TORONTO – Is there a "Blackberry backlash?" Maybe.
As the idea of a "wireless nirvana" picks up renewed momentum at the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona where dozens of new products are being introduced this week, new research from Toronto’s Solutions Research Group says the jury is split on whether devices like the Blackberry or Treo liberate or chain people to their work.
Part of the Fast Forward and Digital Life independent surveys commissioned by SRG, 33% agreed with the statement: “devices like Blackberry chain you to work more than they liberate you.” On the other hand, 34% were neutral and the balance, 34%, disagreed.
Surprisingly, among those who own a Blackberry or a similar device, the results were not all that different: 34% agreed with the statement, 37% disagreed and 29% were neutral. Canadian and American owners of Blackberry or similar devices do not differ significantly on their assessments.
While smartphones give users ability to get work done outside the office, the survey revealed that whose who own one are somewhat more likely to work long hours, not less. Among those who own a Blackberry or a similar device, 19% worked for more than 50 hours a week, compared to 11% average.
Among owners of Blackberry or a similar device, 53% agreed with the statement “I don’t have enough ‘me’ time,” compared to 40% average. Among women owners, two-in-three, 65%, agreed.
The typical smartphone owner in Canada is 36 years of age – 68% are male and 32% are female – 52% completed university and 60% have kids in the home (higher than the 42% national average). The average household income of owners is $92,000 per year, about 45% higher than the Canadian average.
Finally, when asked to choose between time and money, 56% those who own a Blackberry or a similar device chose ‘time’ and 44% chose money.
The two syndicated consumer trend studies were conducted by SRG in Canada and the U.S. respectively between June and late September 2006. The research covered nationally representative samples of over 3,300 Canadians and 2,600 Americans by telephone and online methods. The results cited in this release come from the online component of the research and are accurate to plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
