. Ease of operation and physical design were the heaviest weighted questions within the survey (each responsible for 30% of the total score). Apple’s score of 791 out of 1,000 may not be much of a surprise, then. What’s also not a surprise is Apple ranked very poorly in the battery life department. The iPhone 3G even offers an option to switch to a lower-power (and slower data speed) EDGE mode to conserve the juice.

Who is J.D. Power, anyway? It's no surprise his awards are primarily associated with the auto industry. The 78 year old founder of the marketing firm joined Ford as a financial analyst and later acted as a consultant for GM on its Buick, truck and coach divisions. He started JD Power & Associates in 1968. James David Power the third received the Automotive Hall of Fame's Distinguished Service Citation in 1992. (Photo credit: Joe Devlin/The Daily Pennsylvanian)

Debunking the Myth

The problem is — and stay with me here — batteries are pretty important. Unlike its rivals, Apple doesn’t allow its users access to the battery and there was initial hysteria over a report the unit could only be charged 300 times. Apple insists that’s not the case: that only after 400 cycles would it start to degrade in performance by 20%.  There are services which, for about US$21 to US$49 will install a replacement 1150 mAh, but you’re out of an iPhone for at least two days. Apple offers a $86 replacement service if you’re apprehensive about sending your beloved iPhone off to a stranger.

After 400 complete cycles, the iPhone’s battery still has 80 percent of its charged capacity. And by a complete charge cycle, I mean completely draining the battery, a full chemical cycle. If you top it off, you’re not wasting a charge cycle.
— Greg Joswiak, Apple VP of Marketing

After the jump: how we use our expensive toys and what dumbphone users covet most

Smartphones vs. Dumbphones

JD Power has learned since their November 2008 study six months earlier, overall satisfaction among smartphone users has increased considerably. Smartphone users send an average 17 emails per day, and 4 out of 5 use the smartphone to its full potential as a calendar, address book and to-do list manager.

Most smartphones today have GPS, and the dumbphone crowd wants in on that action. 1/3rd of them want that capability on their next phone.

JD Power has learned that dumbphone users aren’t dumb: they’re just spendthrift. They pay an average US$28/month less for their wireless service. And if they buy their phone instead of getting it for free (42% don’t pay a dime), they end up paying US$111 less for their handset than a smartphone user. But dumbphone users may not be so smart, after all. only 28% cut the cord on their landline. Smartphone users save on their monthly bills by going wireless only — at least 40% of them, anyway.

Source: Apple Ranks Highest among Smartphone Consumers, While LG Ranks Highest among Traditional Mobile Phone Consumers, JD Power & Associates
Source: The truth about iPhone battery lifespan, MacWorld
Source: Corporate mogul tells story of his successes, Daily Pennsylvanian
Source: J.D. Power, Wikipedia.org

Link: iPhone Out-of-Warranty Battery Replacement Program, Apple
Link: iPhone 3G battery replacement, ipodjuice.com