This could have to do with the fact that thanks to AT&T, the iPhone is only available to 1/3 of the U.S. population. Or, it could mean that Android (and maybe Windows Phone 7?) are more appealing now than ever.

Or... it could mean that you're adding together total demand for all smartphones and coming up 6 points higher than iPhone on its own. Why not break out Android, Windows, Web OS, Blackberry and other smartphones?

Meanwhile, back at the iPad...only 1% more people want a TV in the next six months as compared with an iPad? Yowza. Apple better start cranking.

Image: Dan Frommer, Business Insider

Click here for photos of the new BlackBerry Torch →

Unless buyers have absolutely no regard for software quality, BlackBerry devices will be consumers' third or fourth choice. Don't forget that they're going to be seeing them in an AT&T store, right next to the iPhone 4 and possibly near some Android devices.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/blackberry-torch-rim-2010-8

Frommer continues his takedown on RIM and it's a little tough to disagree. I think Blackberry will probably hold on a little longer than he suggests because there are business folks out there who are going to like this phone, are already are fine with the OS and don't see themselves as pure touch-screen people. (Some companies have Blackberry enterprise servers they're loathe to give up, others have sales automation and CRM tools that are build around Blackberry.)

While critics talk about this phone as if it's at the low end of the spectrum (and I'll continue to complain that Blackberry apps are harder to create than iPhone and, soon, Android), I'm actually a bit impressed with this phone and the OS upgrades, as it seems they're keeping things simple and clean (a complaint I have about my Android phone), and perhaps even a bit "conservative," given Blackberry's core audience.

Again, I'll be interested to get my hands on one. I only wish AT&T wasn't the exclusive carrier.

The new Blackberry has some nice features, including a touch-screen interface and a slider to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. For folks who prefer to leave iPhone/Android-style on-screen keyboards to their teenagers, the Blackberry "Torch" (model 9600) offers some solid Crackberry Cred.

Exclusive to AT&T, the Blackberry sports the new Blackberry 6 operating system, which features a new WebKit browser, more social networking integration (Twitter, Facebook), easier SMS and MMS messaging, a built-in RSS reader for headlines... and an overall update to the aging Blackberry look-and-feel. There's also a new media sync feature that should make the Blackberry easier to sync with Windows Media Player and iTunes.

The Torch hardware offers a 5-megapixel camera, supports 3G and Wi-Fi and a $199 pricetag with a 2-year AT&T contract; Note that, since it's AT&, there's no all-you-can-eat data plan -- the Torch uses the same data plan as the iPhone -- AT&T's new tiered $15 (200 MB) and $25 (2 GB) pricing. (RIM's folks noted that because Blackberry compresses data from its servers, you may get more downloads over the limited plan.)

So..the scoop? I like it... I'll want to play with one, but the idea of a best-of-both-worlds touchscreen+Blackberry keyboard is appealing. The oddest thing about this from a competitive POV is the fact that it's only available on AT&T -- which is the biggest gripe that American consumers have about the iPhone. If you want to compete with iPhone, be on another (any other!) carrier.

In other words, this probably won't matter to me until there's a CDMA version...six months? 12? And, by then, I probably won't be as likely to jump.

As earlier reports said, RIM's tablet won't have its own 3G cellular connection, but will rely on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to access the Web. It could be, as implied earlier, that the Blackpad will be a type of companion device for BlackBerry, using Bluetooth to share a BlackBerry's 3G connection to get on the Web. In that case, the Blackpad is more of a competitor to the iPad model with Wi-Fi only, and not the 3G-ready version.

So RIM is planning an iPad killer that will probably have only one significant effect -- it'll kill any remaining hope anyone out there that the moniker "-pad" would not come to identify the category. Looks like the name is sticking.

On one hand, this reminds me of the Palm Foleo, a netbook-like device that was announced and then killed by Palm back before the Netbook craze took off. I was excited about the Foleo -- it was a companion device for a Palm OS phone that could surf the web, access the phone's e-mail (for composing and replying), sync documents and it was instant-on/instant-off. I was flying a fair bit back when it came out and I looked forward to the possibility of leaving the laptop at home.

Here’s the rundown: Google gained a huge 2.7 percent of the market, moving from 2.5 percent in September to 5.2 percent in December. Meanwhile, Palm fell massively from 8.3 percent to 6.1 percent over the period. Both RIM and Microsoft lost one percent of market share, with RIM dropping from 42.6 percent to 41.6 percent, and MS from 19 percent to 18 percent. Apple gained 1.2 percent overall, jumping from 24.1 percent to 25.3.

Interesting numbers...looking at this I realized I'm already working from a unfounded assumption that the mobile battle is 100% Android vs. iPhone, but there are so many more players when you step back to think about it.

It seems like the key thing that needs to shake out is Apps -- what and how many platforms will ultimately attract developers -- but aside from that, the mobile world can probably support multiple platforms for some time to come.

If you're a Blackberry or Palm partisan, for instance, I doubt you're going to see an explosion of apps, but you might already have good enough stuff built in; Microsoft users are probably most worried about extending Outlook and Exchange to their phones and don't need thousands of additional apps.

Of those mentioned, I think Palm is perhaps in the most trouble unless they get a killer app ramped up soon. Ms. D loves her Palm (nee Treo) for reporting tasks, messaging, its connectivity to Palm Desktop, and its un-smartphone-like battery life. Most of that Treo-ness was designed out of the Palm Pre series, unfortunately, so it's not like she's got a direct upgrade path from Treo to Pre. (Nobody is supporting Palm Desktop anymore, which gives me headaches trying to help her connect and sync.) So her next step is a question mark -- potentially an iPhone, if it moves from AT&T, or some sort of Android that catches her eye down the road.