300M devices now run Android, 450k apps in Market

No matter what your thoughts on Android might be, you can’t deny that it’s done a pretty good job in a couple of very important metrics when it comes to gauging a mobile OS’ success: getting onto devices and having a big app store.

The latest figures, announced at Mobile World Congress today, only underscore how quickly the OS has grown.

According to Android founder and Google SVP, Mobile and Digital Content Andy Rubin, there are now some 300-million devices around the globe running Android, and the Android Market is now home to around 450 000 apps.

Those 300-million devices reportedly represent a year-on-year growth rate of more than 250%. “850,000 new Android devices are activated each day,” said Rubin.

The Android Market has also seen some pretty phenomenal growth if Rubin’s claims are to be believed:

“Last year at Mobile World Congress (MWC), we announced that there were more than 150,000 apps in Android Market. That number tripled to more than 450,000 apps today, with over one billion app downloads happening every month,” he said.

“Think about the astonishing number of songs Shazam’ed, places Qype’ed and foursquare mayorships!” he added.