Andy Rubin Claims 300,000 Daily Android Activations

Google Android creator Andy Rubin said on 8 December that there are now 300,000 Android phones being activated each day.

The stat, which Rubin delivered during a rare tweet late on Wednesday, came two days after Rubin reiterated at D: Dive into Mobile that Google was seeing more than 200,000 activations of Android smartphones each day. Rubin’s tweet was seconded by Android developer Dan Morrill.

Google’s count of Android activations has been vociferously challenged by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who skewered Google’s claims of Android being open and sporting 200,000 daily activations in October.

Jobs countered that Apple is seeing 275,000 daily activations of devices based on iOS, including the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Gadget wars

Apple sold more than 14 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, but Android handsets are also flying off shelves at a more modest clip of 9 or 10 million per month.

ComScore said Android market share comprises 23.5 percent of US smartphone sales, trailing Apple at 24.6 percent and RIM at 35. 8 percent.

Strong sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S devices and Motorola Droid X and Droid 2 have carried Android, with Samsung recently taking the crown of top Android handset seller in the US from Motorola.

Samsung has shipped more than 3 million Galaxy S devices since the Vibrant, Captivate, Epic 4G, Fascinate and Mesmerize launched this past summer.

Samsung is set to roll out the Nexus S Android 2.3 device on 16 December from T-Mobile and Best Buy. The device is equipped with a NFC (near field communications) chip that could facilitate sensor-based mobile payments.

Moreover, Android phone users are proving super hungry for data, downloading applications and doing other things with their gadgets besides making calls, according to Arieso.

Android on Nokia?

At Dive into Mobile, Rubin also hinted that he had discussions with Nokia, prompting speculation that a deal is in the works to get Android on smartphones from the world’s top handset maker.

“The company has new leadership [referring to CEO Stephen Elop]. They are evaluating lots of alternatives. I’m open-minded and a big proponent of Android.”

Rubin also unveiled a prototype Motorola tablet based on the Android 3.0, or Honeycomb build. Both the tablet and OS build will appear in 2011.