One third of US web users are wireless

Over one third of US internet users have logged on using a wireless connection, according to figures released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project on Monday.

A majority of wireless users (72 per cent) use the technology to check email on a typical day, compared to 63 per cent of home broadband users and 54 per cent of all internet users.

Meanwhile, 46 per cent get their news wire-free, compared to 38 per cent of home broadband users and 31 percent of all internet users.

Laptops are the most popular gadget for connecting wirelessly, with 39 per cent of respondents owning a wireless-enabled device.

A quarter said they had a mobile phone with internet capabilities and 54 per cent of this group said they had used this function to get on the internet.

Thirteen per cent also had a PDA that was capable of connecting to the internet and 82 per cent of these users had used the device to do so.

The Pew group also found that as of January, around 19 per cent of internet users had a wireless network set up at home.

The results are based on a survey of 798 internet users around the US.