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Steve Jobs’ favorite analytics company, Flurry, has some interesting numbers that put app usage above web usage.

Today, however, a new platform shift is taking place.  In 2011, for the first time, smartphone and tablet shipments exceed those of desktop and notebook shipments (source: Mary Meeker, KPCB, see slide 7).  This move means a new generation of consumers expects their smartphones and tablets to come with instant broadband connectively so they, too, can connect to the Internet.

Yeah but those devices have web browsers…

Our analysis shows that, for the first time ever, daily time spent in mobile apps surpasses desktop and mobile web consumption.  This stat is even more remarkable if you consider that it took less than three years for native mobile apps to achieve this level of usage, driven primarily by the popularity of iOS and Android platforms.  Let’s take a look at the numbers.

But what if one of those apps is a web browser like Opera?  (via Business Insider.)

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The News Corp.-owned New York Post started blocking iPad readers who use Safari today.  Instead of showing content on the iPad, it gives a link to the NYPost App with the following statement:

Thanks for coming! NYPOST.com editorial content is now only accessible on the iPad through the New York Post App. If you are a current New York Post App subscriber, please visit the App Store and download the latest version to access NYPOST.com through the INDEX. If you are not a current New York Post App user and would like to subscribe, please download from theApp Store. Thank you.

Subscriptions run $6.99 per month, $39.99 for six months or $79.99 for the year, with no option for single-issue digital purchases.  News Corp also launched The Daily magazine earlier this year, the first Tablet-only daily magazine.

If the NYPost wasn’t total garbage anyway, I’d be upset.  Hopefully the backlash from this move discourages others from copying this game plan.

Interestingly, Skyfire and Opera Mini still work (below).

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TechCrunch continues their profiling of Facebook (once) secret projects with news that Zuckerberg and company plan a web-based alternative web store to Apple’s App Store for iOS devices.

Dubbed Project Spartan, the project is a framework for apps that would use social hooks and work inside of Facebook’s ecosystem.

As we understand it, Project Spartan is the codename for a new platform Facebook is on verge of launching. It’s entirely HTML5-based and the aim is to reach some 100 million users in a key place: mobile. More specifically, the initial target is both surprising and awesome: mobile Safari.

Yes, Facebook is about to launch a mobile platform aimed squarely at working on the iPhone (and iPad). But it won’t be distributed through the App Store as a native application, it will be entirely HTML5-based and work in Safari. Why? Because it’s the one area of the device that Facebook will be able to control (or mostly control).

Project Spartan will also be available on Android but according to TechCrunch, Facebook has Apple in its sights first.

As of right now, there are believed to be 80 or so outside developers working with Facebook on Project Spartan. These teams are working on apps for the platform that range from games to news-reading apps. Some of the names should be familiar: Zynga and Huffington Post (owned by our parent AOL), for example. The goal is to have these apps ready to roll in the next few weeks for a formal unveiling shortly thereafter.

‘Project Trojan’ sounds like a better name.

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iOS software head and frequent Apple Keynote presenter Scott Forstall got his Twitter account verified in July of last year.  That was right after the Apple-Ping-Facebook breakup (iOS Facebook integration was planned in late betas) and, with the benefit of hindsight, about the time Apple may have started getting the idea of Twitter integration.

He follows one account: Conan O’Brien’s, but has yet to send out his first tweet.

Two recent reports say that Apple will integrate Twitter into its iOS 5 as a low level, integrated service with “mediastream” integration.

Forstall will likely be on stage presenting what this Twitter integration will allow iOS users to do.  He may even send out his first Tweet.

Maybe SJobs gets a twitter account as well?  Nah.

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We’re watching a dizzying array of App announcements as new software hits the all-new Mac App Store, but here’s a special something from the team at Boxee, who are showing off their new Boxee iPad App at CES.

Here’s what Boxee (who today announced a new deal to offer video from CBS via their devices) had to say on the new app:
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Facebook welcomed an additional million iPhone owners on Christmas (Facebook for iPhone includes all iOS devices?).  In fact Apple had a pretty impressive December all together. via DF.

Facebook, who count 55,060,129 monthly active iOS app users, today updated their iPhone/iPod touch app with a few new features but mostly bug fixes, listed below:

– Improved reliability in chat and messages
– Improved notifications UI
– Fixed memory usage
– Fixed some crashes
– Walls you cannot post on no longer show the text field at the top
– Restore ability to post as a page that you admin
– Fixed group photos
– Various Places improvements

Is it silly to expect a iPad app at this point?

All 55 million of you, hit the App Store updates or head over here.

Screenies below…
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We knew Sony was launching an Android Playstation phone but it looks like some of that Sony love is floating over to the iOS side of the isle as well. Today, Sony announced a new App for iOS devices which will allow users to:

• Check out your PlayStation Network trophies and keep up to date with your friends’ games and online status.
• Discover all the latest games, news and hardware for your PlayStation 3, PSP and PlayStation 2.
• Read all the announcements on the European PlayStation.Blog.
• Share your favourite products or news with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or via e-mail.

Hey, wait a minute.  Can you actually play games with this?  It doesn’t appear that you can.

The Playstation app will be available for iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 4.x and above and in the following countries: UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and The Netherlands at launch and more next year (WTF, no USA USA USA?).  The app will be free.

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Good morning, while I apologize to our US readers as Spotify isn’t available in your area yet, for European 9to5Mac visitors news that Spotify has updated its applications for OS X, iPhone (and Windows) could be interesting.

The new version introduces the customary bug fixes, but also adds support for Mac media keys without interfering with iTunes. The new version also supports auto-play for all track links when clicked on from Twitter, Facebook, feed, etc. Existing users will see their install automatically updated in the coming days.

The big news is for iPhone users,
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Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s patent trolling lawsuit filed against Apple, Facebook, Google, YouTube and others has been dismissed by the courts.

“Plaintiff has failed to identify the infringing products or devices with any specificity,” wrote U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman in her order to dismiss. “The Court and Defendants are left to guess what devices infringe on the four patents.

Allen was claiming that the companies had violated four patents developed by Internal Research (a research firm he funded).
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Playlists allow you to share or create playlists with friends.  OK. (Thanks D. Jolesch!)

Check out how, below:

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