updated 1/24/06 Mobile has finally become an ubiquitous communications channel for the US: over 205 MILLION mobile phones in the US (65% of US adults) [CTIA] 100 MILLION Americans are sending or receiving at least one text msg / week, [Forrester Dec 2004] up 300% in 2003 (27MM) and 500% from 2002 (20MM). Today in the US alone, over 2.5 Billion text messages get sent PER MONTH! By 2009, US mobile handset users will generate 49.8 billion SMS messages and 4.4 billion MMS messages! The youth demographic has embraced text messaging: Teens lead actual SMS usage 80% of text messaging in the United States from age 12-30 yr old demographic (mobileYouth.org) *For teenagers worldwide, text messaging has become a first language. (Able to send cool messages, download icons, date, check horoscopes)-Love Texting, Apple Press. *When asked which item would be least willing to live without for a month (mobile phone, landline, television, newspaper, magazines, computer, radio, stereo, Palm Pilot, or the Internet), Americans on the whole value their home phone (18%) and television (17%) higher than their mobile phones (11%). However, teens (18%) and college-aged Americans (23%) both value their mobile phones above all other options, speaking to the fact that mobile phones have now become a necessity in their social life-driven mobile lifestyle ( www.3g.co.uk/PR/Feb2003/4964.htm). *In a study commissioned by Verizon Wireless, 87% of 30-to-40 year old women felt text messaging would help them improve their personal and business communications and feel wireless texting is more appropriate than taking a voice call in certain situations. -Women Embrace Texting by Bob Woods. *What's more, in the same study, 80% of the women surveyed said they'd find their phones more useful if they could multitask with them by being able to send a text message while talking at the same time. -Women Embrace Texting by Bob Woods. *Mobile usage is now above 50% for all age groups, from teens through late 50's -Who Uses Text Messaging.