Pew: Over Half of Cellphone Users Surf Net With Mobile Devices

Almost third of those say it is primary tool for Web use

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/26/2012 10:58:52 AM

A new study shows why programmers are remaking the online video delivery model into an anytime, anywhere experience.

Of the 88% of Americans who own a cellphone, 55% say they use it to go online, according to a new Pew Internet and American Life Project survey. That is up from the 31% of respondents in 2009 who said they used their phone to go online.

In addition, 31% of cellphone surfers say they "mostly" go online with their phones rather than a computer. That percentage is much higher for 18-29-year-olds, with 45% of those saying they do most of their online browsing on their phones.

That percentage is even higher for African-Americans, with 51% doing most of their online browsing by phone, more than double the percentage of whites (24%).

Of those that do rely on cellphones, almost two-thirds (64%) say it is for convenience, but 10% say it is because they lack other online access.

The telephone survey was conducted March 15-April 3 among 2,254 adults 18-plus. Appropriately, that included 903 interviews via cellphone.