Items tagged with Survey
Americans have incredibly varied opinions about technologies that could potentially enhance human health, wellness and abilities. The Pew Research Center surveyed Americas regarding gene editing that would reduce the risk of illnesses in babies, computer implantations that would improve a person’s ability to concentrate and process information, and synthetic blood transfusions that would improve a human being’s speed, strength, and stamina. Most Americans appear to expect and welcome artificial human augmentation or technologies that could aid babies, however, they are not enthusiastic about the prospects of brain chip implants.Most of those surveyed had some apprehensions about human augmentation,...
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Try as they might, no social network has been able to grow as large as Facebook in the U.S. or threaten its market share, at least not yet. It's especially popular among adults -- based on the latest data provided by Pew Internet, 58 percent of the American adult population use Facebook, which is more than double its next closest competitor. That would be LinkedIn, considered a social network for professionals, which has captured 23 percent of the adult audience. After that, it's Pinterest (22 percent), Instagram (21 percent), and Twitter (19 percent), with the term "adult" being used to describe anyone who is at least 18 years old. Image Source: Flickr...
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Just as tires and wheels aren't the same thing, the World Wide Web (WWW) and Internet are also separate, albeit just as intertwined. If you already knew that, pat your self on the back or grab a cookie -- you're in the minority, according to a Web IQ quiz conducted by Pew Research in which just 23 percent of respondents correctly selected (or guessed) "False" when asked if the Internet and WWW are the same.In stark contrast, 83 percent of respondents were able to correctly identify Bill Gates as the technology leader portrayed in a photo. It's the question with the least amount of wrong answers, followed closely by identifying Twitter as the place where hashtags are widely used.Pew surveyed 1,066...
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In terms of marketing, the true genius of Steve Jobs is that he was able to create a consumer culture around Apple products in which current owners would always feel compelled to upgrade to the next version. Part of that is due to the planned obsolescence model -- a theory that says Apple intentionally leaves out desired features to shorten the shelf life of its gadgets. However, it's pretty telling that nearly 28 percent of respondents in a recent Kensington survey said they plan on purchasing the iPad Air 2 simply because of "the desire to own the latest iPad." What's interesting about that response is that it comes at a time when iPad sales are declining. In fact, other than Apple's retired...
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Have you fed and loved on your pets today? It's a valid question, especially for people who use Facebook. A new survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that the average American spends around 40 minutes per day flipping through his or her Facebook feed. That doesn't sound obscene, especially when compared to television, of which Americans spend more than five hours of their day watching, but you might be surprised at which activities we spend less time doing than Facebook. For example, taking care of pets. The average American spends 39 minutes daily caring for Fido and Shadow (or whatever you've named your dog, cat, fish, reptile, and so forth). Perhaps more interesting is that Facebook...
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It's pretty remarkable how quickly a technological shift can impact our daily lives. Consider that 10-15 years ago, comparatively few people owned a mobile phone. And now? Not only do most adults in the U.S. carry a handset with them, but in a survey conducted by Bank of America, 47 percent of U.S. consumers admitted they couldn't last a full day without their smartphone. Out of the 1,000 survey respondents 18-years-old or higher and living in the U.S., 85 percent said they check their smartphone at least a few times per day, and 35 percent said they're "constantly" checking and using their phone. Around 16 percent check their smartphone once every hour. Bank of America revealed the survey results...
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Let's not tread lightly here, we all know how the stereotypical video gamer is portrayed on TV, and perhaps in our own minds sometimes as well -- overweight, anti-social, hyperactive (especially on chat), lazy, living in their parents' basement, and the unflattering list goes on. Just reference the "Make Love, Not Warcraft" episode of South Park to see several of those traits played out. It's amusing (the episode, that is), but are gamers getting a bad rap? Most definitely yes, a new survey reveals. First, let's talk about age and sex (as in gender). According to a study called "The New Face of Gamers" (PDF) by Lifecourse Associates commissioned by Twitch, the typical gamer is 31 years old and...
