Pew survey: Over a third of U.S. adults now access the mobile web

Thirty eight percent of U.S. adults now access the Internet via mobile phone--up from 25 percent a year ago--according to a new survey published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. With 47 percent of respondents going online via laptop connected to a WiFi connection or mobile broadband card (up from 39 percent in April 2009), Pew notes that 59 percent of American adults now access the web wirelessly using a laptop or handset, an 8 percent year-over-year increase.

African-Americans and English-speaking Latinos are at the forefront of mobile web growth in the U.S. Pew reports that mobile handset ownership is higher among African-Americans and Latinos than among whites (87 percent versus 80 percent), with minority subscribers leveraging a much greater range of mobile data services--64 percent of African-Americans now access the mobile web, growing from 57 percent in 2009.

Although young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 remain the most avid mobile data consumers, the survey notes that older adults are gaining fast, and are now significantly more likely to embrace non-voice functions. Seventy six percent of U.S. adults now snap photos with their phones, up from 66 percent a year ago; 72 percent send and receive text messages (up from 65 percent), 34 percent play mobile games (up from 27 percent), 34 percent record videos (up from 19 percent) and 33 percent play music (up from 21 percent).

For more on U.S. mobile data growth:
- read the Pew Internet report

Related articles:
Opera: Evening hours dominate mobile web browsing
Mobile web consumption grows 148 percent worldwide in 2009
Morgan Stanley: Mobile web to overtake desktop in five years
Forecast: Mobile web users to top 1 billion by 2013