A few months ago, I did not even know what the term "smartphone" meant. I knew it had something to do with cell phones but assumed it was one of those cleaver marketing terms used to create a need for something we never knew we needed until a team of smart marketeers got us up to speed.
Then, Verizon offered a deal on the new Android that I could not resist. And, within a few days I became a smarty myself. At least I felt a lot smarter knowing that my cell phone could not only deliver my e-mail but could respond to verbal commands and take dictated messages that it would whisk off to the few friends who could read them on their smartphones. What I did not realize was the hidden value my ownership of a smartphone conveyed to those marketeers.
Then I came across a report prepared by Live Science*. It compares smart phone brands with user profiles.
The most significant comparison: Apple vs
Android. Live Science found that iPhone users tend to be over 35,
female, educated, liberal, and earning an income of more than US$200,000
per year. They may or may not be tech savvy, but don’t have time to
“tinker” with menus. The iPhone may also be regarded as a status symbol
with a reputation for being the highest end product sold.
Android users live in more rural areas, are more politically
conservative and are much more likely to be male. Many have never
traveled outside of their home country, love pets, Comedy Central, and
for whatever reason, Yahoo Mail. A university professor told Live
Science that Android users may be forming an iPhone counter culture as a
backlash against the people that they perceive to be Apple users aka
city living limousine liberals.
The Live Science report noted that Blackberry users tend to be highly
introverted urban dwellers and are equally distributed across the
sexes; Windows Phone users are politically moderate suburban moms. Users
of both brands may be daring and individualistic; others might perceive
somebody who is using older generation devices to be a luddite from a
bygone era.
Now I know WHY I traded my old Blackberry for an Android. The marketeers had convinced me that sturdy and reliable were out; smart was the hallmark of the next generation. Now I just have to convince myself that it is worth the extra bucks to be smart.
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