Gizmodo: survey

Borders Bookstores Includes Mysterious "Apple iPAD" in Survey

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:30:00 EDT

A recent survey from Borders Bookstore seeks to find how familiar its customers are with e-readers from Amazon, Sony, and Plastic Logic. This particular survey, however, includes "the Apple iPAD (large screen reading device)," which is interesting.

There are a few possible explanations for the inclusion of a phantom, hotly anticipated device on a tangentially related retailer's customer survey. First, Borders, somehow, in some weird alternate universe, has incredibly privileged information from Apple on the most secretive product since the iPhone, and has haphazardly namedropped it in a survey. For reasons I had to state while explaining that option, I don't believe that's too likely.

The more logical explanation is that Borders thinks an Apple tablet or e-reader is possible, and included it on the survey based solely on the extensive rumors that those dastardly blogs have been ranting about. That explains the very un-Apple capitalization of iPAD as well as the paranthetical description. Our best bet? Pure speculation. Like, well, everything else involving the Apple tablet. [Borders via Engadget]

US Pays More For Cellphone Service, Carriers Insist That We Are Not Getting Screwed

Sean Fallon — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EDT

A survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revealed that the US, Canada and Spain pay considerably more for cellphone service than dozens of other nations. Of course, the carriers were quick to spin the findings.

"
On average, the OECD found that Americans pay $635.85 on cell phone service, compared to $131.44 per year in the Netherlands or $137.94 per year in Sweden."

As you might expect, the wireless industry issued a press release proclaiming the study was based on "flawed assumptions" that "just don't make sense." If you look at the data the way carriers would like, you're getting quite the bargain. The CTIA does have a point that the OECD's usage categories seem low — particularly when it comes to MMS use. Another reason U.S. prices seem high? Carriers charge a hell of a lot of money for service. They also spend millions on lobbyists who tirelessly work to eliminate consumer protections and price controls.

It does appear that OECD's findings are inflated—after all, the three countries mentioned on this list have bigger appetites for wireless technologies and services. Still, I have little doubt that carriers are sticking ti to us in one form or another. [DSLReports via Consumerist]

One in Five Households Are Cellphone Only

Mark Wilson — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:40:00 EDT

According to a report by the Center for Disease Control (no, this has nothing to do with swine flu), one out of every five families has ditched landlines entirely for cellphones. I find that number a bit low, but what do I know? I'm deranged from swine flu because the CDC decided to tell me about telephone lines instead of top secret inoculation bunkers. [CDC via ars via MobileCrunch]

Customer Satisfaction Survey Scores: Apple's Good, Dell's Bad, All ISPs Are Abysmal

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EDT

In a survey of customer satisfaction, the computer industry as a whole scored pretty badly, with Apple the marginal best out of a not-so-thrilling bunch. The worst sector, however, was ISPs, which seem universally loathed.

Apple, the best-ranked hardware manufacturer, ranked 23rd on the list out of 113, which is fine, but nothing to write home about. HP and Compaq took the 72nd and 74th spots, respectively, and Dell was ranked all the way down at number 93. The study's author suspects Microsoft may be at fault for the PC manufacturers' low scores, though to be fair, this seems to be drawn from the "Ease of Use" rubric, which could refer either to hardware or software.

None of the hardware manufacturers came close to the top, however. Even Apple barely made it into the "Good" category, whereas retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble easily scored "Excellent."

Wireless and internet service providers scored painfully low. Charter Communications, an ISP, ranked last out of the whole group, and both Comcast and Verizon ranked in the bottom third. On the wireless side, AT&T and Verizon were crushed by, surprise surprise, Alltel and T-Mobile. But even Alltel only hit number 48. Check out the basic list below. [CNN]

Survey: 100% of Teens Want an iPod; 0% of Teens Want Any Other Player

Adam Frucci — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EDT

News doesn't get much worse than this for the Zunes and Sansas of the world: a whopping 0% of surveyed teens planned on buying their devices, with 100% wanting an iPod in the coming year.

Piper Jaffray's biannual Teen Survey, in its eighth year, shows a serious drop off in interest for the Zune and Sansa. From last year's not-great 15% figure to this year's unfathomable 0%, it's just ugly.

But are these numbers accurate? For one, SanDisk had some decent numbers around 2007, but this survey says they peaked at 4%. It's certainly possible that SanDisk sold all of its products to adults and not teens, which would explain the discrepancy, but it still seems a bit fishy.

But in any case, Apple has just got to love seeing numbers like this. The age of iPod's total dominance over the PMP scene won't last forever, but with numbers like this it isn't ending anytime soon either. [Apple Insider via Crave]

Take a Survey, Win Sweet Tunes

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:58:00 EDT

Have 10 spare minutes to click through a couple multiple choice questions? The questions are like 100x easier than the SATs, and when you're finished we'll give one lucky winner an 8gb iPod Nano (you can even pick the color). Simply email the last question of the survey to surveys@gawker.com. Standard rules apply

Is Netflix Coming to PS3 and Wii?

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Sony's officially denied it in the past, but a survey is being conducted to sniff out the public's interest in streaming movies and TV shows to their console of choice.

