• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, July 11, 2011

In its first study on the topic, the Pew Research Center found  35% of American adults own some kind of smartphone, and among adult mobile users that figure rises to 42%. A recent Nielsen estimate said 37% of U.S. mobile users over the age of 13 now have smartphones. 

Nearly all (87%) smartphone users access the Internet and email, and 68% on a typical day. One-quarter mostly go online using their phone rather than a PC, according to the Pew survey of 2,277 people conducted April 26 to May 22.

The Pew survey suggested that people who are college-educated, affluent and under 45 are more likely to own smartphones. Ethnic minorities are also more apt to be in that group, with 44% of blacks and Latinos using smartphones compared to 30% of whites.

Urban and suburban residents are roughly twice as likely to have a smartphone as those living in rural areas. More than half of households (59%) earning $75,000 or more are smartphone owners. And in terms of gender, 39% of men surveyed had a smartphone compared to 31% of women.

Android was the most common mobile operating system, used by 35% of smartphone owners. The iPhone and BlackBerry platforms accounted for 24% each, Palm's webOS, 6%, and Windows Phone, 4%. Among all cell phone owners, Android was used by 15%, iPhone and BlackBerry, 10%, and webOS and Windows Phone, each 2%.

Nielsen and comScore both estimated that Android had about 38% of the U.S. smartphone market, and the iPhone, about 27%, as of May. Demographically, Android phones are especially common among young adults and African-Americans, while iPhones and BlackBerry devices are most prevalent among college graduates and the affluent, according to the Pew study.

Asked to use one word to best describe how people feel about their phones, Pew said few words or phrases stuck out, but "good," "great" and "convenient" were the most common. Overall, 72% of smartphone owners used a positive term to describe their phones, 16% were negative, and 12% were neutral. That should leave smartphone manufacturers feeling good.

Pew acknowledged practical challenges in fielding the survey because people don't always know whether their device met the typical definition of a smartphone -- a phone with advanced capabilities, such as being able to browse the Web or install apps. Pew defined a "smartphone user" as someone that said either their phone was a smartphone or that their phone operates on Android, the iPhone or another common smartphone platform.