Apple’s new iPhone 3GS has been receiving rave reviews since its release, but its newest award has it on top of the prestigious Consumer Reports smartphone list. Of particular note in the latest report are two of the competitors that Apple’s iPhone beat to take the top spot: Palm’s Pre and the Blackberry Storm. While the iPhone did come out on top, Consumer Reports said it was a tight race this year.

“The iPhone 3G S edged out high-scoring competitors such as the Palm Pre and BlackBerry Storm thanks to a superior display, reinforced by top-notch multimedia, navigation, Web browsing, and battery life,” according to Consumer Reports.

The report said the Pre and BlackBerry beat the iPhone in the areas of messaging and multitasking.

Consumer Reports noted that some of its criteria changed this year, perhaps reflecting the changing smartphone market and what consumers are looking for from a device. The organization said they put more weight in the display, ease of navigation, and multimedia and messaging prowess. Less weight is now given to talk time.

The full Consumer Reports ratings is available to subscribers.