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Not everyone needs to be a geek or even particularly tech savvy, though the latter is a trait that will certainly come in handy time and again. We get it, we all have different interests and what not. At the same time, we're a little taken aback by a new survey indicating that around 1 in 10 Americans (11 percent) think HTML is an STD. Like syphilis. In case anyone reading this is among the 11 percent, HTML is not a sexually transmitted disease. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is a programming language used to make websites, and while it can incite anger, rage, and frustration (just like any programming language), it's not something you can catch after an ill advised one night stand, even if...
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As any mobile user can attest, there are no shortages of free games to download from the various app market places, though many of them try to attach their tentacles to your wallet or purse through in-game purchases (some are worse about it than others). These can range from weapon and armor upgrades, to gems that can be exchanged for more play time, or anything else. If a game is a hit, these in-game purchases become cash cows for the developer, but you might be surprised where the bulk of those dollars are coming from. According to Swrve, makers of an in-app marketing platform for mobile, just 0.15 percent of gamers account for more than half the monthly revenue generated from in-game purchases....
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A new wireless survey conducted by J.D. Power suggests that AT&T customers are the happiest with their carrier's customer support. AT&T scored 793 out of a 1,000 point scale, taking the top spot among full-service wireless carriers. Verizon came in a close second with a score of 788, enough to top the industry average score of 782. T-Mobile and Sprint fell below the industry average with scores of 778 and 757, respectively. Though T-Mobile scored under the industry average, it made some big gains compared to a year ago. T-Mobile was dead last in 2012 with a score of 715 on the same 1,000 point scale, but managed to skip ahead of Sprint for third place in 2013. Perhaps T-Mobile's "un-carrier"...
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If you've listened to Apple CEO Tim Cook over the years, you've probably heard him focus on one thing more than any other: customer satisfaction. It's the data point that drives him, and in many ways, Apple itself. It's hardly about revenue, profit margin, or market share. In his view, if customers are in love with a product, the rest will fall into place. Obviously, that mantra has worked out fairly well for Apple, and it continues to bear fruit. A new J.D. Power survey, which looked at U.S. wireless smartphone satisfaction among users, has both Apple and Samsung atop the charts. According to its findings, both Apple and Samsung are leading in overall satisfaction performance among the U.S....
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We're being bombarded by gadgets and mobile electronic devices that offer persistent online connectivity, and if you're a parent, that means having to decide when to allow your child to have access to certain gear, like computers, tablets, smartphones, handheld gaming devices, and so forth. Every family is different and therefore there's really no correct answer, though a recent survey by Microsoft does reveal some interesting insight into how other parents are dealing with the digital age. According to Microsoft's survey, 94 percent of parents allow their kids to use at least one online service or device. What's a bit more interesting -- and perhaps surprising -- is that age 8 emerged as the...
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Last year, it was announced that half of all mobile phone owners in the United States were opting for smartphones. Now, we're really starting to see what kind of impact that's having. While the Internet is still young, the overall experience has changed dramatically over the years. Years ago, people were exposed to the internet at schools, libraries and work offices. Then, the personal desktop became commonplace. After that, the laptop entered the scene. And now, we're seeing a huge shift to ultra-mobile platforms. According to a new report from Pew Internet, nearly two-thirds (63%) of cell phone owners now use their phone to go online. Perhaps most surprising, however, is that 21% of US cellphone...
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It's easy for the majority of American adults ages 18 and older to take broadband access for granted because most adults have it at home. Not all, however, as 3 out of 10 are still without broadband at their place of residence, according to a new study by Pew Research Center. Furthermore, 2 out of 10 American adults lack both a home broadband connection and a smartphone. "The demographic factors most correlated with home broadband adoption continue to be educational attainment, age, and household income," Pew Research Center noted in its report. "Almost 9 in 10 college graduates have high-speed internet at home, compared with just 37 percent of adults who have not completed high school. Similarly,...
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It doesn't matter if you're a saint or a frequent sinner, a sailor with a potty mouth or a monk who took a vow of silence. If you own a computer, then at some point you've belted out a line of obscenities that would make Andrew Dice Clay wince in astonishment. PCs have a way of bringing out the worst in us when things go wrong, and according to a recent nationwide survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Crucial in June 2013, some even tend to get physical. Out of over 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who were surveyed, more than a third -- 36 percent -- of Americans who experienced computer problems in the past six months admit to lashing out at their PC by using vulgar language,...
