Is a grande Starbucks Caramel Macchiato and a tap of the New York Times smartphone app the new newspaper, coffee, and toast at the kitchen table?
A rising number of Americans are keeping up with daily, or more likely weekly, news via a tablet or smartphone, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.
More than 20 percent of adults now own a tablet computer, double the number just a year ago, and smartphone ownership rose nine points to 44 percent. In total, half of Americans now have mobile Internet access.
And most of them take advantage of it, as a third of all U.S. adults check their devices at least once a week to read up on the news, Pew reported. News intake sits comfortably close to sending or receiving email as the most popular weekly and daily tablet and smartphone activity.
"Even with the broadening population and wide range of competing activities, mobile owners are drawn to news on their tablet and smartphones," PEJ deputy director Amy Mitchell said in a statement. "The evidence is also mounting that mobile devices are adding to, rather than replacing, how much news people consume."
In fact, 43 percent of tablet news users report that their device actually adds to the amount of time spent reading the news, and more than just headlines – almost 20 percent of people read in-depth articles every day. Another 31 percent are getting news from sources they didn't formerly use.
Still, mobile news isn't permeating the nation as easily as it could. While consumers are making an effort to keep up with daily or weekly bulletins, they tend to use tablets and smartphone in the comfort of their home, instead of on-the-go, where a news reader app could come in handy.
The silver lining comes in the news that almost a fifth of mobile consumers have paid for a digital subscription, while many more remain loyal to the print product, keeping a print-only subscription.
"There are a variety of activities one can do on a mobile device today," Paul Rossi, managing director and executive vice president of The Economist Group, said in a statement. "However, even with all those options, reading is still one of the most popular activities. With more people than ever before using these devices, this clearly represents an incredible opportunity for publishers across the country."
According to the Pew report, more than half of tablet news consumers also get information on a smartphone, while a majority stick to a PC, and another 50 percent get news in print. A quarter of people surveyed said they get news on all four platforms.
News is reaching beyond the usual apps and websites, according to a July Pew report that pointed to YouTube as a hub for news footage. The Google-owned video site saw news-related terms top search queries during five of the 15 months between January 2011 and March 2012.
For more from Stephanie, follow her on Twitter @smlotPCMag.
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