Profile America: Mobile Computing

Monday, March 27 — A triumph of mobile computing was achieved on this date in 1961.  A division of the Sperry Rand Corporation equipped a trailer truck to haul a UNIVAC I computer from New York City down to North Carolina to process data for the Douglas Aircraft Corporation. The UNIVAC I, fully assembled, weighed in at a nimble 7,237 pounds.

In 2013, nearly 84 percent of America’s 116 million households had computers. Even the country’s seniors participate heavily. Nearly two-thirds of senior households have computers, and 58 percent access the Internet. In marked contrast to the unwieldy UNIVAC of 1961, 71 percent of Americans are using smartphones or other hand-held devices for true mobile computing.

You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey here.

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