CIRP shows eager switching to new iPhones

Apple's recent iPhone buyers have been eager enough to want to either break contract or switch from Android or BlackBerry to get one, CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners) said in a new poll. About 45 percent of those studied in the US who had bought an iPhone between October and November 10 had paid an early termination fee or otherwise broken their agreement to get the iPhone 4S and, occasionally, an earlier iPhone. About 37 percent of the total group had switched carriers, revealing that only a small number of those who had paid extra did so from inside their own network.

Over 70 percent of that subset of still-in-contract buyers had paid over $100 to make the switch, showing that they were still several months or more away from exiting penalty-free.

The study also suggested that, among those who weren't already loyal, most were coming from a rival platform. Although 71 percent of all buyers had been iPhone owners in the past, another 18 percent were switching from another smartphone. The demographics left just 11 percent either new to smartphones or getting their first cellphone of any kind.

Among those just buying the iPhone 4S, 30 percent were trading up from the iPhone 4. Only 25 percent had been bought through an Apple online or physical store, however, where the rest had been bought through the carriers or a third-party chain.

Demographics were also shifting. Although AT&T still ruled iPhone sales, it no longer had an absolute majority at 49 percent. Another 34 percent picked Verizon, and 17 percent had picked Sprint. For iPhone 4S buyers, the 64GB model was unusually strong; despite its price, 23 percent had bought the top capacity. CIRP added that women in its study preferred a white iPhone 4 or 4S over black.

By Electronista Staff