A new report released by AdMob today, whose acquisition by Google was approved by the FTC not long ago, is reporting that three-fourths of all unique Android devices reside in North America. The report also notes that China comes in at second place, with 8% of all Android devices, followed by the UK with 3%, while France and Germany tied with 2%.
An important observation is made by Androinica when they mention the lack of public knowledge and the difference in the number of devices between the North American and European markets. I have noticed this myself when trying to explain to people back in the States and in Germany what Android is.
Androinica also points out that "The lack of the Android Market, paid apps, language localization, and accessible channels to purchase new phones make Andy less desirable in Latina America. However, Google said that they will soon increase efforts to encourage Android adoption in Latina America."
AndroidCentral writes that "in the United States, the iPhone has about 10.7 million devices, and Android makes up 8.7 million. (If you count the iPod Touch along with the iPhone, Apple's share jumps to 18.3 million.)"
Finally, an important thing to remember about AdMob's research is that, as they point out, you should "Keep in mind that these unique device numbers are from the AdMob network only and reflect the adoption of our products and business operations. We don’t know what percentage of the total universe of iPhone and Android devices AdMob reaches. However we believe the data is useful on a relative basis given the large sample size of devices in our network."
Other Sources: AndroidCentral, Androinica
Image from AdMob
Peter Long
Interesting data. You'd think Asia would have a bigger share