Welcome to Financial Planning's 2010 Technology Survey. This year marks our fourth anniversary, and there is plenty to be excited about. Thanks to an overwhelming response from our loyal readers, we logged 3,139 responses to this year's survey, more than doubling last year's 1,550 responses. To put things in historical perspective, this year's responses exceeded our inaugural survey by a factor of roughly 13. With our growing sample size and a historical record to draw upon, we think we are better positioned than ever to offer readers an analysis of the state of technology within our industry. As we've done each year, we've tweaked existing questions and added a few new ones to keep you apprised of new technology trends.

When we released last year's survey, both the technology sector and the financial sector were still mired in a slump. What a difference a year makes. One of the lessons advisors learned from the Great Recession of 2008-2009 was that their practices were not nearly as efficient as they thought. As a result, advisors have refocused their attention on becoming more productive, and technology certainly plays a role in that process. In addition, a new product cycle of hardware and software has once again forced advisors to reevaluate their technology needs; this in turn has created significant new technology demands throughout the financial services industry.

Broker-dealers and RIA custodians have also refocused their attention on technology. The growth and profits of these firms is closely tied to the fortune of the advisors they serve. For most B-Ds and custodians, servicing a $500 million advisory firm does not require much more than servicing a $250 million firm, so they would like to see all of their advisors prosper. Broker-dealers and custodians are finally realizing that better technology can free up advisors to spend more time attracting new clients and servicing existing ones. As a result, virtually all of the firms with custody of advisor assets have technology initiatives designed to help their advisors run more efficient, profitable practices.

SMARTPHONES

Last year was the first time we asked questions about smartphone usage, and there were a few surprises. The iPhone grabbed the highest user satisfaction ranking of any product or service ever, and the Google Android phones scored surprisingly poorly. We speculated that Android's poor showing in 2009 was due to the fact that only a limited number of Android phones were available and that T-Mobile, a firm with weak coverage in parts of the United States, was the only company marketing Android phones at the time. We predicted that other manufacturers and carriers would soon offer Android phones and that Android's satisfaction ratings would improve over time.

We were right on the money. Last year, only 18% of Android users were "very satisfied" while 24% were "very unsatisfied." This year, 51% of Android users are "very satisfied" and another 34% are somewhat satisfied. Conversely, only 8% of Android users were "very unsatisfied" in 2010. That's a stunning reversal. Those numbers place Android securely in second place, ahead of BlackBerry but behind iPhone.

The iPhone's satisfaction numbers continue to impress. Sixty-four percent of iPhone users are "very satisfied," the same as last year, while another 27% are somewhat satisfied, up from 21% last year. Only 5% of iPhone users were "very unsatisfied," down from 7% last year. If we had to guess, we'd bet the few dissatisfied iPhone and Android users are more a reflection of coverage than of the phone's functionality.

Although the iPhone and Android rule the roost with regard to satisfaction, BlackBerry is holding up well. While 35% are "very satisfied," another 50% of respondents were "somewhat satisfied" and only 5% were "very unsatisfied."

It is also worth noting that BlackBerry still leads in total number of survey users (1,199) followed by the iPhone (899) and Android (531). On the other hand, Android is now the most widely used phone operating system in North America and the iPhone will soon be offered by Verizon, so we expect those two operating systems to remain strong in the months ahead. We suspect that trend will hurt BlackBerry's usage rankings among advisors, particularly if Apple and Google invest more to promote their products to business users.

In the smartphone arena, Windows and Palm are lagging. Only 13% of Windows users are "very satisfied" and 19% are "very unsatisfied." If the new Windows Mobile does not take off, Microsoft's share of the market could slip further. Early indications are that Windows Mobile 7 is a big step up from the previous version, but it may be too little too late. Palm is also fading, with 18% of advisor users being "very satisfied," but 18% also "very dissatisfied."