The Apple iPhone is making an impact in market share and customer satisfaction is far higher than any other manufacturer, according to a ChangeWave Research Survey that concluded on October 2nd. Moreover, an astonishing 16 percent of the 3654 Alliance members polled said they plan to buy an iPhone in the next six months.

In a report obtained by iPO, ChangeWave published the following principal conclusions:

#1. "The iPhone has been on the shelf just three months, but its impact is clearly being felt by the major phone manufacturers. Apple’s cell phone market share among our respondents (2%) has increased by 1-percentage point since our last survey in July – solid growth in line with previous expectations.

"While Motorola (30%) still manages to maintain the top spot in terms of current market share, it has fallen 1-point since the July survey to its lowest level in more than a year. Samsung (15%) remains in second, unchanged from previously."

#2. Not all phones are equal. "One of the most striking findings for Apple is the iPhone’s outstanding customer satisfaction rating. An impressive 82% of iPhone owners reported being Very Satisfied with their purchase, up 5-points since our previous survey in July – by far the highest rating of any manufacturer," according to the report.

Customer Satisfaction -- Source: ChangeWave Research

#3. Regarding future plans by those polled, "the iPhone marketplace transformation becomes fully apparent," the report said.

"Once again, an astonishing 16% of respondents who plan to purchase a cell phone in the next 6 months say they’ll buy an iPhone, placing Apple at the top among all manufacturers. Moreover, while the number of European and Canadian respondents wasn’t large enough to draw final conclusions, the iPhone appears set for a stellar debut when it launches in the coming months in Europe and Canada."

Most impacted is Motorola. In October 2006, 33% said they planned to buy a new Motorola phone in the next six months. By October, 2007, that number had dropped to 15 percent.

In terms of the market share, it’s still a tug of war between Verizon and AT&T. Each has gained 1 percent market share since July and Sprint/Nextel "shows no signs of a turnaround from its downward slide," the report found.

Finally, for those planning to buy a new phone, "Nokia (13%) has jumped 3-pts, while LG (4%) and Palm (2%) have each fallen 2-pts."

The primary conclusions by ChangeWave Research for the iPhone were that sales are in line with expectations, customer satisfaction is off the charts, and the product is transforming the industry.