How does your news organization define "mobile?"

Does that mean everything beyond desktop computers? Does that just mean iPhones and iPads?

Here's our current definition of "mobile." We exclude tablets because we view them as a different channel with unique usage. Let me know what you think in the comments.

What is mobile? 

A new media channel. Powered by users who are:

• Connecting at various times from various locations
• Using smartphones and feature phones
• Seeking information via messaging, the mobile web and mobile apps
• Mobile does not include tablets.

The chart below explains the differences between the three digital channels (mobile, tablets, desktop).

This figure shows the times various channels are used by audiences:

A collection of tablet user agent strings. Please add in comments other strings or devices that should be added.

Apple iPad [source]

Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; U; CPU OS 3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/531.21.10 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.4 Mobile/7B334b Safari/531.21.10

Samsung Galaxy [source]

(Different strings for each model. All devices have a resolution of 600x1024.)

GT-P1000
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-gb; SAMSUNG GT-P1000 Tablet Build/MASTER)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; nl-nl; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; ru-ru; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; nl-nl; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; th-th; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-gb; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; fr-fr; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; it-it; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; ar-ae; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1

GT-P1000R
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-ca; GT-P1000R Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1

GT-P1000M
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-ca; GT-P1000M Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1

SGH-T849
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; SGH-T849 Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1

SHW-M180S
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; SHW-M180S Build/FROYO)
AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1

Samsung Galaxy S (not a large tablet, not just a phone)

GT-I9000T
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.1-update1; es-us; GT-I9000T Build/ECLAIR)
AppleWebKit/530.17 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/530.17

Windows tablets [source]

In Windows Vista, the user-agent string reported by Internet Explorer includes "Tablet PC 2.0" if, according to GetSystemMetrics(SM_TABLETPC), the device is a Tablet PC.

In Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, the user-agent string includes Tablet PC 1.7. The user-agent string looks something like the following:

Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.0.3705; Tablet PC 2.0)

Some recent iPad, tablet and media related research. Add in comments other interesting links and information.

Google Survey Reveals How We Use Our iPads [ReadWriteWeb]

• 43% of respondents spend more time with their tablet than with their desktop/laptop.
• One in three respondents spend more time with their tablet than they do watching TV.

Usability of iPad Apps and Websites: First Research Findings [Nielsen Norman Group]

• This free report is based on usability studies with real users, reporting how they actually used a broad variety of iPad apps as well as websites accessed on the iPad.

iPad news apps may diminish newspaper print subscriptions in 2011 [Reynolds Journalism Institute]

• Users are predominantly well-educated, affluent men between the ages of 35 and 64 who tend to be early adopters.
• Keeping up with news and current events is their most popular main use.
• iPad news consumers prefer newspaper apps to newspaper websites; less likely to use print.

One-Third of iPad Owners Don't Use Apps [Tabletedia]

• Almost one-third of iPad owners have never downloaded any apps for the device, a recently released study suggests.
• 25% of U.S. citizens own a smartphone, 8 percent own netbooks, 6 percent e-readers and 4 percent own tablet computers.

Survey Says: The iPad Is Not A Kindle Killer [TechCrunch]

• While plenty of people predicted that the iPad would kill the Kindle when it first came out (including us), that turned out to be wrong. Very wrong. The Kindle went on to become the best selling product in Amazon’s history over the holidays, selling an estimated 8 million units last year.

iPad Opinion Profile [MyType]

• iPad owners are best characterized as selfish elites. Wealthier, older and more educated, they are sophisticated, highly value power and achievement, and are not very kind or altruistic.
• iPad critics, on the other hand, tend to be independent geeks: self-directed young people who look down on conformity and are interested in video games, computers, electronics, science and the internet.

iPad magazine says readers very responsive [Sideways]

• The lead interests of responders were technology, the iPad, iPod and books. Respondents were least interested in sports and relationships.

