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One of my favorite episodes of the original Twilight Zone asked the question, are people alike all over?  Well, it seems that people who use high-end smartphones actually are pretty much alike, at least in their taste for apps.

An interesting study came out this past week from Mplayit, a mobile phone app discovery service reporting on the top apps in several categories among iPhone, Android and Blackberry users.  The results: people use many of the same apps regardless of which platform they use.

In the music category, for example, iHeartRadio is tops among iPhone users, with Pandora in 2nd place.  Among Android and Blackberry users, Pandora is #1, with iHeartRadio #2 on Blackberry. 

There is no iHeartRadio app for Android, so it’s not on the list for that platform — if they release an Andy version, I’m sure you’ll see it shoot to the top of the charts.

In the Lists and Notes category, Evernote is #1 on iPhone and Android.  It’s #2 on Blackberry.  The results for other categories, such as Location Services and Social Networking get more more diverse, but you still see lots of repeats, like Yelp on iPhone and Blackberry and Facebook on iPhone and Andy.

Tthe Palm Pre’s WebOS is no where to be seen on this list.  Ill winds are blowing through the palm fronds,  I’m sad to say.

A new report from comScore found that users of high-end smartphones are heavy users of mobile media and the mobile Web.

iPhone and Android owners report using a lot more mobile media than other smartphone or mobile phone users.  In fact, at 80%, it seems that one of the main uses of their phones is for mobile media.

This isn’t surprising for the iPhone, which began life as an iPod — playing audio and video.  It’s pretty surprising for Android, though.  I’m also surprised that Blackberry users aren’t consuming more media.  I guess they are too busy reading all those crackberry e-mails.

Palm Barely Scores

There’s some bad news for Palm in this report — only 2% say they intend to buy a Pre.  There’s still time to turn this around and create more buzz for the Pre, but if Palm has to produce a really nice update of the Pre at CES.

I recently came across a review by Walt Mossberg of the Sprint/Samsung Instinct.  I’ve admired Mossberg for years, and always found his reviews to be insightful, but his review of the Instinct was a disappointment on many levels.

First, Mossberg spends most of his time (in both a blog post and video review) lauding the yet-to-be-released iPhone 3G.  While the Instinct is clearly positioned as a iPhone competitor, I think a product review should focus on the merits of product under review.  That review can include a comparison of a market-leading product, but in my view, it’s bad form for the entire review to be such a comparison.

Mossberg, by writing his review entirely in the context of the 3G iPhone, misses several strong selling points for the Instinct including:

1. GPS with turn-by-turn directions,
2. Streaming media (TV and radio)
3. Voice Command for local GPS-assisted search and voice dialing
4. Ability to shoot and playback digital video

The Instict also gives users software for transferring music, photos and videos from a pc to the Instinct.  Mossberg dismisses the Instict’s digital music playing features, saying they are incompatible with Apple’s format.  Isn’t every other media player on Earth incompatible with Apple’s format?

You can read Mossberg’s review on Allthingsd.com and watch is video below:

I updated my iTunes today and saw the new App Store — and was ready to write a post saying how cool it could become as it grows.   Then I heard about the iPhone 3G launch.  Ouch!  I guess heads are rolling in Cupertino tonight.

Here’s a summary of some coverge:

C|NET: iPhone glitches derail Apple’s launch event magic

Apple’s singular ability to whip up consumer frenzy might be in trouble after the debacle that was Friday’s iPhone 3G launch.

Server problems turned this year’s iPhone 3G launch into an exercise in patience for Apple fans and employees, as eager buyers faced waits of up to two hours to get their iPhone 3Gs activated in Apple stores, and many left with iPhone 3Gs in hand but the activation process incomplete. The same problems affected original iPhone owners trying to install the iPhone 2.0 software, turning their handsets into “iBricks.”

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SciFi.com’s DVICE Blog: Apple’s disastrous iPhone 3G launch, and why it matters

It is impossible to calculate the long-term damage the monumental f-ups of Friday’s iPhone 3G inauguration – the inability of AT&T and Apple’s systems to sync up to upgrade and activate current customers, of turning original iPhones into iSlabs when installing iPhone 2.0, of iTunes playing hooky when millions tried to sync their new iPhones 3G – will have on Apple. In a day, the most spotless and sterling reputation in high-tech, years in expert caressing and molding, gone like a rainbow at sunset.

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Wired: Network Glitches, Delays Mar iPhone 3G’s Debut

In reality, the glitches plaguing the launch of Apple’s iPhone 3G were not earthshattering. AT&T’s servers were unreachable for about 30-40 minutes immediately after the iPhone 3G went on sale on the West Coast, meaning the very first customers (such as Larson) had difficulty even beginning the in-store activation process. After that, the deluge of traffic to Apple’s servers prevented most customers from completing the second step of the activation process. But phones are available, and customers are able to buy them.

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Gizmodo: Apple Cancels All iPhone 3G Orders, Releases iBrick 3G

In a surprising move that is set to stun consumers all over the world, Apple has cancelled all orders for the iPhone 3G today. People who already bought the phones will get them replaced by Apple’s new wonderproduct, the iBrick 3G.

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