By Daniel Eran Dilger

Published: 02:04 PM EST (11:04 AM PST)

A survey of 1,300 smartphone users in the US found that half said they planned or considered to buy the new phone, while only 29 percent said they were disappointed in the new model.

Those findings, compiled by Retrevo, contradict the general complaint among media pundits of being unimpressed with the new iPhone 4S, which is a faster, enhanced version of the existing iPhone 4 but lacking a new design, LTE 4G connectivity, or a the larger screen some rumors had anticipated.

Of the smartphone users the firm interviewed, only 11 percent said they wished it had a new design, 17 percent said they'd liked to have seen 4G service, and just 7 percent expressed a desire for a larger screen (and that includes respondents tallying up more than one complaint about the new phone).

Among iPhone 4 users, dissatisfaction rates were substantially higher, countering another media-led fallacy that Apple's customers are generally ignorant and will buy anything the company sells without a consideration of features.

Among existing customers 47 percent expressed some disappointment with the iPhone 4S announcement, with 21 percent wishing for a new design, 29 percent wanting 4S service and 12 percent hoping for a larger screen.



Still, 42 percent of existing iPhone 4 users said they planned to buy the new model, and 44 percent of iPhone 3G and 3GS users said they would upgrade.

Just 12 percent of Android owners said they would get the iPhone 4S, but 24 percent of all BlackBerry users said they would upgrade. That's a lower percentage of BlackBerry users who plan to defect than in previous studies Retrevo has conducted, but certainly not good news for RIM.



To obtain the new iPhone 4S, 18 percent of those who said they planned to buy it expect to wait "in a long line" or planned to camp out for the new device in front of the store, while 53 percent didn't anticipate any problems in getting one.

Apple's record setting pace of a million iPhone 4S preorders in 24 hours puts the company in a position to sell nearly 3 million devices on launch weekend, and 25 million in the current quarter, according to reports by Wall Street analysts.