Confirmed: Consumer Engagement on the iPad Is Complex [AudienceDevelopment.com]

• Key findings have revealed that user interaction on the device is "complex." Results are being crunched from 24 million data points, but the companies have zeroed in on three engagement elements:
• Visual Attention: the ad's ability to grab the reader and keep him on the page
• Accessibility: whether the ad has "entry points" that enable the user to engage the iPad's swiping and tapping features
• Propulsion: whether those entry points actually engaged the reader, pulling him deeper into the experience

iPad users big consumers of news content [Yahoo]

• In the U.S., the gender split is 64 to 36 percent, male to female, and that figures holds true internationally, with the exception of Japan where the iPad audience is 80 percent male.
• IPad users are also nearly three times more likely to search for content related to investments, according to the analysis.

Apple iPad Trend Data Commences New Mobclix Index Series [mobclix]

• Compared to standard display banner ads on the iPad, rich media video ads have click-through rates that are 11 times higher.
• The time spent by iPad users on their gaming apps is three times higher (about 10 minutes more) than iPhone users on the same app.

Apple iPad users most receptive to ads [Vator News]

• iPad owners are more  receptive to the idea of having  advertising on their touchscreen tablet, than owners of other devices. Of course, if you go this route, you are going to have to go interactive. That is, if you want your end users to enjoy it. 46% of iPad owners say they enjoy ads, with interactive features. This is a significantly larger group, than the general connected device owners, who come in at about  27% enjoying the ads.

Who is Buying the iPad, and Will They Also Buy an iPhone? [Nielsen]

• Only about 15% of iPad users are more than 56 years old compared to 33% of all mobile subscribers. While we observe a typical increase in users in the 18 to 24 segment, the real shift is in 25 to 36 year-olds. The data is clear: Affluent 25 to 36 year olds are fertile ground for Apple products.

iPad research initiative [Pepperdine University]

• Pepperdine University's Information Technology administration and Technology and Learning group are working with Pepperdine faculty to assess the effectiveness of the iPad as a learning tool. Beginning in fall 2010, and continuing in spring 2011 and fall 2011, this study will compare student learning outcomes in the control and experiment sections for each course.

Is Mobile Affecting When We Read? [Read It Later]

• The graph of when users are reading on the iPad shows the biggest time for reading: personal prime time.

Apple Announces 100 Million iPhones, 15 Million iPads Sold [TechCrunch]

• Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted, “That’s more than every tablet PC ever sold.“

Seven’s ‘Generation i’ Survey looks at UK iPad audience behaviour [U Talk Marketing]

• Over half (51%) of iPad owners who had read magazines both in print and in interactive format on the iPad preferred the experience on Apple's multimedia device.
• 53% of iPad owners say they use their device mainly for entertainment, three times as many as the 18% who say they use it for more functional purposes.

List of Best Magazine & Newspaper Apps of 2010 [iMonitor]

• The list is based on the iMonitor rating system which scores each app based on its design, functionality, and use of rich content. Each variable is evaluated on a five-point scale and rolled up into a single App Rating with a maximum potential value of 15.

Nobody Predicted The iPad’s Growth. Nobody. [TechCrunch]

• The highest Wall Street estimate from April was 7 million (Brian Marshall of Broadpoint AmTech).

Here goes a fun project I thought up after being asked for lists of cool apps (this is an old idea, but I'm relaunching it hoping it will benefit other journalists - with the new addition of tablet categories).

Sure I’ve used a slew of apps, but who am I to be the best source of the best mobile apps? What would be best is if any one could add to one central list the best apps. And, let’s do this for journalists specifically (though others are free to use this list as well).

Thanks for joining in this fun mobile journalism project!

Note: Previously, I had separate lists for each platform, and now I've condensed it to one database where you add the available platforms to make it easier to add to and use the database.

Submit recommended apps and websites

View the database

Do you agree with this list of iPad apps journalists should check out?

What would you add?