Android Chief Andy Rubin Reports 500,000 Device Activations Per Day

According to a tweet from Google’s head of Android Andy Rubin this morning, Android has eclipsed the 500,000-activation per day plateau.

If accurate, that is a significant number because it means that Android is gaining momentum heading into slower summer buying season and later into the back-to-school and holiday busy seasons. According to Rubin, Android activations are growing 4.4% week-to-week. Can the little green robot keep up the pace to maintain its leading marketshare?

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We reported from Google I/O in mid-May that Google had activated over 100 million Android devices worldwide with 36 original equipment manufacturers that had produced 310 Android devices in 112 countries. At the time Google was activating 400,000 Android devices daily.

The tweet by Rubin is a significant occurrence in and of itself. Android’s chief has a verified account with five tweets, despite have over 29,000 followers and being listed on over 1,700 lists. Rubin tweeted on Dec. 8, 2010 that Android was activating 300,000 devices per day.

According to Apple’s own numbers announced at the World Wide Developers Conference earlier this month, the company has activated over 200 million devices (25 million iPads).

The It Portal notes some numbers from Apple, reporting that the company was activating 366,000 iOS devices in Jan. 2011. That was before the Verizon iPhone was released, so the number is probably outdated by this time. Apple was activating 230,000 devices per day in Sept. 2010.

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