SUNNYVALE, Calif. — More than half a million Android devices are being activated each day, according to Google vice president of engineering Andy Rubin.
A tweet by Rubin today said, "There are now over 500,000 Android devices activated every day," and that the number is growing 4.4 percent week-to-week.
It was not clear how many of the devices are smartphones or tablets.
The announcement follows last December’s tweet from Rubin in which he said that daily Android phone activations passed the 300,000 mark.
Recent reports said Android smartphones have surpassed Apple's iPhone in popularity as the Google software powers the main handsets of manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC and Motorola.
These companies have also developed tablets using Android software in order to compete with Apple’s iPad.
An IDC report said that Android will capture about 40 percent of the market in the second half of 2011 thanks to a growing list of “significant” vendors who have adopted the Google platform as part of their strategies. This number is predicted to grow to 43.8 percent by 2015.
IDC also predicted that the Windows Phone will be the second-most popular mobile platform in 2015, surpassing the iPhone.