Spb Software House Releases Survey Results

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/about/pressreleases/docs/spbsurvey2004.html?en' target='_blank'>http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/abo...vey2004.html?en</a><br /><br /></div>Spb has finally released the results of their big survey.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20041007-SpbSurvey.jpg" /><br /><br />Lots of interesting data here, so I suggest you click through and slice-and-dice it yourself; but, I noticed two interesting datapoints immediately. The male-to-female ratio is woefully skewed (94% to 6%) -- I suspect that more females use Pocket PCs but just didn't take the survey; what do you think? Also, the number of people with a system utility is greater than those that don't (29% of people run Pocket Plus, compared to 23% of survey takers that don't use any system utility). Considering that "none" was the top answer for all the other software categories, there's a clear indication that people consider the Pocket PC OS as needy in system utilities (*cough*close button*cough*) more than anything else.

[David Johnston]

I never realised iPaq 221x's were THAT popular (17%!)

[Ed Hansberry]

I never realised iPaq 221x's were THAT popular (17%!)
Me neither, but as the owner of one, I can understand why.

[Darius Wey]

HP's iPAQ range snags 57% of the market. I'd be interested to see how this figure changes in a year.

[maximus]

I find this one very interesting :

7. How long do you use your Pocket PC?
0 - 0.5 years : 15%
0.5 - 1 years : 20%
1 - 2 years : 24%
2 - 3 years : 16%
3+ years : 24%


I got this impression that folks on the Low Price Factor (High GDP) countries (U.S./Canada/Europe/Australia) switch PDAs at least once a year.

[PetiteFlower]

I got this impression that folks on the Low Price Factor (High GDP) countries (U.S./Canada/Europe/Australia) switch PDAs at least once a year.

Heh so everyone in those countries is loaded??? It's still expensive, even if it's not as expensive as in other places. This board distorts your perception because a lot of people here are tech freaks who have to have the newest thing, but even among tech geeks, the majority are still a little more value-concious :) Why do you think Dell is so popular?

[PetiteFlower]

Also, the number of people with a system utility is greater than those that don't (29% of people run Pocket Plus, compared to 23% of survey takers that don't use any system utility). Considering that "none" was the top answer for all the other software categories, there's a clear indication that people consider the Pocket PC OS as needy in system utilities (*cough*close button*cough*) more than anything else.

Not that I disagree with that last statement, but I don't think it follows from the survey. The survey was run by the makers of Pocket Plus, obviously the people who take the survey are going to be users of that or another program from SPB. This also means the survey is more likely to attract the "power user" type who's always searching for the perfect tweak :)

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

The male-to-female ratio is woefully skewed (94% to 6%) -- I suspect that more females use Pocket PCs but just didn't take the survey; what do you think?
I dont know about that. I've run across many PPC users over the years and none of the ones I've met in person were women. All female PDA users I've seen have been Palm users. Maybe others here have had far different experiences? Seriously... the women on this board are the only ones I know of!

[Janak Parekh]

Not that I disagree with that last statement, but I don't think it follows from the survey.
True, your argument is not without merit. There's also the fact that, in theory, the users "in the know" filled out this survey, and the average joe might have not.

Still, I can't but help opine on the need for a close button. ;)

--janak

[maximus]

Heh so everyone in those countries is loaded??? It's still expensive, even if it's not as expensive as in other places. This board distorts your perception because a lot of people here are tech freaks who have to have the newest thing, but even among tech geeks, the majority are still a little more value-concious :) Why do you think Dell is so popular?

Because it has FAR SUPERIOR quality ? :wink:

Seriously, you are correct. I just find it really interesting that in the U.S. a PDA cost $300, while an average decent meal cost $10-30. Which means a PDA = 15 meals. While downhere, a decent meal cost $2-3, which means a PDA = 150 meals.

:)

[Gremmie]

Because it has FAR SUPERIOR quality ? :wink:

Seriously, you are correct. I just find it really interesting that in the U.S. a PDA cost $300, while an average decent meal cost $10-30. Which means a PDA = 15 meals. While downhere, a decent meal cost $2-3, which means a PDA = 150 meals.

:)

Thats called the purchasing-power-parity (PPP). Nevertheless, since it's not a 'random' survey, it's skewed results...mainly built around people like us who adore PDAs in general--we tend to be a little more picky about prices. Although it isn't random, it's still a very useful survey.