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After the passing of Steve Jobs, there was a huge question mark surrounding Tim Cook's ability to lead Apple and fill the shoes worn so successfully by the company's co-founder. And what has he done since then? Cook has continued to navigate Apple towards obscene quarterly profits, and even when investors worry themselves silly over sales estimates and product rumors, the company still lines their pockets. On the consumer side, Apple is still seeing success as well. Under the first full year of Tim Cook's leadership, Apple took home repeat Brand of the Year distinctions in three categories from the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrends study, which measures the perceptions of over 38,500 American consumers...
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It's easy to view the overall decline in the print newspaper business, coupled with the surge in e-reader and tablet ownership, as a death knell for paper books. After all, the printed word has been around for so long, that surely it must be on its way out -- right? Well, perhaps in some instances, but not in others. A new Rasmussen Report suggests that three in four U.S.-based readers "still prefer a traditional book over an electronic book-reading device and continue to reads books that way." The report is based on a telephone survey, and it found that 75% of American Adults would rather read a book in a traditional print format than on an electronic book-reading device like a Kindle. Fifteen...
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Mobile phones are everywhere these days, that's hardly surprising news. But what's interesting about this is that the majority of Americans now own smartphone devices, according to Pew Rsearch Center's Internet and American Life Project. It's the first time smartphones have been in the hands of the majority since Pew Research Center began systematically tracking smartphone adoption. The finding is based on a survey of 2,252 adults who are at least 18 years old. Among them, 55 percent of cell phone owners indicated they own a smartphone, and 58 percent said that their phone operates on a smartphone platform common to the U.S. market (iOS, Android, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone). Source: Pew Research...
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Survey results from the latest American Customer Satisfaction (ACSI) Index reveal a growing affinity towards Samsung handsets, as if that's any surprise. Samsung scored a 76 on ACSI's survey, which is an independent national benchmark of customer satisfaction that reports scores on a scale of 0 to 100, up 7 percent from last year. That represents the biggest year-over-year gain of any handset maker. Only two other mobile handset makers had a higher satisfaction rating than Samsung. One of them was Motorola Mobility, which climbed 5.5 percent to score a 77 on the 100-point scale. Interestingly, Motorola Mobility has held a slight lead over Samsung in consumer satisfaction every year since 2008,...
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Electronics break all the time, it happens. The question is, are you able to repair a broken gadget, assuming it's out of warranty? Some devices are a bear to service, like the Pebble Smartwatch, which the folks at iFixIt deemed damn near impossible to open up without destroying or at least compromising its waterproofing capabilities. That's just one example, but something hardware manufacturers should be conscious of is that easy-to-repair electronics are more likely to lead to repeat customers. So suggests a new consumer survey by iFixIt. The repair site pinged over 13,200 users and asked them a variety of questions. One of the more interesting findings is that a whopping 95 percent indicated...
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Are iPhone users more satisfied with their smartphone of choice than, say, Galaxy S III or Lumia 920 owners? That's up for debate, though it's worth pointing out that Apple topped the J.D. Power 2013 Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study, landing ahead of the competition for the ninth consecutive time. It wasn't a slim victory, either. The study pinged 9,767 customers who used their smartphones for less than a year. Satisfaction is measured in several key areas, including performance, ease of operation, physical design, and features, and then ranked on a 1,000-point scale. Apple's score of 855 was well ahead of both the industry average (796) and Nokia (795), which ranked No. 2 on the list....
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It's sometimes easy to forget that an unsubsidized smartphone can cost upwards of $600, especially when you see a group of giggling teens wielding around what are essentially handheld computers. Get used to that scene. According to a new survey, smartphone adoption among American teenagers is rising fast. Pew Research Center pinged over 800 people between the age of 12 and 17. Out of that sample, 78 percent said they own a cell phone, and out of those, nearly half — 47 percent — own a smartphone. That puts smartphone adoption among teens at 37 percent, up from 23 percent in 2011. Image Source: Flickr (Joris_Louwes) "The nature of teens’ internet use has transformed dramatically...
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