To ring in the first day of Mobile World Congress, Google revealed some new statistics about how far its Android mobile operating system has come. Close to a million Android devices are activated every day, the company says, and there are now 450,000 apps in the Android Market.
The news comes straight from Google’s head of Android, Andy Rubin, who posted the stats on the Google Mobile Blog this morning. With 850,000 devices activated daily, Android is already 150,000 devices above the count from December, and the number represents year-over-year growth of 250%, according to the post. The estimated total of android devices in the world is now a staggering 300 million, Rubin says.
About a year ago Google had just 150,000 apps in the Android Market, but today it says there are 450,000. That’s impressive growth, but the platform still hasn’t caught up with Apple, whose iOS App Store boasts 550,000 apps officially, though some estimates go as high as 725,000. However, Android is clearly miles ahead of other rivals like Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace (65,000) or BlackBerry App World (60,000).
Although the official count of Android apps is high, it bears reminding that Google counts wallpapers and “lite” versions of apps as separate apps. Microsoft, for one, says it doesn’t count such apps when tallying its count for its Windows Phone Marketplace.
Android’s rapid growth has a well-known price: fragmentation. With so many different devices — phones, tablets and now even gear like TVs — running Android, it’s difficult for users to know when, or even if a specific device will get an update. The latest version, Android 4.0 aka “Ice Cream Sandwich,” is intended to mitigate fragmentation somewhat but obviously it only applies to devices that ship with the OS.
Rubin also made comments about Google and tablets while at Mobile World Congress. The Verge reports that Rubin said Google plans to “double down” on tablets in 2012, making reference to the lukewarm reception Android tablets got in the marketplace in 2011. In a meeting with reporters, Rubin said the 12 million Android tablets sold thus far was “not insignificant, but less than I’d expect it to be if you really want to win.”
What’s your take on the state of Android? Unstoppable platform that will continue to dominate, or fragmented mess of an OS that needs tighter control? Sound off in the comments.via[mashable]
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