[ctmagnus]

I watched a bit of Oprah yesterday and it turns out I could live like a king in Indonesia, whereas I'm slightly below average here.

[k_kirk]

Living in Indonesia and earning at US labor rate would place you quite well indeed but sadly 99.99* percent of Indonesian workforce would be earning at Indonesian labor rates which put all into parity...

* un-scientific reference. Actual figure may be closer to 100% :-)

[socrates63]

I find this one very interesting :
I got this impression that folks on the Low Price Factor (High GDP) countries (U.S./Canada/Europe/Australia) switch PDAs at least once a year.
During the past 5 years or so, I've owned a Philips Nino, Casio E100, two iPaq 3670, Sony Clie SJ33. My current PDA is the iPaq 2215. That averages out to about one PDA per year. But my socio-economic status and my love for the latest gadgets played relatively minor roles in determining when I switched PDAs.

Call it simply bad luck or being accident-prone. With the exception of the Casio, I switched because I somehow managed to break the PDA.
- PDA (Nino) was in my back pocket and I sat down on the bus. Oops. Cracked screen.
- PDAs (iPaq 3670 x 2) broke when they fell off the top of the car after being placed there and were forgotten. Cracked screens.
- PDA (Clie) was dropped on concrete floor by family member. Cracked touch screen.

I paid $70 or 80 to fix the Clie so it still works but is gathering dust (anyone interested?). I also still have the Casio but it needs a new battery (anyone know of a cheap source?).

Come to think of it, if it weren't for these accidents, I probably would not have switched PDAs at all or at least not at the rate of one a year. It's pretty hard to justify a $300 purchase to the wife for a glorified electronic PIM (that's her point of view, not mine :wink: ). Actually, the only PDA that I paid full price for out of my own pockets is the Clie. All the others were bought used or were extremely discounted or the family member who dropped and broke the PDA helped pay for the next one.

[OneAngryDwarf]

The whole survey is innacurate by design really... not to say it isn't useful but things like the male-female ratio are not accurate due to the way the data was collected. It's people like Pocket PC Thoughts users who participated, not your "typical" handheld user. Most if not all the people who go to this site are real enthusiasts... geeks if you will (hey i'm including myself in here). The normal people like my mother in her 50's who use a pocket pc (sometimes I envy her 4155) more than likely did not take this survey. Not to say they aren't enthusiasts... most people who have a pocket pc fall in love with it (like my mother) but they just aren't the types of people who go to sites like this and in turn are exposed to such surveys.

[Adrian Knack]

I am not so sure that the survey was inaccurate. I mean what was the survey for? Basically so SPB could gauge where to aim thier software. Who is most likely to buy thier software? People like us right? I think that they would be most pleased with the survey, it shows them which of their products is doing well, which other products are doing well and hence they sould also be looking to design and it gives them a geographic of who buys software and where they are from so they can develop based on language, age, gender etc...

Surely this is what they were aiming for?

[surur]

Thats only good if you want to serve your current market better, but if you want to grow your market you need to know what every eligible person thinks and wants.

Surur

[jonathanchoo]

I am surprised that quite a number of people actually pay for today themes.

[lmtuxinc]

I am surprised that quite a number of people actually pay for today themes.

yea, me too. i've never paid for a today theme. i make all of my own.

under the financial section of the survey it listed microsoft money billrate as the top choice, what is microsoft money billrate? arent they two seperate products from two separate companies?

[Dave Beauvais]

I find it somewhat amusing that only 3% of respondents consider an "aesthetically pleasant design" to be the most important feature of a Pocket PC, yet whenever a new device is announced or photos leaked, the first two pages of replies in the thread are comments about how the device looks. :)

[socrates63]

You can count me in the 3% minority. Aesthetics and design are very important to me. Let's face it. Hardware specs of high-, mid-, and low-end PPCs have been fairly standardized among the different manufacturers.

One of my strongest considerations in purchasing the 2215 was the size. It was pretty small and didn't feel like a brick. I wish it was closer to the 19xx series in size but I can live with it.

I wish PPC manufacturers would rip off Sony Clie designs. Sometimes Sony has turned out some funky designs but usually the Clie line has produced good looking compact PDAs. None of the recently released PPC designs have given me cause for excitement.