Smartphone Ownership Rising Rapidly, and Checking the Weather is one of the most Popular Tasks on a Phone

Caitlin Gompf, a senior voice performance student at the University of Maryland, doesn't use a mobile device to track weather forecasts because she doesn't have a smartphone. But would she use apps to track the weather if she did have a smartphone? "100 percent," said Gompf.

She is in the minority, as research from the Pew Research Center last year showed that 56 percent of Americans own a smartphone.

 Here are some statistics from the Pew Research Center:

·      91 percent of the adult population now owns a cell phone

·      35 percent have a cell phone that is not a smartphone

·      9 percent of Americans do not own a cell phone of any kind

According to Pew, 35 percent of U.S. adults owned a smartphone in May 2011. In February 2012, 46 percent of that population owned a smartphone, and last May the total rose again to 56 percent.

Large Percentage in U.S. use Smartphone to Check Weather

A study in 2012 from the Online Publishing Association found that 47 percent of the people surveyed use their phone to check the weather. In second place was watching video and getting local news, with 31 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

There are over 500,000 apps in the Apple store.

David Young, a bassoon performance masters student at the University of Maryland, was supposed to take a train to New York City tomorrow morning. But with the weather forecast, he decided to reschedule the trip for tonight.

Young said that using the Weather Channel app on his tablet helps him make decisions when there is severe weather.

Photo Source: TheVerge.com