WebProNews

Compete has shared some data from its Smartphone Intelligence survey. The findings indicate that smartphone owners prefer personal and social apps, and that they're open to targeted ads.

According to Compete, entertainment, games, music, social networking, and weather are the most popular app categories across all platforms. Findings include:

- iPhone owners are the most likely to spend money on apps

-  83 percent of all smartphone users prefer applications that are priced under $5

- 73 percent of Blackberry owners have downloaded 5 or fewer applications; in contrast, 72 percent of iPhone owners have downloaded 10 or more applications.

- Facebook is hot among iPhone owners: 71 percent of iPhone users report accessing Facebook from their mobile device, 37 percent listed Facebook as one of their top three most utilized apps and 18 percent claim it's their favorite app.

-  30 percent of all smartphone owners are either comfortable or very comfortable receiving targeted marketing on their device

- Despite Twitter's ever-increasing mobile popularity, 85 percent of smartphone owners still prefer to access the site from the computer, while 26 percent of iPhone users tweet from their device, only 15 percent of Palm owners and 10 percent of Blackberry devotees report accessing Twitter on the go 

-  Nearly half of smartphone owners are receptive to location-based targeted ad offers at restaurants and offers to save and pursue at their leisure, and 45 percent would use mobile grocery coupons.

"With the massive number of applications downloaded to date, the iPhone has taken an early lead in getting owners to adopt app functionality and make popular applications a part of their daily lives," said Danielle Nohe, director of telecommunications and media for Compete. "Smartphones are changing the way we live and communicate, and once users are hooked, they're very unlikely to give up their device - that makes mobile the next 'can't miss' opportunity for marketers."

WebProNews recently interviewed Cindy Krum, who has some very interesting things to say about marketing and mobile apps. Being found in apps is becoming a more important part of search marketing. Getting your apps themselves to rank is another factor she discusses.