Metrics firm Compete has just released some top-level data from its Q1 2010 Smartphone Intelligence survey. Some of the findings are very compelling. In particular, smartphones are driving users "from search to store." According to Compete's data (n=705):

Nearly one in three smartphone owners has called or stopped into a local business after finding it using a local search application. 

 The following are largely verbatim findings from the release: 

Local: 

• Nearly one in three smartphone owners has called or stopped into a local business after finding it using a local search application.
• In Q1 alone, close to a third of Android and iPhone owners discovered at least two new businesses that they were not previously aware of as a result of using local search applications.

Social: 

• 33 percent of smartphone Twitter users primarily send tweets via their smartphones, and 33 percent of these consumers prefer to read tweets on their phone.
• Of those accessing Facebook from their smartphone, consumers are increasingly using the device to read news feeds (66 percent), post status updates (60 percent), read/reply to private messages (59 percent) and post photos (44 percent).

 Gaming: 

• 51 percent of iPhone users have five or more games loaded on their smartphones.
• Of the consumers surveyed, 37 percent of iPhone users report playing games on their smartphones at least daily and puzzle games seem to be capturing the majority of this attention.
• 46 percent of BlackBerry users have no games on their devices.

Regardless of the specific figures here what we're seeing is many people adopting smartphones as their primary Internet access device. The social networking data most directly reflect that. That's one of the very big takeaways.

In addition, in the local search data above we can see how immediate consumer needs, manifested in local lookups (in apps or via search), can translate directly into store visits and purchases. 

See also: Placecast: SMS Alerts Made 27% Buy in Store