Apparently the service on PS3 would require a one-time purchase of a $9.99 "Netflix Instant Streaming Disc" that must be inserted to stream video, but would be free otherwise. The survey asks for your favorite console, and then asks if you'd be interested in the service for it; presumably the Wii would be eligible as well. We've got to consider this a rumor as of now: Nobody has officially confirmed this, and our brothers from other mothers at Kotaku report that streaming on the Wii, at least, would be a "long time off." Here's the complete survey.

Imagine that, as an added benefit to DVDs by mail, Netflix offers its subscribers the ability to watch movies & TV episodes instantly on their TV via their PS3, choosing from a library of over 12,000 choices. There are no advertisements or trailers and movies start in as little as 30 seconds. You can fast-forward, rewind, and pause or watch again. The movies & TV episodes you watch instantly are included in your Netflix membership for no additional service fee.
To take advantage of this Netflix functionality, you will need:

* A Netflix subscription
* A Netflix Instant Streaming Disc (one-time fee of $9.99). This disc must be put into your PS3 whenever you want to instantly watch movies and TV episodes from Netflix over the Internet
* Your PS3 must be connected to the Internet

Netflix offers the following unlimited DVD plus unlimited streaming plans:

* 1 Unlimited: Rent as many DVDs as you want, 1 DVD out at a time, plus an unlimited number of movies & TV episodes that you can watch instantly on your TV via your PS3. $8.99 per month.
* 2 Unlimited: Rent as many DVDs as you want, 2 DVDs out at a time, plus an unlimited number of movies & TV episodes that you can watch instantly on your TV via your PS3. $13.99 per month.
* 3 Unlimited: Rent as many DVDs as you want, 3 DVDs out at a time, plus an unlimited number of movies & TV episodes that you can watch instantly on your TV via your PS3. $16.99 per month.

[thanks, Dumbkoff74!]

Take a Survey, Win Sweet Tunes

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:00:00 EST

Insider Trading: You Give Us Data, We'll Give You Money

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST

We could make some clever comment about the economy, but we'll spare you. Take our survey, and someone will win a $300 AMEX card. Survey ends Wednesday at 6pm EST, so get at it. [Rules]

Intel Survey: Internet Almost as Important as Sex

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST

Intel released survey results that attempt to measure the place of Internet access in both men's and women's lists of priorities, and found that it's more important than any other nonessential purchase.

This is one of those reasonably meaningless polls that ends up saying what we already knew: people like their Internet access. In this survey of 2,119 adults polled by Harris Interactive, Internet access polled higher than any other source of discretionary spending (things like eating out, shopping, and television subscriptions).

But the real buzz around the survey comes from these numbers: 46% of women and 30% of men would rather give up sex for two weeks than give up Internet access over the same period. Frankly, that's lower than I'd expect: I'm not sure what kind of Casanovas they polled, but I go without sex for two weeks sometimes totally by accident. On the other hand, every time I've gone two weeks without the Internet, it was as some kind of forced vacation and I really felt the pain.

Intel also said that 65% of those polled "cannot live without Internet access," which is kind of an extreme reaction. Does that mean that they'd kill themselves rather than live without it? Or just wish they'd never been born?

What do you guys think? Two weeks without sex, or two weeks without your precious Internet? [New York Times]

For a Quick Response, Text Message Instead of Voice Mail

Elaine Chow — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:30:00 EDT

This should come as no surprise to anyone using a phone these days, but text messaging someone gets a far quicker response than voice mail. In a study by Sprint, those under the age of 30 are four times more likely to respond within minutes to an SMS than a voicemail, with roughly 91 percent responding within the hour. Adults 30 and older were twice as likely to text a reply within minutes rather than call.

In fact, the only people who tend not to reply in messaging form were those above the age of 65. I guess people under that age haven't gotten stuck in the habit of listening to a voice on the other line. I personally hate answering voice mails – very few people know how to be concise and clear on the phone, especially when they're essentially talking to themselves. Why listen to your friend Jane hem and haw about a good time to meet up when you could've spent three seconds reading “Im in da city. U free 2 meet?” [Wireless and Mobile News]

JD Power Rates the Country's Best Wireless Companies, VZW Still Champ

John Mahoney — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:53:11 EDT

Survey-masters JD Power and Associates have completed their most recent review of US mobile providers, dividing the US into six regions and crowning a king of call quality for each. And for most areas, Verizon is still tops. But not everywhere.

The survey of 22,000 wireless customers from around the country did not touch on data quality, surprisingly, which is obviously a very important metric to factor in to a network's overall quality. Here are the complete results—with nary an AT&T or T-Mobile to be seen anywhere near the top.

Northeast Region: Verizon Wireless ranks highest, with fewer customer-reported problems in dropped calls, initial connections and static/interference compared with the regional average.

Mid-Atlantic Region: Verizon Wireless ranks highest for an eighth consecutive time, with fewer customer-reported problems regarding initial connections compared with the regional average.

Southeast Region: Alltel ranks highest in the region, with customers reporting fewer problems than the regional average in dropped calls and voice distortion.

