iPhone users have highest phone bills, majority pay over $100 a month

By Mike Flacy January 30, 2013

iPhone 5 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Detailed on AllThingsSD earlier today, a new study conducted by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) discovered that the typical wireless service provider bill was the highest for consumers that owned an iPhone. Specifically, nearly sixty percent of all iPhone users spend at least $101 or more on the monthly bill. In addition, approximately ten percent of iPhone owners break the $200 barrier when it comes to the monthly payment with carriers such as AT&T or Verizon. By comparison, approximately 53 percent of Android users broke the $100 barrier each month.

While Windows phone users also had a relatively high monthly bill with 56 percent spending over $100 a month, only forty percent of BlackBerry users hit the three digit mark on their monthly bill. The BlackBerry figure was nearly identical to the monthly bills for users of basic wireless phones that aren’t classified as smartphones.

This study recorded at money spent on service packages that include minutes, text message and data allotments as well as additional carrier fees. The study did not analyze what the respondents were spending on applications each month through the various platforms.

When asked about the differences between iPhone and Android users, CIRP partner Michael Levin stated “We think it has to do with their data plans and carriers, rather than their usage habits. They are all on expensive data plans, unlike Android users, some of which are on prepaid or unsubsidized plans with regional carriers.“

In addition to the data regarding money spent on monthly service plans, the CIRP analysis included information about how successful each platform is at retaining users when switching or upgrading smartphones. For instance, both the Android and iOS platforms have been successful in attracting new users that previously operated a Windows or BlackBerry smartphone. In addition, Apple is the most successful in retaining users that were previously utilizing the iOS platform.

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