Survey Finds One in Three Crave an iPhone

A new survey from Lightspeed Research finds that 32 percent of U.S. respondents plan to buy an Apple iPhone.

Folks who were hoping the iPhone hype might die down a bit following the item’s hectic June 29th launch might be in for a disappointment: according to a new survey (PDF) of U.S. residents from Lightspeed Research, nearly one third of respondents (32 percent) say they intend to purchase an Apple iPhone, with 8 percent planing to do so in the next three months, and 22 percent planning to do so in the future.

The survey also found some trends amongst folks who were most likely—or not likely—to buy an iPhone. Respondents on the U.S. west coast said they were nearly twice as likely to buy an iPhone as respondents in other regions, although respondents in the New England and mid-Atlantic regions were also more likely than average to report an intention to buy an iPhone.

By age, more respondents aged 44 and under are planning to buy an iPhone compared to respondents age 45 and over. Younger respondents were also more likely to have seen an iPhone, with full half of 18 to 24 year-olds saying they have already set eyes on one, compared to 41 percent of the overall respondents.

“It’s interesting to see that Americans, especially those under 45, continue to seek more functionality, including music, movies, internet and wireless, in a single package,” said Anne Hedde, President and Group CEO of Lightspeed Research, in a release. “According to our research, the iPhone frenzy should continue in line with increasing demand for emerging technology.”

Lightspeed Research surveyed 39,000 people in its U.S. online panel in the days immediately following the iPhone launch. An additional survey of 34,000 people conducted on July 5th found that nearly half of respondents who would like to own an iPhone cited the benefits of having music, video, Internet, and phone capabilities in a single device as their primary reason for wanting an iPhone.