The survey cites three constraints to growth. First, it takes money to get connected, and many of those off-line simply can't afford Internet access. Second, a third of American adults believe that they have no need for the Internet and have no intention of getting on-line. Only about a third of those individuals expect to go back on-line anytime soon. In other countries the boom continues.
Expectations are that usage in China and Latin America is set to explode over the next few years.
What isn't clear is whether the limitation is in the Internet itself or in the way people access it. As mass market as it appears in comparison with its earliest incarnation, the Internet is formidably intimidating. A Palm VII user can stand on a city street, look up the nearest Barnes and Noble store and search its database of books. Early reviews say that microbrowser-equipped mobile phones aren't ready for prime time, but that may be partly because they're trying to emulate the existing computer world. It's a logical first step, just as the first movies were films of theatrical plays.