Our favorite way to buy a new smartphone? From our smartphone

We already knew we couldn't bear to be without our smart phones, the way we connect with friends, post on social channels and even pay for our cup of joe. But now it's also the main way we buy our wireless devices, according to a new study from market research firm J.D. Power.

Buying a smartphone used to be an arduous affair. We have to call our mobile carrier, re-up on an annual (or two year) contract. And sometimes we'd even hoof it to a store to look at the device in our hands, deciding whether we really wanted a new phone or not. (We always did.)

But now our preferred way to pick up a new wireless device is via the wireless device we currently have — and we feel pretty good about it too. Rating how they felt about buying a mobile product on a 1000 point scale, respondents awarded 857 points if they used a current smartphone to make their purchase, 823 if they used a computer or tablet and 842 if they went to a store.

That's not to say stores aren't important — people apparently want to test a device first before making the decision to buy one, and a store is where they do this. Certainly new ways to make purchases are appearing. We can even order take out on our voice-enabled smart home speakers, for example. But our favored way to buy a mobile device is on that tiny screen we keep in our pocket — our phones.