Latinos Love Smartphones

A recent study from Nielsen found that about a third of cell phone users in the U.S., 31%, have smartphones with Internet enabled operating systems, and this percentage is even higher for Latinos. Latino mobile subscribers have a 45% penetration rate for smartphones; these stats are 45% for Asian/Pacific Islanders as well, 33% for African-Americans and 27% of whites.

Although Latinos are often portrayed in research and the media as behind-the-times, the truth of the matter is that the Latino technology  market is big — and it’s growing. Google recently announced a huge investment of resources and money into pursuit of this market, Latinos are among the most ardent users of location check-in services and Latinos have been found to be more receptive to online advertising.

There’s a “but” here, though. As we wrote previously, although smartphones have allowed Latinos and African-Americans to sidestep having to get home computers and broadband Internet while allowing them access to online resources, there’s a drawback, too. Because you might not be able to fill out a job application with a phone for example, smartphones are simply not enough to allow people access to bigger and better things.