EU Commission Chooses iPhone, HTC over BlackBerry (AAPL, RIMM)

The European Union Commission rejected Research in Motion's RIMM BlackBerry in favor of Apple's AAPL iPhone and HTC smartphones, a spokesman said Wednesday. According to a Reuters report, "The EU's executive arm, which employs more than 32,000 people, reviewed its choice of smartphone against a number of criteria, including security and financial impact, when it deployed a new technology platform in 2008." The announcement comes amid renewed government security worries over the BlackBerry. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have plans to cut select BlackBerry services after talks with Research in Motion failed to produce a mutual agreement. "Following this evaluation, the HTC and the iPhones emerged at the most suitable platforms for voice/mail-centric mobile devices. As a result, the Commission currently supports these two platforms," the spokesman wrote in an email. Shares of Apple are slightly higher today, to $262.77. Research in Motion stock is down more than 3% Wednesday, to $53.74.