Google Catching Apple … Fast!

Google CEO Eric Schmidt today announced that the number of mobile handsets shipping with its Android OS has already reached 60,000 per day. The first Android phone was made available in the 4th quarter of 2008. In about a year, Google has already reached the equivalent of 5.4million phones per quarter. It took Apple 3 years to reach that rate of distribution. Looking at it a different way, from a standing start and in 12 months, Google’s Android is shipping at around 62% of the most recently reported rate of Apple’s iPhone.

Some are even saying that Google makes more profit on each of its Nexus One handsets than Apple makes on an iPhone.

Given the extremely rapid rate of growth of the Android platform, and the fact that several manufacturers will introduce Android handsets this year, it is entirely conceivable that Android begins to grab market share faster than the iPhone and usurp its dominance.

As I’ve been saying to anyone that will listen since I unwrapped my Nexus One (sorry guys!) I firmly believe that Google’s Android will do what Microsoft did to Apple with Windows when PCs first took off. In my opinion Apple need to take some radical steps to ensure its future dominance … but given their track record I don’t believe they will. When I say radical, I mean allow other manufacturers to install Apple’s mobile OS.

Eric Schmidt also confirmed that Google’s priority is now mobile. The smartphone sector is expecting massive growth over the next 3-4 years and Google wants to ensure it has significant market share. The stock market analysts have still not worked out how much this will benefit Google’s revenue figures and so Google stock remains cheap (in my opinion) at ~$540.

Your move Apple (better make it quick).