It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that smartphones continue to grow in popularity. A new study by Pew research reveals the ownership trends in different demographics.

Overall American ownership of smartphones stands at 46%. Interestingly, this number is larger than the number of adults who own cell phones that aren’t smart phones, which is currently at only 41%.

Men who own smartphones grew from 39 to 49%, a huge gain, while women grew usage at an incredible rate, from 31 up to 44%. Very impressive! However another large increase comes from the poorest group in the survey. People who made less than $30,000 per year made the jump from 22% all the way up to 34%. and along the same vain, rural smartphone usage grew from 21 to 34%.

Here’s the facts about what operating system these phones are function under from Pew Research:

* Android devices are used by 20% of cell owners, up from 15% in May 2011

* iPhones are used by 19% of cell owners, up from 10% in May 2011

* Blackberries are used by 6% of cell owners, down from 10% in May 2011

So there you have it, smartphones continue to grow in popularity despite a sluggish economy. I know these findings aren’t surprising, but it is still interesting to see how much more accessible the web has become. It isn’t enough to just have access at home, we can have it almost anywhere now. Studies already suggest that tablets may take over home computers in popularity and really, if you don’t do word processing at home, what do you need a PC for?