According to a recent study by Pew, approximately half the number of adults in the U.S. own a smartphone. As per the statistics, nearly 46% of people in America possessed a smartphone in February this year, as compared to 35% of the same in May 2011.
Moreover, about 49% of cell phone owners believed that their devices functioned on a smartphone platform this year, relative to 39% in May 2011. In terms of the types of handsets, almost 20% of individuals were owners of an Android device, while 19% carried an iPhone. Alternately, about 6% of people cited that they had a BlackBerry device.
Since May 2011, the number of users calling themselves owners of Windows or Palm phones has apparently remained stagnant at 2% and 1%, correspondingly. Notably, smartphone ownership witnessed growth across all age groups. However, the latter accounted for just 13% amongst senior citizens, when pitted against the 11% observed in 2011.
Other demographic variables and educational background also seemed to influence smartphone use among people in the U.S. Nevertheless, young adults apparently displayed higher rates of smartphone ownership regardless of finances and educational level. But with respect to seniors and those aged between 18 and 29, the aforesaid factors affected the incidence of the same.
Notably, the uncertainty over the term ‘smartphone’ among people also appeared to decline last year. In spite of less confusion among people, around 8% of respondents could still not tell if they possessed a normal device or a smartphone. But compared to last year where 14% of people were unsure if their phones were smartphones or not, this number could be significantly lower. Also, just 4% of cell phone owners were confused regarding the type of handset they owned, relative to 13% last May.
As mentioned in the Pew report, the number of smartphone owners in the U.S. has surpassed that of basic phones as of early 2012.
