• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, March 1, 2012

Smartphone owners now outnumber owners of more basic phones within the U.S. adult population, and overall ownership has increased by nearly one-third since last spring, according to the latest findings from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. "More importantly, this isn’t just a 'young adults and rich people' phenomenon," says Pew Senior Research Specialist Aaron Smith, "We saw pretty dramatic growth across a wide range of demographic groups (from rural residents to high school graduates to people in their late 40s and early 50s)."