According to ChangeWave’s July 18-20 consumer cell phone survey, Apple’s Internet-media saavy iPhone is changing the game within the telecom industry.

Even though it’s been on the market just a month, the Apple iPhone is already registering in ChangeWave’s survey results. Among respondents who say they plan to buy a cell phone in the next six months, an astounding 16% say they’ll purchase an iPhone ‚Äì catapulting Apple ahead of all other manufacturers:

Consumer Satisfaction Levels

ChangeWave also asked consumers how satisfied they were with their current cell phone, and found the iPhone registering the highest satisfaction level of any device. An extraordinary 77% of iPhone owners said they were Very Satisfied with their new Apple product.

It’s worth noting that ChangeWave’s survey focuses on early-adopters, who are more likely than average to use some of the iPhone’s cutting-edge features. We also looked at the cellular service providers market, where the survey found clear signs of the impact Apple’s exclusive agreement with AT&T is having on the competition.

The survey also suggests that AT&T is likely to steal marketshare away from Verizon, and Apple will be stealing phone sales away from Motorola.

The iPhone momentum ChangeWave identified in two previous surveys (January 2007 and April 2007), coupled with the exceptionally strong momentum found in the current survey, points to an upheaval among cell phone manufacturers and service providers as a result of Apple’s new multifunctional device.