Apple Owners Most Satisfied, RIM Least

The report found that more owners were most satisfied with the iPhone 4, scoring 795 out of a possible 1,000 points. Its predecessor, the iPhone 3GS, scored a hair higher at 800 a year ago.

This marks the fourth consecutive year that Apple has placed first, highlighting its dominance in the smartphone sector.

Apple has enjoyed overwhelming demand for its products, especially its newly-launched iPad 2, and wider distribution channels. Its main challenger, Google and its Android operating system, is being backed by Motorola and HTC, which secured the second and third spots with 763 and 762 points, respectively.

"It really is Apple, and then the next tier", said Kirk Parsons, J.D. Power's senior director of wireless services. "The iPhone just keeps getting better. Apple keeps upping the ante by finding something, one key feature or a design change, to separate it from the rest".

Meanwhile, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion came out on the bottom with 732 points, underscoring its eroding market share in the face of challenges from Apple and Google.

Satisfaction ratings are less a measure of the phone and more of its mobile operating system -- and app ecosystem -- these days. Apple, by far, has the most apps in iOS with 350,000. And it's no wonder Motorola and HTC improved together -- both companies were bolstered by improvements to Google's Android platform, which now has around 250,000 apps. RIM, on the other hand, still runs its outdated BlackBerry OS 6.

Still, Apple, Google and RIM are in a neck-and-neck three-way tie for the lead in the smartphone market. But Google is gaining ground at RIM's expense. Apple is largely remaining stagnant due to difficulties penetrating emerging markets and Google's near-ubiquitous launches on all major carriers.

Additional handset makers ranked in J.D. Power's survey include Palm with 736 points, and Nokia and Samsung, which tied at 734. The industry average was 761.

J.D. Power measured customer satisfaction by weighting five categories -- ease of operation for 28 percent, smartphone operating system for 26 percent, physical design for 23 percent, features for 19 percent and battery functionality for 8 percent of the final score. The company polled nearly 7,300 smartphone owners in the U.S. to come up with its rankings.