The survey, taken over a week in September, questioned 4255 consumers about their phones. The smartphone continues to gain ground: around 39 percent of respondents said they owned one, compared to 32 percent at the same time last year. Looking forward, 36 percent of those surveyed are planning on purchasing an iPhone in the next 90 days, compared to 27 percent for BlackBerry and an anemic 8 percent for Palm.

Apple also came out tops with owners of its phone: 74 percent of iPhone users are "very satisfied" with their phones, which ranks as genuine enthusiasm in the cell phone market--though little surprise, given both the and a stellar satisfaction rating of .

None of the other platforms achieve a majority ranking in ChangeWave's September survey; RIM comes in second with 43 percent of BlackBerry users reporting very satisfied, Palm ranks just 33 percent, and Sony-Ericsson brings up the rear with a measly 17 percent.

Given the competition--or lack thereof--in the satisfaction area, is it really a shock that Apple's finally within spitting distance of the number one market share spot?