Online Survey: The New BlackBerry Tour Is a Hit With the Matlock Set
by Peter Kafka
Posted on August 11, 2009 at 1:30 PM PT
BlackBerry’s new Tour has garnered fairly positive reviews from the geek press. But Research in Motion’s (RIMM) latest handset has been a really big hit with the oldsters.
At least that’s the suggestion from consumer research service YouGov, which measures “brand perception” via an online panel. YouGov’s BrandIndex survey, which interviews 5,000 people a day and rates brand scores on a scale from 100 to minus-100, shows a big spike over the last couple months for BlackBerry. Adults 35-49 gave the brand a value score of 7.5 on July 21, but by August 4, that number increased to 18.
The BrandIndex people figure that jump stems from the introduction of the Tour, and particularly from the push that Verizon (VZ) has given it–Sprint (S) is also selling the handset, but is keeping that news to itself for the most part. Go to a Sprint store and try to find a Tour. It’s not easy!
But! Even while the oldsters thought more favorably about the BlackBerry, young folks seem to have turned on it: Adults 18-34 gave the brand a value score of 21.5 on July 7, but that number tumbled to 7.9 by August 4. Here’s the chart (click to enlarge):
What gives? One suggestion: Verizon’s decision to drop the prices for almost all of its smartphones (but not the Tour) to $99, which presumably makes the BlackBerry product look…I don’t know…more expensive? I’m not buying it.
Anyway, I’ve been in the old fogey demo for several years now, and I will say, the Tour appeals to me. But then again, that’s mostly because the noisy complaints I hear about the iPhone–primarily AT&T’s (T) lousy coverage and the machine’s puny battery–have kept me from making the leap to Apple (AAPL).
Still, for now I’m hemming and hawing, Hamlet style, on my big purchase. Perhaps I’ll write a post when I make a decision!
Comments
The Matlock set…
Oldsters…
Adults 35-49…
I’d smack you with my walker if I could remember where I put it!
Posted by Tony Mrozinski at August 11th, 2009 at 3:11 pmMatlock is a fine show. I often watch it when I’ve fallen and can’t get up.
Posted by Peter Kafka at August 11th, 2009 at 3:23 pmI’m going to keep harping on the no-wifi bit. I think it’s ridiculous that they still make smartphones with no wifi. Using cell service instead of wifi takes more power, it eats your battery up. A laptop does not really replace a phone, at least not an iphone, because you can do more with an iphone – it has more apps, especially games and a touch interface. And finally, wifi is faster, and if you’re going international you don’t have bankrupting data rates. If you had a phone with wifi capabilities, would you shut it off? No? Does not having wifi add value to the phone? This irks me.
Posted by Bjorn Tipling at August 11th, 2009 at 4:02 pmI recently started to give an iphone a try after a long love affair with my blackberry curve. I don’t think it will last. (note it’s an EDGE iphone so that it’s a fair comparison to my old Curve as I think the 3GS and the Tour will be comparable as well)
Push email, sound profiles are things that sound like it’s easy to live without, but it’s noticeable. The berry keyboard is better not just for typing, but for fast navigation of your calendar, your email, your contacts and the rest of the OS.
Opera Mini imitates the iphone browser sufficiently. The wifi being disabled is a joke though.
I haven’t noticed any of the absurdity that everyone else has on AT&T, though I’ve been in NYC forever with AT&T only, so maybe I just don’t know any better.
Posted by Brian Ballan at August 11th, 2009 at 5:01 pmAnd, I would love to hear how you think through your decision
Posted by Brian Ballan at August 11th, 2009 at 5:02 pm