700,000 Android devices now activated every day

700,000 Android devices now activated every day
Android - doesn't he look smug?

They're all about keeping it in the family over at Google, so it's no surprise that Andy Rubin took to Google+ to reveal that 700,000 Android devices are now being activated every day.

There was no messing about in his update, which simply read, "There are now over 700,000 Android devices activated every day."

He was then forced to clarify by nit-picking commenters, telling the cynics, "We count each device only once (ie, we don't count re-sold devices), and "activations" means you go into a store, buy a device, put it on the network by subscribing to a wireless service."

Keep your wig on

In May 2011, the company revealed that 400,000 Android handsets were being switched on per day, leading to a colossal 200 million handsets in total in November 2011.

It's been a big year for Android in other ways too, with the release of Ice Cream Sandwich set to bring tablets and smartphones in line, although only the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has yet managed to launch with the frosty new OS.

Ice Cream Sandwich will be the one to watch in early 2012 as it hits the plethora of new tablets we're expecting to see at CES 2012 – can the illusive iPad 3 compete? We'll find out in Q1.

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.