Mobile application consumers have no problem paying for apps

A new study reveals that mobile phone consumers are eager to purchase applications on their devices - contrary to the preconceived notions that "users aren't willing to pay for anything."

Facebook-based mobile app store Mplayit found that more than half of iPhone users were willing to pay for mobile apps. Their study, released on March 31, also showed that BlackBerry users were willing to pay through the nose for applications.

"Our analysis dispels the myth that consumers aren't willing to shell out money for great mobile applications," said Michael Powers, Mplayit CEO. "If you're making a quality app, don't be afraid to charge for it."

Around 35 percent of mobile application purchasers across all platforms are interested in paying for applications. iPhone users were more likely to consider purchasing an application than other mobile application users. Fifty-seven percent of the most popular iPhone applications on Mplayit were paid, compared to 33 percent for BlackBerry apps and 16 percent for Android apps.

Mplayit's study confirmed a trend previously spotted by mobile application market research Distimo in their Mobile Marketplaces report published on February 25; Consumers with a BlackBerry device are paying more per game on average than those with an iPhone, or Android device.

Mplayit's study also found that iPhone users were much more inclined to download and play games than consumers on other platforms. By app popularity, the games-to-mobile apps ratio on the iPhone platform was 68% to 32% in March compared to 21% to 79% on the Android platform and 27% to 73% on the BlackBerry platform.

Mplayit's study was based on the opinions of 64,000 Facebook users from February 14 to March 14.