• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 10, 2011

Because any serious publisher needs a tablet strategy, Yahoo has debuted a personalized browsing tool dubbed "Livestand."

Initially, the device will carry Yahoo's own content network, but is expected to add third-party fare in the future. For the service, Yahoo is relying on new technology it believes will allow publishers and advertisers to more easily reach users on the go.

The timing of the release is critical; according to Blake Irving, EVP and chief product officer at Yahoo, publishers and advertisers are missing out on mobile migrations.

"Consumers can't find the publications they buy off the newsstand, and publishers and advertisers can't reach the audiences they want to serve," Irving said Thursday.

Among other sources, Livestand's content will come from Yahoo Sports, Yahoo News, Flickr and celebrity gossip site OMG. There is also the Yahoo Contributor Network, which is supplied by Associated Content, the freelance content platform that Yahoo acquired last year.

According to Irving, content will be customized based on user preference, as well as time of day and geographic location. "Livestand is an immersive environment that provides a dynamic and personalized experience for consumers; [it's] a pipeline of fresh and active content for publishers and advertisers."

IPad owners and users of Android-supported tablets will get first crack at Livestand, while Yahoo plans to debut a browser-based version and smartphone apps within the year.

As consumers increasingly rely on their mobile devices for content and communication, Yahoo has pursued an aggressive mobile strategy. Late last year, the company partnered with Starbucks on a tablet-friendly landing page accessible from Starbucks' many locations. Plus, a full 88% of marketers plan to incorporate mobile platforms into their digital campaigns during 2011, according to a survey by the Association of National Advertisers and the Mobile Marketing Association. What's more, 62% of marketers said they already use mobile marketing in some shape or form, while 26% said they intend to do so before the end of the year.

Yahoo is hardly alone in its pursuit of mobile audiences. After months of delays, News Corp. just debuted its tablet-ready newspaper, The Daily, while start-up platform Flipboard has been building momentum in the emerging space. The first images of The New York Times' forthcoming iPad app News.me -- which is currently being developed in collaboration with betaworks -- were recently published online.