[arron61]

Andy Rubin: "...and for those wondering, 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."

So it seems like a new device only.

[moocow01]

Does this take into account people who are upgrading to a new Android phone from an old one? If not it could really impact the metrics if one is looking at this as a measurement of new entrants into the Android ecosystem.

[Maxious]

This metric is used is because Apple uses it for their iOS devices in keynotes. Surely both platforms could use "app store accounts with their first device added" per day as a metric if they wanted to. And for Android, you'd want to know what version these activated devices are - no reason a 1.5 device couldn't still be activated today even if the app ecosystem has seemingly moved on.

[schraeds]

Apple also provides the number of iTunes accounts in existence (with credit cards and one-click purchase access) from time to time.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/02/apple-200-million-itunes-ac...

[jamesaguilar]

I wonder why they don't just use a word that people understand.

[arron61]

They don't sell the phones so they don't know how many are sold. The only count they have is all the activations that are coming from every new phone.

I don't think there can be a better measurement for them than this.

[vetinari]

Because if the used the word sold, the Internets would be full of people claiming, that the products were just hauled from factories to sellers warehouses, where they are sitting and not being bought by anyone.

[nextparadigms]

If it's a new device that is activated by the carrier, then it's a new "sold" device. So the numbers signify 700,000 Android devices sold per day.