Filed under: Culture , Handsets , Palm , RIM , Sony Ericsson , Studies , Misc , Apple We suppose the uptick in smartphone demand could be to blame , depending on your perspective, but regardless of semantics, a new study put out by J.D. Power and Associates has found that surging interest in high-end handsets is causing the average purchase price of mobiles to shoot upward. Compared to 2007, consumers are currently paying around $9 more on average per phone. The average price rose to $101, up from $92 just six months prior, and it also marks the highest figure found since the study's inception in 2003. Analysts are pegging recent demand in RIM , Palm (saywha?) and Apple devices as the primary culprit, and it's noted that the average price paid for a smartphone these days is $208. Not surprisingly, these folks also found that the percentage of customers who receive free phones on contract has sank from 36% to 33% in the past six months. If you're the number loving type, be sure and hit the read link for lots, lots more where this came from. [Via RCRWirelessNews ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: Apple, RIM, Handsets, Misc, Palm, Sony Ericsson, Smartphone, Culture, Studies, Smartphones, study, service, price, prices, CustomerService, customer service, quality, performance