This paper presents five emergent categories of learning with mobile applications (apps) and suggests an overarching profile to characterize such apps. The categories are organized into three levels. The micro level focuses on interactions and includes (i) interaction with the device and (ii) interaction with the environment. The intermediate level focuses on activities and includes (iii) location-based learning and (iv) supporting any learning environment. The macro system level includes (v) applications as part of a complex system. Common to these emergent categories is the experience of learning in blended spaces. This primary pedagogical principle leads to additional principles such as embodied cognition, the device as a discovery machine, and open playful design. This paper discusses the interrelationships between these principles, and concludes with drawing a profile of uniqueness, enabling utilization of such principles for deep understanding of the environment and for promoting new literacy of 'mobile system thinking.'