62 percent use phones to get info, solve problems in real time - KMSP-TV

Most Americans use phones to get info, solve problems in real time

Source: NewsCore

WASHINGTON -- A majority of American adults, or 62 percent, used a cell phone in the past month to access immediate information like sports scores and restaurant reviews, get help in an emergency or solve a problem in real time, according to a survey out Monday.

The Pew Internet Research poll found 41 percent of cell phone owners used the device to coordinate a meeting or get-together in the past month, while 35 percent used it to "solve an unexpected problem" and 30 percent to decide whether to visit a business, such as a restaurant.

Twenty-seven percent used their phone to help settle an arrangement, the survey found, adding that men were more likely than women to do this than women (33-22 percent).

Twenty-three percent reported using their mobile device to check the score of a sports game. Male cell phone owners (31 percent) again were more likely than women (14 percent) to do so.

Meanwhile, 20 percent reported using their phone to look up traffic or public transit information and 19 percent used their phone to get help in an emergency in the past 30 days.

Overall, 70 percent of all cellphone owners and 86 percent of smartphone owners in the US reported performing at least one of these "just-in-time" activities in the past 30 days.

"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.