Half of U.S. Adults Use Mobile Broadband

Half of all U.S. adults now have a mobile connection to the web using either a smart phone or tablet, significantly more than a year ago, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism and The Economist Group.

Nearly a quarter of U.S. adults, 22 percent, now own a tablet device-double the number from a year earlier. 

Another three percent of adults regularly use a tablet owned by someone else in their home. And nearly a quarter of those who don't have a tablet, 23 percent, plan to get one in the next six months. 

Some 44 percent of U.S. adults have smart phones, up from 35 percent in May 2011, the Pew Center says.