Three In Four U.S. Adults Have Mobile Phones

Nearly three quarters of U.S. adults subscribe to a mobile phone services, more than those who say they subscribe to a landline service, a market research firm said Friday.

About a quarter of mobile phone users consider the device their primary means of communication, and about four in 10 say their cellular phones give them a sense of personal security, Harris Interactive said.

Based on a nationwide survey in August of more than 1,100 U.S. adults, 74 percent had mobile phones, while 58 percent had landlines. One in 10 said they abandoned their wired-phone in favor of using a wireless phone exclusively. Another 5 percent said they were seriously considering a similar move within a year, and 47 percent said they were somewhat considering it.

Currently, about 13 percent of U.S. adults use only a mobile phone, or plan to do so within the next six months, the researcher said.

"Ma Bell could become a name for Trivial Pursuit before you know it," Joe Porus, vice president and chief architect for Harris, said in a statement.That, however, is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Fully, 37 percent of the people surveyed said they would keep their wire-line phones rather than go exclusively mobile or with Internet telephony, because the traditional phone works with the power off and it lets them call their local 911 services, Harris said. In addition, there are no dropped calls and you can always get a dial tone.