Google: 3 Billion Android Apps Installed

Google has announced that over three billion apps have been installed on devices running its Android mobile operating system.

The firm revealed the news during an earnings call yesterday, according to TechCrunch, when it also announced that downloads of apps during the first three months of 2011 were up 50 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

Google also said that 350,000 Android devices are activated worldwide every day. While declining to reveal how Android takeup is split internationally, Google said that it was performing especially well in the US, Japan, Korea and Europe.

Neither did it specify how many of the three billion apps were paid for, and how many for free, but the rate at which they are installed continues to rise. It took 20 months for the first billion installs, five months for the second billion and just two months to reach three billion. At that rate, four billion can’t be far away.

Android still lags some way behind Apple in this regard, with the iOS App Store passing ten billion downloads in January. As we reported in February, however, Android is now the most popular smartphone platform worldwide, with 33.3 million devices.

Source: TechCrunch