Millions of Android Users Switching to Apple's iPhone, Not Samsung's Galaxy S III

Sales of Samsung smartphones are expected to top the iPhone by as many as 20 million units. But that will not stop Apple AAPL from converting Android users to iOS, a new survey shows. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster asked 400 consumers which phone they planned to purchased next. Sixty-five percent of the survey participants said they "expect" their next phone to be an iPhone. Nineteen percent plan to buy an Android phone, while 6.5 percent said that they will purchase a standard cellular device (read: not a smartphone). Six percent of the participants were unsure of their next purchase. But only 2.5 percent of consumers intend to buy a BlackBerry from Research In Motion RIMM. While the survey details are significant, there is one catch. According to Forbes staff writer Eric Savitz, more than half of the survey participants (52 percent) already owned an iPhone. "[This] makes it clear that for whatever reason, Munster conducted his survey among, well, iConsumers," Savitz concluded. "Maybe he was standing inside an Apple store at the time." Still, Munster believes that Apple can increase its market share to the low 30 percent range in just three years. Not surprisingly, 51 percent of the people who said they planned to buy an iPhone are waiting for the iPhone 5 to arrive. Munster also said that 94 percent of iPhone users plan to replace their existing devices with another iPhone. This is critical because the iPhone now accounts for more than 50 percent of Apple's revenue. Finally, Munster wanted to know the true consumer value of each iPhone. On average, consumers said that their iPhone was worth $313 versus the subsidized price of $199. Munster speculates that if cellular carriers decided to reduce their hardware subsidies, consumers would continue to buy the iPhone because they already feel that it is worth more than they are currently paying. Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