iPhones Cost Enterprises 80 Percent More than Blackberries
Austin, TX: A recently completed mindWireless study, analyzing costs of business users with an iPhone or BlackBerry provided by AT&T and Verizon found the average total cost for a BlackBerry was $103 per month compared to $183 per month for an iPhone. For an enterprise considering allowing 1,000 users to switch from Blackberry to iPhone they can expect their upfront costs to rise by over $100,000 and their annual wireless expense to increase by over $900,000.
The higher cost comes primarily from the wide use of features and international data on iPhones. International travelers have 50 percent higher charges for data roaming on their iPhones. Increased data usage does not always equate to higher costs because 95 percent of users are on unlimited or 2GB data plans for domestic use.
"Data use is clearly the driver for the cost variance between iPhone and Blackberry," said Brian Hall, manager of Financial Analytics for mindWireless. "By analyzing actual data drawn from our wireless telecommunications expense management clients, we validated a belief that iPhones were inherently more expensive to the enterprise. We found that iPhone users send/receive 66 percent more text and picture messages, with twice as many users requiring a text message plan over 1000 messages/month.
Key comparison findings of the study included:
| Blackberry | iPhone | |
|
Average Monthly Cost Average Equipment Cost Average Monthly Data Consumption Mobile Device Management International Data Roaming Device Incentives Text & Picture Messages Enterprise Server Costs |
$103 $136 22MB Available
Frequent
Yes |
$183 $262 232MB Difficult 50% higher Rare 66% higher Optional |
However, as data pricing moves away from unlimited pricing and becomes tiered for domestic plans, iPhone users are expected to pay even more in the future based on their higher usage. With the introduction of tiered international data pricing, we found that the 10 fold increase in data usage played a much bigger factor in the international wireless market.
Another major factor in the Smartphone arena is the growing Android user base. According to ComScore, of the 72.5 million Smartphones in use in the U.S. in the first quarter, 34.7% were Android devices, BlackBerry's share dropped to 27.1%, and Apple's share increased only slightly, to 25.5%.
In conclusion, Hall noted, "But, then again, the iPhone does have Angry Bird."
About mindWireless
mindWireless provides wireless management services to help Fortune 1000 companies manage their wireless devices, usage and end user support through technology and outsourcing solutions. Founded in 2000, mindWireless is a leader in the corporate mobility management market.
