So just how many smartphones, tablets and other devices are running some version of Google"s Android operating system? Google CEO Larry Page announced today during Google"s quarterly conference call with financial analysts that, "The growth of Android is mindboggling too--over 190M devices have now been activated globally." Page posted his remarks on his Google+ page today. He added, "We’re also seeing hugely positive revenue impact from mobile, which has grown 2.5X in the last 12 months to a run rate of over $2.5 billion."
The amount of money from mobile revenue is even more remarkable when you consider the fact that Google doesn"t actually generate any money from the Android OS itself. Instead, it gets its money from the ads that are seen by all the people that use Android based phones.
Page also briefly mentioned the upcoming launch of Android 4.0, otherwise known as Ice Cream Sandwich. Page said he was "super excited" about the updated version of the OS, adding, "You won’t believe what we managed to get done in this release."
Speaking of which, the delayed press event that"s being co-hosted by Google and Samsung has now officially been rescheduled for Wednesday, October 19. The event, which is now being held in Hong Kong, was first scheduled for a couple of days ago but Samsung and Google decided to delay the announcement out of respect for the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs. It is highly likely that this event will be the first official announcement of an Android 4.0-based smartphone.