Survey: iPhone leads Android among new buyers

The iPhone is the No. 1 choice among consumers planning to buy a new smartphone over the next 90 days, according to data released today by ChangeWave Research.

In a poll conducted in June surveying 4,163 smartphone consumers in North America, 46 percent of those planning to buy a new phone said they'll opt for an iOS device. That figure is two percentage points higher than the one seen in ChangeWave's latest survey, held in March. Trailing in second place is Android, with 32 percent saying they'll pick up a phone running Google's mobile OS, an increase of 1 point since the March study.

The battle between the iPhone and Android is leaving other mobile platforms in the dust. Only 4 percent of new buyers expressed interest in Research In Motion's BlackBerry, a drop of 1 percent since March and the lowest level ever recorded for RIM by ChangeWave.

Apple also outshined the competition in customer satisfaction. Among existing iPhone owners, 70 percent said they're very satisfied with their device. That compares with 50 percent of Android phone owners who expressed the same sentiment.

Only 27 percent of Microsoft's Windows OS and 26 percent of RIM OS owners said they were very satisfied with their phones. Breaking down Microsoft's results, 57 percent of Windows Phone 7 users were very satisfied with their phones, compared with only 14 percent for Windows Mobile OS. But ChangeWave doesn't see the higher satisfaction rating for Windows Phone 7 providing any sustained momentum just yet.

Apple's upcoming new iCloud service, which will let users store and sync their content online, is also expected to drive in more customers. The survey found that 29 percent of existing Apple owners and 13 percent of non-Apple owners say that iCloud makes them more likely to buy Apple products down the road.

Among the 4,163 consumers polled, 89 percent were in the U.S., while 11 percent were outside the U.S.