Americans are shedding wired connections at a good clip, says a new study from the Pew Research Center. Nearly 60% of all U.S. adults connect to the Internet wirelessly these days.

The activities they cite include:

• Going online with a laptop using a wi-fi connection or mobile broadband card. About half of all adults (47%) get to the web this way, up from 39% a year ago, and
• Using the Internet, e-mail or instant messaging on a cell phone. About 40% do at least one of these with mobile device. Back in 2009, 32% of adults said they did.

The final tally: 59% of American adults now go online wirelessly using either a laptop or cell phone, an increase over the 51% of Americans who did back in 2009.

Ownership of cell phones, however, seems to have stalled over the last year. It seems most folks are learning how to use the capabilities their phones have, however. Of the eight mobile data applications researchers asked users about in both 2009 and 2010, all showed an increase in use.

Asked about cell phone use, the following data emerges:

• 54% have used their mobile device to send someone a photo or video.
• 23% have accessed a social networking site using their phone.
• 20% have used their phone to watch a video.
• 15% have posted a photo or video online.
• 11% have purchased a product using their phone.
• 11% have made a charitable donation by text message.
• 10% have used their mobile phone to access a status update service such as Twitter.

Tags: Americans, Internet, Pew Research Center, survey, Web, WiFi, wirless