Six in ten Americans adults go online wirelessly using either a mobile phone or a laptop with a wireless Internet connection, and are also taking advantage of a much wider range of cell phone data applications than in 2009, according a Pew Research Centre survey.
The survey revealed that cell phone and wireless laptop Internet use have grown more prevalent over the last year with nearly half of all adults 47% going online with a laptop using a Wi-Fi connection or mobile broadband card, compared to 39% in April 2009.
In addition, 40% of adults use the Internet, email or instant messaging on a mobile phone, compared to 32% in April 2009. Moreover, the use of non-voice data applications on cell phones has also increased over the last year.
The research centre said that compared with a similar point in 2009, cell phone owners are now more likely to use their mobile phones to take pictures 76% than 66% in April 2009; send or receive text messages 72% compared to 65% in April 2009; access the Internet increased to 38% from 25% in April 2009; and sending or receiving instant messages increased to 30% from 20% of April 2009.
Aaron Smith, research specialist of Internet project report at Pew Research Centre, said: "The growing functionality of mobile phones makes them ever-more powerful devices for on-the-go communications and computing.
"Cell phones have become for many owners an all-purpose chat-text-gaming-photo-sharing media hub that is an essential utility for work and a really fancy toy for fun."
Further, African-Americans and English-speaking Latinos continue to be among the most active users of the mobile web. Cell phone ownership is higher among African-Americans and Latinos than among whites 87% vs. 80% and minority cell phone owners take advantage of a much greater range of their phones’ features compared with white mobile phone users.
The survey also revealed that 64% of African-Americans access the internet from a laptop or mobile phone, a seven-point increase from the 57% who did so at a similar point in 2009.
