More cell phones, less satisfaction

Consumers may not be crazy about the companies delivering cell phone service, but that's not deterring people from buying mobile phones.

Two-thirds of U.S. households now have at least one cell phone, and for many, one isn't enough, according to a study from Forrester Research. The number of households with four or more phones has grown by 57 percent over the last year, Forrester said Wednesday.

The embrace of mobile phones shouldn't be confused with enthusiasm for service providers, however. Though carriers are working to improve their networks and customer service, customer satisfaction has declined over the past three years and hovers around 50 percent in key categories, Forrester said.

"The wireless market continues to defy predictions that it is approaching its saturation point," Forrester analyst Charles S. Golvin said.

Consumers also say they don't need all the gewgaws, such as digital cameras and color screens, that cell phone makers are packing into handsets. Cell phone buyers remain more focused on basic features such as price, battery life and ease of use--less than one in 10 said a camera is vital to their purchase decision, according to Forrester, which surveyed 5,600 U.S. households.

Some new features are gaining in importance, however. Twenty percent of survey respondents said they want to have wireless data functions, like the ability to access e-mail and share photos.

The age group whose members are most likely to have a cell phone is 18- to 24-year-olds, surpassing the 25-to-34 group. The only category of population with less than 50 percent mobile-phone penetration was the 65 and older group.

The study also indicated that consolidation in the mobile-phone industry would concentrate dominance in three companies--Cingular Wireless, Verizon and Sprint-Nextel--that will own seven out of 10 households that have cell phones.

[Earl Benser]

I have a cellphone.

I even use it once in a while, when I want to make a phone call
from a remote location. Very few people know the cellphone
number, and no one expects me to answer if called. No voice
mail, no roaming, no caller ID, no call waiting, no ring tones, no
camera, no games, just basic simple communication, when and
where I want.

That's a good cellphone.

[SteveBarry687]

Stop selling us what we don't need or want.

I think that US cellular providers want to sell us on features that Asiains tend to enjoy. I don't need to take crappy little tiny pictures on my cell phone. If I want to take a picture, I will use my camera. I don't want to play games on a tiny low resolution screen. If I want to play a game while on the move, I will use my PSP.

You know what I do want? I want a cell phone that will let me make nice clear calls while I am out and about. Stop wasting money coming up with the next feature and make a phone that works good. I am tired of repeating myself constantly. And no, it is not my carrier. It is all of the carriers.

You know when phones started getting so crappy? When everything was swicthed over to digital. digital means that your calls are being compressed. Why, so they can put more people on the same network. So, you have many more conversation going over the same signal. That is why there are drop outs and static and everything else that is the norm with today's cell phones.

So, while the cellular providers are making more money today than they were before, they are giving the consumer service that is worse than it was.

Yea big bussiness!

[cfj03]

Blame American Greed, not features or Asians

The phones in Asia work fine and they don't take "crappy little pictures," some of them are up to FIVE megapixels(not saying you want an all-in-one, but don't believe the bs that you are being sold). The problem is insatiable American greed; spread through multi-national corps that rule the world now--oligopolies (check Porter and his rules/theories on large sellers/providers and many small buyers). Who sells you your cell service? Your home phone service provider! Why give you equivalent service from your cell because you might just stop paying an extra $65 on home phone service. And think about this: people call your home to talk to YOU the person, not your home the physical location, so why call your home, i.e. landline, why not JUST call you? Answer, because the way it is now you NEED both because you can't trust JUST your cell (and the phone companies want BOTH revenue streams).

Consumers often expect too much..

.. I hate to say it but one of the problems is that cell phones are a low cost high tech item that people expect to work as well as their home phone/digital camera/pda or whatever function they bought it for.. they don't realize that this technology is different.. if you know your products limitations, you won't be dissatisified..

JMHO
Matthew
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