Google"s Android operating system is pretty much everywhere you go in the smartphone and tablet world with a large number of devices from many different manufacturers. Today The Verge reports that during Google"s press event (where it revealed its Google Music service), the company announced that the number of Android-based device has jumped up considerably in just a few months. In May Google said that "just" 100 million Android devices had been activated worldwide. Today that number has doubled with over 200 million Android devices now officially activated.
These numbers compare very well with Apple"s iOS devices. In October, Apple said it sold a total of 250 million iOS products since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007. Anyway you look at it the iOS and Android mobile operating systems are the two dominant forces in the smartphone industry. It also means that app developers have two huge audiences for their creations.
Since Android activations have doubled in just six months, one wonders how many will be activated in the next six month time period, especially since Samsung is about to release the first Android 4.0 smartphone, the Galaxy Nexus. Meantime Apple is still having issues with keeping iPhone 4S units in stock. Barring a massive economic disaster (which isn"t out of the question) we could see the iOS and Android audience expand even faster in the next year.