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ChangeWave claiming up to 16 percent of those planning to buy a mobile in the next six months will buy an iPhone, that mean Apple's iPhone seems set to disrupt the mobile phone industry.

Mobile phone survey was conducted among 3,003 members of the ChangeWave Alliance last month.

16 percent of the survey results in the sample group who plan to buy a mobile phone will buy an iPhone, the researchers say "catapulting Apple ahead of all other manufacturers,", describing that company's move into the mobile market as causing a "virtual upheaval" in the industry.

The research report say "Although iPhone sales are still in their nascent stages, the effects on phone manufacturers are already beginning to take shape -- and no company is bearing the brunt of this more than Motorola,".

A report from analyst firm, IDC, shores up the ChangeWave claims.

Mobile phone sales rose 6.9 percent sequentially to 272.7 million units worldwide in the second quarter 2007, IDC explained.

While Motorola retains the largest market share (about 31 percent), the company has lost two percentage points -- while Apple has already picked-up one percent of the mobile market according to ChangeWave.

Research indicates that Samsung beat Motorola for the number two spot in global market share after four years of stable rankings -- IDC reports --.

Tobin Smith say "There's no doubt about it, consumers are embracing the iPhone. And judging by the numbers, they will continue embracing it,", "The ascendance of the iPhone is going to be a game-changer for both mobile phone manufacturers and mobile service providers."

Director of worldwide mobile device research at IDC, Shiv K. Bakhshi say that "While the shift in the industry vendor rankings is certainly of importance, perhaps, the big story of the quarter was Apple's debut as a mobile phone vendor with its launch of the iPhone," .

"Even though limited in the number of units shipped, the iPhone is likely to have a disproportionately large impact on the industry. For one, it has pushed the envelope on industrial design and user interfaces for all vendors. For another, it could forever alter the structural relationship between device vendors and mobile operators who have traditionally controlled the mobile environment, especially in the U.S".

"Equally important, the unparalleled hype surrounding the iPhone could lift mobile devices out of a utilitarian frame of reference and place them squarely in the fashion frame of reference, potentially raising average selling prices for the entire industry. For the present, however, it seems at least to have raised the profile for all converged mobile devices," the IDC analyst explained".

The survey of ChangeWave also asked consumers how satisfied they were with their current phone, and found the iPhone registering the highest satisfaction levels of any device. An extraordinary 77 percent of iPhone owners said they were "Very Satisfied" with their device. The RIM Blackberry also received a relatively high rating, with one-in-two owners reporting they were "Very Satisfied."

At the other end of the spectrum, just 36 percent of Motorola owners, 34 percent of Palm owners and 29 percent of Sony/Ericsson owners reported that they were "Very Satisfied" with their phones.

Apple's exclusive deal with AT&T seems likely to erode the market share of other mobile networks -- The ChangeWave survey --. 30 percent of survey respondents who said they plan to switch networks in the coming months plan to move to AT&T.

ChangeWave Alliance is a network of over 10,000 highly qualified business, technology, and medical professionals in leading companies of select industries.