• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, August 1, 2012

Smartphones and tablets are taking over the Wi-Fi airwaves. The mobile devices accounted for more than half (52%) of Wi-Fi use in the second quarter -- up from 30% in the year-earlier period, according to the latest data from location-based mobile ad company JiWire. Laptops made up the balance of use. Overall, Wi-Fi usage has more than tripled (up 240%) from a year ago.

When it comes to tablets, the company found that ownership is highest among parents: 52% of tablets owners are moms and 44% are dads, compared with 42% and 40%, respectively, of single men and women. Single women are also the least likely to own a smartphone.

Where are people using devices? The most common places for smartphone use are restaurants, cafes and shopping malls. Tablets are most likely to be used at shopping malls and hotels, while laptops turn up most often at universities, libraries and hotels.

Men and women both use mobile devices in places like restaurants and real estate, doctors' and legal offices and banks. But men are more likely to use mobile apps at auto repair shops, home improvement stores and travel consultants, while women do so at beauty salons, dentists, childcare locations and jewelry stores.

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of people location-tag posts they share via Facebook and other social networking sites. Millennials (those 34 and under) are the most likely to tag locations, with three out of four doing so. Parents are also sharing their whereabouts, with 64% location-tagging in social posts on devices.

People who use the Instagram photo-sharing app tend to be younger, with twice as many under 24 than other social apps like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Furthermore, 36% use their phone every time they shop in-store. Two-thirds of Twitter users plan to use their devices more this holiday season than last year. Google+ skews older, with twice as many people 55 and over, and more male (64%) than other social media services.

In terms of mobile platforms, Apple's iOS was by far the dominant operating system on JiWire's network in the U.S., driving 81% of ad requests. Android trailed far behind, at 16%, followed by BlackBerry, with 2%, and Windows Phone, at less than 1%.

The number of Wi-Fi locations has continued to grow to meet demand, up 12% in the second quarter from a year ago to 776,556 worldwide. That marks the first double-digit increase since the third quarter of 2011.

The JiWire findings are based on data from 315,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as a survey of more than 1,400 randomly selected customers across its nedia network of 30,000 Wi-Fi locations in North America between April and June.