A new study from The Luxury Institute showed that smartphone users with more money are less likely to spend it on applications focused on gaming or social networking and are more likely to spend it on applications centered on news, travel, and finance.

When you think of a smartphone device, you picture someone in their 20s or even younger playing around with Twitter (News - Alert), texting their friends, playing games, and downloading those pointless apps. However, many forget that when the smartphone was first developed, such as the BlackBerry (News - Alert), many business executives were using the phone to handle emails, search the Internet, and complete work task from home. The device may have changed, but the reason it’s used might have stayed the same. The Luxury Institute decided to take a look at the wealthier demographic to see if this trend still exists.

The research company looked at consumers making at least $150,000 or more annually to see what those users are spending their time and money on with their smartphones. The company determined that most wealthy users, on average, are around 52 and spend far more time using the phone for business related apps. It looks as if the business crowd is still using the phones to manage business and stay on top of what they deem is important. The research company thinks its results reflect where a person is at age 52 in their lives.

“As you get older and have family and significant others, aging parents, and a lot more assets and investments, you’re going to need apps for far more relevant things than playing games and chatting with your peers,” said Milton Pedraza, CEO of The Luxury Institute.

According to the research, 45 percent of wealthy smartphone users own an iPhone (News - Alert), 35 percent use an Android, and only 15 percent use a Blackberry. Among the wealthy smartphone users, 67 percent have used their mobile device to shop for products services online. “There are a large number of people that still love to shop in the store, and I don’t think it’s only older people,” said Pedraza.

The Luxury Institute polled over 600 people, whose mean income was $295,000 annually. The surveyors even had a collect net worth of more than $2 million. This research showed two things: smartphones are still used by businessmen and women on a daily basis and wealthier people tend to use their phones not for entertainment purposes, but for business.