SleepyEgg

Conventional wisdom says that laptops with data cards cause more of a traffic jam on cell networks than handhelds because of the relative increase in data consumption. However, a new study from mobile broadband technology provider Airvana says that smartphones generate the majority of "signaling activity"—messages to and from cell sites for polling purposes. This is an indicator of an "urgent need" for improved data processing among cell networks in the US.

According to Airvana, smartphones generate as much as eight times the network load as laptops on the same network because of how smartphones work. Since they're always on and performing multiple functions at once (acting as a mini-computer, your phone, a mapping device, and whatever else you can think of), they're constantly sending small signals to nearby cell sites—more so than regular cell phones, and much more than laptops using data cards.