( CNN ) -- If it seems like nearly everyone you see these days , from kids to seniors , has some kind of tech gadget handy , it 's not just your imagination . According to a new report from the Pew Internet and American Life project , nearly 90 % of Americans now own a cell phone , computer , MP3 player , game console , e-book reader or tablet computer . In Generations and Their Gadgets , Pew explores how age groups in the U.S. tend to use their tech devices . It defines six generations ranging from age 18 to 75-plus . A few highlights about how Americans of different ages use mobile devices : . Cell phones . Eighty-five percent of Americans currently own cell phones , making it the single most popular type of tech gadget . Slightly more Americans use their cell phones to take pictures ( 76 % ) than to send or receive text messages ( 72 % ) -- but across all age groups , those two non-voice call activities are the most popular . Among the 15 % of Americans who do not own a cell phone , one-third live in a household with at least one working cell phone . So , overall , `` 90 % of all adults ( including 62 % of those age 75 and older ) live in a household with at least one working cell phone , '' the survey finds . Also , Pew notes that as of June , about a quarter of all U.S. households had gone mobile-only , ditching their traditional `` landline '' phone connections . This includes more than half of all adults ages 25 to 29 , and it indicates how crucial it is to update the U.S. 911 emergency calling system to be more friendly to cell phones , as well as to accommodate more types of communication than voice calls . Even though more people are getting smartphones ( 30 percent of U.S. cell phone owners , by most estimates ) , only Americans ages 18 to 34 are especially likely to use their phones for several purposes : internet access , e-mail , games , getting or playing music , sending or receiving photos , recording video , etc . The only widely popular activities across all age groups are taking pictures and text messaging , which may explain why 70 % of Americans still rely on non-smart `` feature phones , '' which have fewer bells and whistles . MP3 players . As tech gadgets go , MP3 players are relatively limited devices . So it 's a bit surprising that the youngest and most tech-savvy age group Pew studied is by far the most likely to own an MP3 player . Three-quarters of Americans ages 18 to 34 own an MP3 player , but only 56 % of the next oldest group ( 35 to 46 ) do . Tablets . As of September , 5 % of U.S. adults owned tablet computers such as the iPad or Galaxy Tab , up from 3 % in May . ( Apple 's popular iPad hit U.S. stores in April . ) With the launch of several Android-based iPad competitors , expect this kind of device to become much more popular in the next year . It 'll be interesting to see whether tablet ownership starts to displace some ownership of laptop computers . E-readers . Currently , 5 % of Americans own e-reader devices such as the Kindle or Nook , but this vastly underestimates the total number of people who read e-books . Many people read e-books on their smartphones , tablets , and desktop or laptop computers . E-reader devices are most popular among Americans ages 47 to 56 . I suspect that in the next year , tablets will shake up all kinds of patterns of mobile device ownership and use in the U.S . If tablet prices start to drop and more options for size and connectivity emerge ( especially likely for Android models ) , it 's possible that that many people who rely primarily on feature phones might choose to invest in a Wi-Fi-enabled tablet ( a one-time expense ) rather than upgrading to a full smartphone ( with higher monthly bills and often unexpected charges ) . The opinions expressed in this story are solely those of Amy Gahran .
Eighty-five percent of Americans currently own cell phones . The study also found that the average American spends about $350 a year on phone bills, and that people who use their smartphones for more than an hour per day are twice as likely to have high Five percent of Americans own e-reader devices such as the Kindle or Nook .