Apple has captured the top spot in J.D. Power & Associates customer satisfaction report for the ninth consecutive time. Specifically, Cupertino ranks first among consumers in the smartphone category while LG holds the top spot with regards to traditional (non-smartphone) mobile devices.

As alluded to, the report covers satisfaction among smartphone owners as well as those with traditional feature phones. Satisfaction is based on several key factors including, from most important to least important for feature phones: ease of operation, physical design and features. Key smartphone factors include performance, physical design, features and ease of operation.

The publication found that satisfaction among smartphone owners as a whole continues to increase as manufacturers forge ahead with improved styling, feature sets, usability and software. On the study's 1,000 point scale, satisfaction was up 22 points overall from 2012.

Individually, Apple achieved a score of 855 with high marks in physical design and ease of operation. The next closest competitor was Nokia with an overall score of 795 followed by Samsung at 793. When speaking about traditional mobile phones, LG recorded a top score of 719 for the third consecutive time followed by Nokia's 714 and a score of 702 by Sanyo.

Data for the study was based on experiences by 9,767 smartphones owners and 6,759 traditional mobile phone customers polled between July and December 2012 that have used their current mobile device for less than one year.