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RBC Capital Markets, an investment bank, has conducted a private study on consumers looking to purchase a smartphone in the near future.  Over one half of those surveyed stated they are intent on purchasing the new 3G iPhone once it launches in July.

The numbers come from a survey of 3,600 participants shortly after Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC).  56% of those planning to purchase a smartphone in the next 90 days said they were interested in an iPhone.  Only 23% felt the same way about the Blackberry and a piddling 3% chose Palm.  The remaining few percentage points were split up between HTC, Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola.

The reasons for buying the iPhone (in a “check all that apply” format) came down to lower price at 67%, faster data speeds at 63%, and GPS support at 47%.  Other reasons were enterprise email services (35%) and 3rd party Apps (20%).

These numbers represent an enormous jump ahead for the iPhone over previous user interest figures.  Mike Abramsky, an RBC analyst said, “Overall intentions by the panel to purchase smartphones jumped to 10.5 percent, indicating a significant expansion of the smartphone market.”  He also expects Apple’s smartphone marketshare to climb from 0.3% last year to 1.7% this year.

It looks like this year Apple is once again a company to watch.  Fortunately, here at iPhoneFreak, we rarely look away.

[Via AppleInsider]