Fixed Mobile Convergence

A new study from the folks at Pew (News - Alert) Internet & American Life project tells us that most Americans are relying on their mobile phones as the medium by which they obtain real-time info.

Activities like meeting coordination, finding sports stats, obtaining traffic reports and the like are among the many that are furnished by mobile devices, the study reports. In fact, 70 percent of al mobile phone users have used their devices to engage in these activities within the last 30 days. Pew Internet refers to these types as “just-in-time” users.

The results come from the rapid adoption of smartphones, and, because of this, people have easier access to the plethora of information out there, not to mention an easier time communicating with each other.

The study reports that

• 41 percent of cell phone owners used their phone in the previous 30 days to coordinate a meeting or get-together.
• 35 percent used their phone to solve an unexpected problem they or someone else had encountered in the previous 30 days.
• 30 percent used their phone in the previous 30 days to decide whether to visit a business such as a restaurant

Interestingly enough, men who own cells are more likely than women cell owners to have used their phones in the past 30 days to look up information that settles an argument or disagreement.

"Users' ability to access data immediately through apps and web browsers and through contact with their social networks is creating a new culture of real-time information seekers and problem solvers," said the report.

Pew questioned more than 2,200 American adults for its survey between March 15 and April 3, 2012.

Earlier this year, Google (News - Alert) released a study that said mobile phone use is starting to replace the use of its PC counterpart.

Titled “Mobile Internet & Smartphone Adoption,” the study, whose polling was done in October, covered the U.S., the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. Among the nine classifications of devices considered, there were significant variations in the adoption of different categories from country to country, showing that there are still regional and cultural preferences for certain devices.

During the polling, 10 percent of respondents in the U.S. said they use an e-reader, compared to only two percent in Japan.