Results of a recent national survey commissioned by TeleNav, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNAV) indicate that Americans are willing to give up some of life’s greatest pleasures in order to hang on to their mobile phones. Not surprisingly, smartphone users were more attached to their devices than were feature phone users, with iPhone users leading the pack. In fact, iPhone users were more likely than their Android or BlackBerry counterparts to spend a week without their significant other, exercise or shoes — rather than go a week without their phone.
While 22 percent of all respondents said they would rather give up their toothbrush than their phone for a week, this number jumped to a whopping 40 percent among iPhone users. Halitosis and other priority quirks aside, 83 percent of iPhone users thought other iPhone users would make the best romantic partners.
Even among feature phone users, however, TeleNav’s survey showed respondents’ strong attachment to their mobile phones. Nearly half of all respondents said they sleep with their phone next to them, including 38 percent of feature phone users and 66 percent of smartphone users.
From differences between iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry users to the snap judgments people make based on the type of phone someone carries, TeleNav’s latest survey sheds light on just how important mobile phones have become in Americans’ lives.
Click through for results from a TeleNav, Inc. study on American’s attachment to their mobile phones.
One-third of all respondents would be more willing to give up sex for a week than their mobile phone. Of the respondents who indicated they would be more willing to give up sex than their mobile phone for a week, 70 percent were women.
Fifty-four percent of all respondents would be more willing to give up exercise for a week than their mobile phone.
So what about our guilty pleasures? Fifty-five percent of respondents would be more willing to give up caffeine for a week than their mobile phone, 63 percent would be more willing to give up chocolate, and 70 percent would be willing to forego alcohol.
One in five respondents are more willing to go shoeless than phoneless for a week. iPhone users (43 percent) were more likely to say they’d go a week without shoes than Android users (27 percent) or BlackBerry users (25 percent).
It appears the phones we choose may also reflect our manners, as 26 percent of smartphone users admitted to using their phone frequently at the dinner table, compared with just six percent of feature phone users.
Some couples may find themselves saying it’s either me or the phone. Twenty-two percent of smartphone users said they’d rather go a week without seeing their significant other than to have to forfeit their phone compared to just 14 percent of feature phone users.
How do we value our phones over other technologies? Smartphone owners were twice as likely as feature phone users to choose their phone over their laptop/computer.
Smartphone users were three times more likely to admit that they judge people based on the type of phone they carry.
iPhone users were twice as likely than Android users to have spent more than $40 on apps for their current phone.
Nearly half of Android users said their phone reflects their overall sense of style — more than iPhone users (35 percent). 43 percent of BlackBerry users felt their phones reflected their overall sense of style.
While a strong majority of iPhone users (83 percent) thought other iPhone users would make the best romantic partners, and a strong majority of Android users (70 percent) selected other Android users, only 48 percent of BlackBerry users thought other BlackBerry users would make for the best romantic partners.
