…take a significant hit over the next 90 days, falling 6 pts. to 23%. Palm remains a far distant third with just 3%.

Note that the above chart focuses exclusively on the 10.5% of total survey respondents who say they plan on buying a smart phone during the next 90 days.

The 10.5% represents a sharp jump from our previous survey in March, and it is the highest percentage of planned smart phone buyers we’ve recorded in a ChangeWave survey (see chart below).

So, what’s the most likely explanation for such a large-scale projected increase in smart phone buyers going forward?

It’s the anticipation and publicity surrounding the imminent release of the 3G iPhone.

Another reason for Apple’s continued popularity is its incredible customer satisfaction rating.

An extraordinary four-in-five iPhone owners (78%) report they’re Very Satisfied with their iPhone.

RIM ranks second, with a highly respectable 54% of its customers saying they’re Very Satisfied.

Palm (29%), while up a few points since our previous survey, still ranks near the bottom in terms of customer satisfaction.

In another positive for the new 3G iPhone, better than one-in-two current iPhone owners (55%) say they’re Very Likely to buy the 3G iPhone for themselves or someone else in the future.

And many don’t plan to wait long. Among this group, half (50%) say they’ll purchase within the first 90 days of release.

RIM Gets Set to Counterattack

While the 3G iPhone announcement has catapulted Apple into the lead over RIM in terms of planned consumer smart phone purchases, it should be remembered that RIM has a huge lead of its own in the corporate smart phone market. RIM is also still the leader among current owners in the consumer market.

Moreover, RIM isn’t sitting idly by while Apple roles out the 3G iPhone.

The Canadian manufacturer has multiple plans in motion to counter Apple’s momentum among consumers—including an already announced new product release (the Bold) and two likely additional product releases (the Thunder and Kickstart).

Get ready—multiple battles are under way.

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