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Google activates 160k Android phones daily

by Sarah Griffiths on 24 June 2010, 15:51

Tags: Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)

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A day at the races

Google is activating 160,000 Android mobiles a day, demonstrating a significant take-up of the operating system and Android app Marketplace.

The search giant's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, told the Guardian 4.8 million Android phones are now activated monthly and he expects that number to grow. 

Google estimates around 100,000 Android mobiles were activated daily in May, indicating staggering sales growth of 60 percent a month.  The number of apps available to Android users has also increased to about 65,000 compared to 50,000 just one month ago.

Such dramatic take-up of the Android operating system has led Schmidt to compare it to Windows, but for mobiles. However, he avoided comparing Android's current market position to that of Apple's, which is currently struggling to meet demand for its iPhone 4, launched today.

Android has widened the market for applications, enabling developers to write apps designed to work on any Android handset and phone manufacturers to add their own apps too. This contrasts sharply with Apple's highly regulated App Store, which still leads the way in terms of the number of free and paid-for apps, boasting around 250,000 in total.

There is however speculation whether Android developers can cash-in on their application creations as well as Apple app wizards.  While Steve Jobs says Apple has paid out an amazing $1bn to developers of apps, Larva Labs, which develops applications for Android, estimated in the Guardian piece that Android developers have earned just $20m collectively.

 



HEXUS Forums :: 15 Comments

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Except it may not be…

The wording of the article is rather misleading as the 160K seems to based on extrapolating from the activation figure for a particular date in May and assuming a constant growth rate.

it may well be in the ball park, but it's rather misleading to report estimates as fact.

I know it's reported the same way in the Guardian article mentioned, but it only takes a minutes thought to actually report the news rather than just regurgitating what's been put out by Google's PR machine…
The battlefield for the Android Phones and iphones war is very much set. Other OS's need not bother turning up.

I think Android phone sales will over take Iphone sales very soon and won't take too long to over take the number of iphones sold.

Lets face it, there are many makes and models with Android at all different prices. All carry a variant of a brilliant os.

There is only one manufacture of the iphone (2 models, that only support the new os4) and they are very expensive…..

Apple - prepare to meet your demise - and its not Microsoft
Brewster0101
Apple - prepare to meet your demise - and its not Microsoft

Hardly. You can get an Android phone for £50. It would be very surprising if there weren't more phones shipped with Android than with iOS. Apple will carry on selling millions of iPhones for £500 each. It's dominant over Android at the higher end of the market and doesn't really care about anything else.
capt_cornflake
… the 160K seems to based on extrapolating from the activation figure for a particular date in May and assuming a constant growth rate.



I know it's reported the same way in the Guardian article mentioned…

Actually, based on the Guardian article, the 60% growth rate is based on the 160k activations figure, not the other way round:

The Guardian
Google is now activating 160,000 mobile phones using its Android software a day, equivalent to 4.8m a month, according to the company's chief executive, Eric Schmidt.

The number is also accelerating, having been put at 100,000 a day in the third week of May during Google's annual I/O conference, Schmidt said – indicating sales growth of 60% per month.

Now, to be objective both figures are issued from Google and we aren't provided with the evidence to back them up, but since it would be very easy for one of the market analysis companies to produce figures refuting those estimates I think Google will have made sure their estimates are pretty damn accurate…
Love it, moar please.