Singaporeans are becoming more dependent on the technology in their pockets.

This is one of the conclusions from a global survey conducted on app usage among smartphone users.

Conducted by Nokia, the survey sampled over 5,000 people in 10 different countries.

Singaporeans top the table for most downloaded apps - a third of the participants surveyed have more than 30 apps in their phone.

Compare that to the Brazillian respondents, who only have between one and 10 apps in their phone.

The survey also found that 49 per cent of Singaporeans download games onto their phones, and 69 per cent of the sampled group of smartphone users believe that apps truly benefit their lives.

The reseach also found that different regions in Singapore enjoy different types of apps. For example, people from central Singapore are avid fans of utilities apps with 29 per cent of people downloading them - the highest throughout the country.

East-side Singaporeans place importance on entertainment apps with almost one in five (18 per cent) downloading them.

One in five people in north Singapore (20 per cent) download smartphone apps 2 to 3 times per week.

Twenty-four per cent of Singaporeans from the north-eastern parts of the island would prefer an app to a guidebook telling them about a new place they are visiting, while 51 per cent of western Singaporeans mostly use the apps on their phone while commuting to or from work.

The figures suggests that mobile apps are now being used as important life tools, and as usage levels increase, our phones could only go towards becoming more useful for us.

Not surprisingly, the global survey also found that the most popular apps used worldwide are for social networking and games.