JD Power: Buyers are Paying More Attention to Smartphone Pricing

Smartphone pricing is becoming more important to buyers as the smartphone technological playing field has leveled, according to Volume 1 of the JD Power 2014 Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study.

Just over one-fifth (21 percent) of smartphone owners cited price as the main reason they chose to purchase a particular smartphone, up from 13 percent in JD Power’s 2011 study.

AT&T ranked tops among US telecompetitors in terms of smartphone-device customer satisfaction, scoring 844 out of a possible 1,000 points.

Sprint ranked second at 839, T-Mobile third at 835, and Verizon Wireless fourth with a score of 829.

Overall satisfaction among smartphone owners totaled 837, according to a JD Power press release, with Apple ranking highest among smartphone original equipment manufacturers among Tier 1 wireless carriers.