• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, February 23, 2012

Forrester’s Melissa Parrish told OMMA Tablet attendees that a good way of thinking about the difference between tablets and phones is “mobile vs. untethered.”

“Mobile to me is the mobile phone, and the smartphone,” Parrish said, adding that people use those sorts of mobile experiences differently, citing an example of searching for a hotel room on a phone, which is much more or an immediate, mission-specific function, like booking a room immediately.

“A tablet is untethered,” she said, adding that they are more suitable for richer content experiences that might not be quite as on-the-go.

Joule’s Mark Silber said he liked Parrish’s mobile/untethered framework for thinking about smartphones vs. tablets, and also shared a personal observation about a difference in mobile phone user behavior.

“Whenever there is a disagreement with anyone, don’t you almost immediately take out your phone to get the answer,” Silver said.

In other words, it’s the Final Word App.