Google has told the world today in its earnings call that according to their extensive (think world domination-y) statistics, there are around three billion Android apps currently installed on Android devices, as well as downloads rising by 50% from Q4 2010.
On top of this there are a staggering 350,000 Android devices being activated every day – no small feat for Google, who released this astonishing figure in the past week.
Just when you thought Google’s numbers couldn’t get any more impressive, the number of apps downloaded on competing Apple platforms has just reached and surpassed 10 billion this January. However, Android’s catching up fast, and looks like it’s not going to slow down any time soon.
The rate of acceleration of these figures is literally lightning fast, with the first billion installed apps taking 20 months, the second billion apps took an additional 5 months, and the third just two more months. Looking at these figures one could guess the fourth billion could take anywhere between two to four weeks.
It’s not just because of popularity, but also because of availability. There are currently many places you can buy Android apps, with Amazon making their debut into the market with their own Android marketplace a few weeks previously.
What isn’t clear is the proportion of paid apps sold to free apps sold on the platform, or more specifically, how much money Google has earned from these figures. According to our sources, more Android apps are free than those that cost money and generate revenue directly, but this figure doesn’t take into account ad revenue generated from free apps with ad bars, a whole different ball game.
So if you have an Android phone right now, you might just be part of a whole new movement with regards to who has the coolest phone. Keep it real Android bros.