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Apple’s iPhone 3G created a summertime switch itch, with 30 percent of all new iPhone 3G buyers switching to the smartphone’s exclusive U.S. carrier AT&T, according to an NPD Group report released Monday.

According to the report, between June and August, nearly half of those who were switching carriers to get the iPhone 3G came from Verizon Wireless, while 24 percent jumped ship from T-Mobile and 19 percent from Sprint.

“While the original iPhone also helped win customers for AT&T, the faster network speeds of the iPhone 3G has proven more appealing to customers that already had access to a 3G network,” Ross Rubin, NPD director of industry analysis, said in a statement.

During the June-August time period, the smartphone makers with the highest unit sales were Apple’s iPhone 3G, followed by Research in Motion’s Blackberry Curve, Blackberry Pearl and the Palm Centro, according to the NPD report.

Prior to its 3G version, Apple’s iPhone accounted for 11 percent of the smartphone market. But since its launch, it has risen to capture 17 percent of the market.

Noted Rubin: “The launch of the lower-priced iPhone 3G was a boon to overall consumer smartphone sales.”