Cell phones have become a staple for many Americans, with 78% of adults now having one, up from 21% in 1996. With many cell phone allowing users to have free or low-cost upgrades of phones every 24 months, decisions on new cell phone purchases periodically face users.

In this survey, 39% of adults said that they had bought a cell phone in the previous year. Some 26% of adults were directed to the cell phone module of questions in the survey that asked about the decision-making process in buying a new cell phone. A range of reasons were cited as to why people bought a new phone.

• 27% said their old cell phone failed or broke.
• 14% simply wanted a new phone.
• 13% wanted a better phone, or one with more features.
• 13% said they were offered a good deal, got a free or low-cost upgrade, or got a new service plan.

Remaining responses, all in the low single digits of incidence, included people getting their first phone, losing their old one, or buying a phone for someone else.

Survey respondents who received the cell phone questions differ from the general population in several respects. They are more likely to be internet users than average (86% to 73%) and more likely to have broadband at home (62% to 50%). And they are slightly younger than the sample of the general population: the median age is 44 for respondents in the cell phone sample versus 45 in the general population. The racial composition of the cell phone module recipients is about the same as the general population.

As noted in the Methodology section at the end of this report, the sample for this survey included cell phone numbers. Some 129 respondents in the sample of 2,400 were cell phone users, with about half of respondents reached by cell phone reporting they use only a cell phone for telephone communication and do not have a landline phone at home. In the cell phone module, one-third of respondents were contacted on their cell phone and 6% identified themselves as “cell phone only” users.