PCMag.Com - Consumer preference has swung back in the direction of Apple's iOS, away from Android and RIM's BlackBerry, according a Monday survey.ChangeWave said it surveyed 4,163 U.S. consumers and found that consumers, when asked which mobile OS they would prefer in the next smartphone they planned to purchase, favored Apple's iOS by a significant amount.
About 48 percent of those surveyed said they actually plan to buy an Apple iPhone. The firm also showed that those that purchased an iOS device were the happiest with their purchase.
The majority of the ChangeWave survey dealt with which mobile OS consumers would prefer.
But the firm also released a few data points indicating which smartphone consumers actually said that they were going to buy, with 48 percent indicating that they would buy an iPhone.
ChangeWave also said that Motorola's planned-purchase share had slipped to just 8 percent, down 4 points. RIM's share in this category also dropped in 7 of the last 10 surveys, ChangeWave said, without actually disclosing the share.
Customers also expressed a strong preference for the iOS operating system in general over Android, according to the survey.About 46 percent of consumers said they would choose an iOS phone like the iPhone 4, versus 32 percent for Android and just 4 percent for RIM.
In December 2010, both Android and iOS were at near parity, with 38 percent expressing a preference for iOS, and 37 percent for RIM. Since then, according to ChangeWave, consumers have increasingly said they prefer iOS, with a March 2011 survey showing a 44 percent to 31 percent edge to Apple's iOS. More
