Pew: Blacks, Hispanics Among Biggest Users of Wireless Web

And low-income groups are the fastest adopters of the mobile Web, showing an opportunity that wireless technology could play in helping to bridge a digital divide that has brought the Web disproportionately to wealthier communities over the past two decades.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 64 percent of African Americans surveyed last May said they access the Internet over their laptop or mobile phone, an increase from 57 percent who said they did in 2009.

That compares with 59 percent of all adults surveyed last May who said they accessed the Web wirelessly through laptops or cellphones - up from 51 percent last year. Indeed, overall use of cell phones and other gadgets is up among all demographic groups -- and youth are, no surprise, big users too.

But the survey revealed more refined data than previous surveys. Poorer households see wireless devices as their gateway to the Internet, for example. By household income, 46 percent of households earning less than $30,000 a year said they used data services on a wireless devices, an 11 percentage point increase from 2009. It's still a relatively small group, but their adoption rate is faster than those earning $30,000 to $49,000 (up two percentage points), $40,000 to $74,999 (up four percentage points), and those earning more than $75,000 (up eight percentage points).