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The Guardian buckles down on mobile with Android tablet app launch

The Guardian has released an Android tablet application at a time when consumers are turning to new devices to access news and information.

The British daily newspaper already boasts iPad, iPhone, Android smartphone, Windows Phone and Nokia apps. The Guardian is following a worldwide trend toward digitization as more consumers take to their mobile devices as the first place to read the news.

"We've been delighted with the success of our iPad edition over the past two years, and we've received plenty of requests from our users to make the edition available for Android tablets," said Wendy Orr, product manager at The Guardian, London. "With Kindle Fire and Android tablet ownership growing significantly, it made sense to expand our quality content to these platforms, and reach even more people with our award-winning journalism."
 
Many tablets
The Guardian Android app features news editions every day, including all content from the main sections of the Guardian and Observer newspapers

On Saturdays it also includes the Weekend magazine, the Guide and the Sport, Cultural Review, Travel and Family sections.
 

A screenshot of the Guardian Android tablet app

The Observer's news sections, Sport, New Review and Magazine all appear weekly on Sundays, with Observer Food and Tech Monthly magazines included once each month.
 
All articles and picture content can be read offline.

It is no surprise that publishers are keen to move content to tablet devices.

In November 2012, 36 percent of the United States population owned a tablet, up from 13 percent in 2011, according to a Deloitte study (see story).

As of about this time, 44 percent of tablet users own Apple iPads, while 12 percent own Amazon Kindle Fires, 10 percent own Samsung tablets and the remainder own anything else, according to stats from Yankee Group in August (see story). 

Content update
The Guardian also updated its iPad app on Dec. 12.
 
Both the Android tablet app and iPad app are available for free download in Google Play and Apple's App Store, respectively.

By expanding onto new platforms, The Guardian is able to reach a wider group of mobile readers.
 
"Commercially and editorially, The Guardian is committed to being open, digital and everywhere," said Lee Fels, head of mobile at The Guardian. "The launch of these apps will help us to continue to drive our digital and, especially our mobile revenues.
 
"We have enjoyed double-digit digital revenue growth, and our best-in-breed mobile ad serving technology has meant we have seen great success in terms of growing our mobile revenue," he said. "We will continue to innovate with our mobile offerings to both brands and consumers."
 
Final Take
Kari Jensen is staff writer on Mobile Marketer, New York