North Central Region: U.S. Cellular and Alltel rank highest in a tie. U.S. Cellular customers report fewer problems in dropped calls, static/interference, echoes, voice distortion and late voice message notifications. Alltel customers experience fewer problems with dropped calls, initial connections, static/interference and voice distortion compared with the regional average.

Southwest Region: Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless tie to rank highest in the region. Sprint Nextel customers report fewer problems regarding initial connections. Verizon Wireless customers experience fewer problems with dropped calls, static/interference, voice distortion and failed voice message notifications compared with the regional average.

West Region: Verizon Wireless ranks highest in the region, with customers reporting fewer problems in dropped calls, initial connections, static/interference, echoes and voice distortion than the regional average.

[JD Power via BGR]

Last Chance: Take Survey, Win Free Movies for a Year

matt buchanan — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:59:00 EDT

Hey guys, you can still win a year's worth of free movies from Netflix or Blockbuster (your pick), but today is your last chance to enter. It's ridiculously easy. Here's how.

Click here, answer some little questions. Then, email surveys@gawker.com and tell them what the last question was. Congrats, you're officially in the contest. (Which is subject to all the usual fine print.) That's it, good luck!

Take Survey, Win Free Year of Movies From Netflix or Blockbuster (Your Choice)

matt buchanan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:59:00 EDT

Hey, how would you like to win a year's worth of free movies from Netflix or Blockbuster? (Your pick.) It's easier than it should be.

Click here and take the little survey. Then email surveys@gawker.com and tell them what the last question was. Boom! You're entered in the contest, which is subject to all of the usual rules.

It's easier than writing this post, which took a lot of hard work and typing and stuff.

Xbox 360's Rumored Avatars Might Be Their Nintendo Miis

Jason Chen — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:30:00 EDT

Xbox 360 Fanboy found this Flash document on Intellisponse's servers, which is an online research and web-survey platform. It shows off a picture of a bunch of Mii-like characters called Avatars, that (according to the text above it) are supposed to be for the Xbox 360 and are used instead of the gamer picture. It's unclear whether or not this picture is a survey, but seeing as Intellisponse is a survey and the picture looks a whole lot like a survey, it's probably a part of a survey.

That doesn't mean that Microsoft's not working on this and isn't rolling this out at the end of the year, however. Plus, when you try to copy the URL, it feeds you a "Copying this information is in violation of your Legally Binding Agreement of Non-Disclosure," which of course we've never seen or signed. We'll see what it means come E3. All we want is to be able to use the Xbox Live Cam to face map our mugs onto these things. PLEASE. [Intellisponse via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Update: Kotaku's got some more details on this leak. These avatars are supposedly insertable into various arcade and retail games, as well as able to swap out clothing options. Still no word on facial mapping! [Kotaku]

95% of Kids Aged 18-24 Are Pirating Music

Jason Chen — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:45:00 EDT

According to a University of Hertfordshire survey of 1,158 kids aged 18-24 in the UK, 95% of them have "pirated" music before. The other 5%? According or our estimates, they're either technologically illiterate or they don't like music. [Guardian]

Visit the Apple Store, Get Laid

Haroon Malik — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:55:00 EST

Holy crap! Cosmopolitan Magazine—never mind why I was reading it—has just published an article saying the Apple Store is the hottest haunt to pick up dashing young chaps. That means hordes of the Cosmopolitan Magazine reading public are off to their local Apple Store to search for trendy geeks like you. It makes no sense to us either, but don't look a gift horse in the mouth, lad. This may well blow your mind, but here's the situation; you may get to talk to a hot girl. Shocking, we know. Checkout Cosmopolitan's reasoning about the Apple Store after the jump.

"The draw: Most guys are natural gadget lovers, and with sales of iPods and MacBooks skyrocketing, more men than ever are stopping by Apple boutiques. The vibe at the stores is conducive to man meeting too: You can check your email among cuties, take a free workshop on anything from Photoshop to podcasting (a great opportunity to strike up a conversation), or just survey the, ahem, good-looking merchandise."

Now, put your OS loyalty aside and skip on down to your local Apple Store, take a few good jokes with you, and you might just get a chance to show off your real Penryn processor...you know what I'm saying. (N.B. Avoid jokes like that.) [Cosmopolitan via androidapps; image via insanely great tees]

Psst! Who wants $100?

blongo3 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:28:50 EDT

Okay, guys, here's the deal, you take this little survey (it's only 6 questions) and then you'll be entered to win an Amazon gift card worth $100, courtesy of the Giz.

Gizmodo's Female Reader Cellphone Study

Jason Chen — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 19:00:55 EDT

Samsung commissioned a boring cellphone survey for single women that asked them whether they had "text shame", which is sending a message and realizing that they shouldn't have sent it, whether women use it as an address book, whether they pretended to have reception trouble, and whether they had their friends call them on a date. All old stuff, so we're going to create our own, slightly more interesting survey after the jump.

iPhone: You Getting One?

Jason Chen — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:59:25 EDT

A lot of you are obviously interested in the iPhone, but are you interested, or interested. Are you just satisfying your voyeuristic urges now, peeping at the weirdos in line, while you silently hold out for revision 2 or 3? Let us know. Your opinion matters to us. This call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes.