Mobile phones more important to us than wallets or laptops

Survey says nearly half of us would save our moby over anything else

14 May 2008 10:44 GMT / By Katie Scott

An international survey has found that our mobile phones are the gadget we would all least like to lose.

More than one third of respondents to the survey, carried out by market research firm IDC, said that they would choose their phone over their wallet or laptop if they had to leave the house for 24 hours and could take only one item.

The survey also found that a growing number of us can be termed "hyperconnected" meaning we use seven devices or more (like mobile phones and laptops) at work and play, as well as nine applications or more like, for example, email or regularly visiting social networking sites like Facebook.

The survey found that the Chinese are the most hyperconnected, while Canada and the United Arab Emirates had the fewest number among the 17 countries covered in the survey.

The survey, which was sponsored by Nortel, also predicts the number of the hyperconnected could rise to 40% in 5 years.