Halliburton will phase out thousands of Blackberrys in favor of the iPhone over the next two years. According to an internal newsletter obtained by AppleInsider, Halliburton conducted “significant research” and came to the conclusion that “the iOS platform offered the best capabilities, controls and security for application development.”

NetMarketShare’s desktop Operating System Market Share metrics for December 2011 show the Mac OS slipping back another tenth of a point on the month, with Windows posting exactly the same share for two consecutive months. Linux made another proportionally significant gain, continuing its recent positive streak.

Between the armageddon scenarios conjured up by the potential of no new hardware at WWDC, constant articles and opinion pieces on the pervasively disruptive nature of Google’s Android OS, and the politely tepid response to the BlackBerry Playbook’s recent discussion during RIM’s earnings call, it is getting hard to remember why mobile computing and apps are so exciting in the first place.

NetMarketShare has posted its Operating System Total Market Share metrics for the significant players for January, 2011 (December ’10 figures in parentheses) tracking changes over the the past month. Perhaps the most significant metric this month, at least psychologically, is that Windows has dropped below 90 percent share for the first time in a very long time. The Mac OS gained just short of a quarter of a point over the month, while the iOS’s share increased significantly for the second month in a row.

Retrevo has released some interesting data as part of their 2010 Gadget Census, a report that “looked at what gadgets people own and how they use them, including data on how many smartphones are represented per capita in each state.” Have an iPhone? There’s a good chance you’re from California (no surprise there), Massachusetts, or Florida. Like Android? Fortunately for you, Android wins in a lot of states. However, the states in which it wins (like Hawaii and Montana) aren’t very populous, leaving the platform with few “gadgetoral” votes. Like getting “company” work done on your phone? There’s a good chance you live in New York, Texas and the Beltway states of Maryland and Virginia and carry a Blackberry.

It seems like everybody wants an iPhone; or if you’re the Palm Pre, you want to be an iPhone. But the Blackberry line from RIM has a legion of devoted followers (many of them business professionals) who’ve grown attached to the device—and its interface—over the years. What challenges do switchers face? Katherine Boehret asked several people switching from Blackberry to iPhone to record the advantages and annoyances.

Many bloggers have weighed in regarding Palm’s announcement that the Pre will be supported as though it were a native device in iTunes: “Palm media sync is a feature of webOS that synchronizes seamlessly with iTunes, giving you a simple and easy way to transfer DRM-free music, photos and videos to your Palm Pre.” Included in that statement are two key points: 1) The device somehow mimics an iPod (anybody think Apple is happy about that?), and 2) DRM-free. Let’s take a look at both of these, and see if they stand up…

The numbers are in, and it looks like Apple has some serious competition for that top spot in the smart-phone market. The first quarter of 2009 (Jan – Mar) has seen the Blackberry Curve steal the top position from the iPhone 3G. Blackberry also holds a close third and fourth too, with the Storm and Pearl respectively. The strong marketing of RIMs Blackberry devices saw their market share rise to just under the 50% mark, while Apple’s share in the market dropped by around 10%.

New York based advertising company, Guava Ad Agency, thought they’d offer Blackberry a helping hand with their Storm handset. Guava made this video independent of Blackberry and to drive people towards their agency, and ultimately the Blackberry Storm. But what if this advert had been genuine? Take a look, if you haven’t already.