A new study claims that 62 percent of all Americans have mobile phones and participate in digital activities when on-the-go.

The study, conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, also found that among Americans using their phones for more than just calling and messaging, African Americans and English-speaking Hispanics are more likely than white Americans to use non-voice data applications on their mobile phones.

"Accompanying this changing nature of access -- no longer slow and stationary, but now fast and mobile -- has been a transformation in how people value their media access tools," the report said.

"When asked how hard it would be to give up a specific technology, respondents are now most likely to say the cell phone would be most difficult to do without, followed by the Internet, TV and landline telephone."

The Pew Internet Project's December 2007 survey interviewed a sample of 2,054 adult Americans, which included 500 respondents contacted on their mobile phones.

Another interesting finding was that 58 percent of adult Americans have used a mobile phone or PDA to do at least one of 10 mobile non-voice data activities, such as texting, emailing, taking a picture, looking for maps or directions, or recording video.

Also, 41 percent of adult Americans have visited the Web from their mobile phones while on-the-go.

"A majority of adults under age 30 and Hispanics would find it hardest to do without their cell phones -- and are much more likely to say it would be hard to be without a cell phone than to be without the Internet or email," the report said.

"Hispanics in the United States are a more youthful group than whites or African Americans, but Latinos' attachment to the cell phone stands out even after controlling for age and other demographic and socio-economic factors."

The data suggest that email remains a part of their daily electronic communication activities, although it may be less important for young adults as other applications compete for their attention.

For English-speaking Hispanics, 42 percent text message on the average day, compared to 56 percent who check email.

For African Americans, 34 percent send or receive a text message on the typical day, while 57 percent say they send or receive email.

"The vast majority of people who have accessed digital data or tools on-the-go are Internet users," the study said.

Among this group, 91 percent consider themselves Internet users. Of the remaining 9 percent, this group demographically tilts toward African American men in their40s with low incomes. Within this group, 24 percent have household incomes of $25,000 annually or less, 25percent are African American and more than half are men.