Interest Shrinking for Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) iPhone Says Goldman (NYSE:GS) Survey

Results from a Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) survey found the Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) iPhone has been losing its popularity, and consumers prefer Android (Nasdaq:GOOG) or BlackBerry (Nasdaq:RIMM) smartphones over the iPhone.

These results were related to new smartphone users, and not existing owners.

But for market penetration it's not good news for Apple and its shareholders if the survey is indicative of the reality, as 27 percent prefer Google's Android, and 26 percent a BlackBerry. Only 14 percent are looking to the Apple iPhone as their first smartphone purchase.

Goldman concluded concerning new uses that "this could reflect a pause ahead of the expected move of the iPhone to Verizon (NYSE:VZ) in early 2011 once AT&T’s exclusivity expires."

As far as existing iPhone users, that wasn't great news either, as loyalty is falling from 74 percent in a summer of 2009 survey to 62 percent in the recent survey.

While that isn't good news, Apple is still far ahead in loyalty in relationship to Blackberry and Nokia (NYSE:NOK), both of which generate loyalty for about 33 percent of users.

Nokia and Apple lead market penetration in China, with 37 percent having an interest in Nokia and 34 percent in Apple. Only about 8 percent are attracted to BlackBerry.