The horse race between Research in Motion (NADSAQ: RIMM) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) rounded a bend this week as new statistics revealed the BlackBerry operating system outpacing Apple's iOS when it comes to mobile Internet use. StatCounter, an Internet analytics company, reported that in November RIM had 34.3 percent of the U.S. market, Apple had 33 percent, and Android rapidly gained ground with 23.8 percent,

These figures do not necessarily mean that Apple fans are spending less time on their iPads and iPhones. Overall mobile Internet use is growing by leaps and bounds, as Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt writes. Analysts attribute the latest market share numbers to a variety of possibilities, including pent-up demand for browsing via the BlackBerry and increased use of apps, rather than browsing, on Apple and Android devices, Elmer-DeWitt reports.

For more:
- see Philip Elmer-DeWitt's post at Fortune

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