More Americans are getting gadgets, and they're increasingly sporting devices they can take wherever they go.

According to a recent survey, 85 percent of American adults own a cell phone making it the most popular kind of consumer electronic. And younger people are overwhelmingly dependent on mobile phones: 96 percent of adults under 30 own a cell phone, according to the survey done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a nonprofit research group.

Mobile is also increasingly important to people buying PCs. Just over three-quarters of respondents said they own a computer, almost unchanged from 73 percent in 2006. While more still have a desktop — 59 percent compared with 52 percent who own laptops — the notebook is gaining in popularity while desktop ownership slumps. Back in 2006, nearly 70 percent of those polled said they owned a desktop, while only 30 percent had a notebook.

Nearly half said they own an mp3 music player. But so far, few people say they own relatively new offerings such as e-book readers (five percent) and tablet computers, such as Apple Inc.'s iPad (four percent). The iPad only went on sale in April.

The survey polled 3,001 US adults on landline and mobile phones. It was taken from August 9 to September 13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

With Halloween coming up, you might want to offset the sugar surge by substituting artificial sweeteners in coffee or baked goods.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the synthetic sugar alternatives approved by federal regulators include:

— aspartame, which is found in Equal and NutraSweet

— saccharine, which makes up Sweet'N Low

— sucralose, found in Splenda

— acesulfame potassium, which is in Sweet One

These sweeteners have almost no calories, unlike sugar, which can make them helpful for weight loss. Still, use them moderately — the Mayo Clinic noted that some studies have suggested a link between artificial sugar and weight gain.