• May 22, 2008

Nearly three out of four consumers say mobile phone usage on airplanes should be restricted to silent features such as text-messaging, e-mail and playing games, according to a survey commissioned by Yahoo.

If passengers could use mobile devices in-flight, 69% agreed there should be a designated area for those who want to talk on their phones. Yahoo said the results show people view their mobile phones not just as phones, but handheld computers.

The Web portal also used the findings to plug its mobile services including Yahoo Go 3.0 and Yahoo oneSearch. The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive between April 29 and May 1 among 2,030 adults ages 18 and up, of whom 1,778 were mobile phone users, who have ever flown in an airplane.

--Mark Walsh