Android has received a bad rep lately for being a petri dish for malware. Yes, you can install any app you want on your smartphone, that’s what makes Android such a great platform. Just make sure you know what you’re installing and you won’t have any problems.

Some people don’t understand all that, so they install every app widget and skin possible on their phone and are shocked when their beautiful handset mutates into a deranged monster hell bent on world domination. In their newest marketing campaign, Microsoft wants to hear all about Android users’ most vile and gruesome malware horror stories, and if it’s entertaining enough they might give you a free phone too.

Apple’s iPads, including the new iPad mini, have become the most successful tablets every built. Almost three years after Steve Jobs introduced the original iPad, the device continues to be the king of slates, with more than half of the tablet market share. That hasn’t changed much in 2012, but Android tablets have slowly been eating away at its market share, and it may not be long before they dominate.

When you combine all the titles in Apple’s App Store with those in Google Play, you have a catalog of more than 1.4 million apps from hundreds of thousands of developers. But incredibly, more than 50% of the revenue made by these stores in the United States goes to just 25 app developers.

Samsung continues to do well in the U.S.

Samsung has once again taken the top spot for mobile market share in the United States after attracting more than a quarter of mobile subscribers. The Korean company claimed 26.3% of the market as of October 2012, but rival Apple is quickly catching up. The iPhone maker saw the highest level of growth among cellphone manufacturers, and managed to overtake LG to take second place.

During a roundtable session at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, world-renowned entrepreneur Elon Musk gave his opinions and impressions on a number of topics. Issues ranging from sustainable energy to planet colonization were bounced off the brain of Mr. Musk. As the man behind multiple $50 billion companies shared his insight, the billion dollar question was asked: “Who will come out on top: Apple, Microsoft, Google, or Facebook?”