In wireless we trust: Which Americans use mobile technology the most?

Entrepreneur,  Nov, 2001  by Robert McGarvey

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Recently released data gathered for American Banker by the Gallup polling organization has revealed some interesting insights regarding Americans' use of wireless technologies.

For one thing, a whopping 6i percent of adults own or use a mobile phone or wireless PDA like the Palm VII or RIM's Black-Berry. Usage is split pretty evenly by gender--62 percent of men say they own wireless devices vs. 6o percent of women. A key finding (but not a very surprising one): Wireless usage tightly correlates with income--80 percent of people in households with yearly incomes exceeding $75,000 use wireless devices, according to the survey, compared to just 25 percent of those with family incomes below $20,000.

Another finding: Younger people are diving into wireless faster than the older folks. Again, that's no surprise, but the American Banker/Gallup survey wraps concrete numbers around the trend, saying 67 percent of Americans between the ages of i8 and 34 use wireless devices, compared to just 36 percent of those 65 and older.

The findings clearly indicate that the majority of consumers (and a huge chunk of the affluent) already use wireless technologies. So if you're not thinking of tapping this market, it might be time to think again.

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