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Froyo running on 61 percent of Android devices

Android 2.2 holds a sizable lead in the Android ecosystem, according to data on the platform's developer page reflecting the first two weeks of March.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
2 min read
Froyo is easily besting other Android versions.
Froyo is easily besting other Android versions. Android.com

Android 2.2 Froyo is far and away the most used version of the mobile operating system, a developer page has revealed.

According to data that Google compiled over the 14-day period ended March 15, Froyo was running on 61.3 percent of all the devices that accessed the Android Market. It was followed by Android 2.1 Eclair with 29.0 percent share. Android 1.6 Donut and Android 1.5 Cupcake accounted for 4.8 percent and 3.0 percent of the market, respectively. The recently released Android 3.0 Honeycomb nabbed just 0.2 percent market share.

Admittedly, the market share figures on the developer page are not an exact science, since not all devices in the wild accessed the Android Market in that time. However, it's arguably one of the best measures available to determine the popularity of Android platform versions. Moreover, when compared to previous findings, it helps show a trend.

And for now, it seems that the trend is playing into Froyo's favor. Back in January, the findings on the Android developer page revealed that Android 2.2 had 51.8 percent market share. Android 2.1 accounted for 35.2 percent.

Regardless of which version is most popular, Android continues to be a big winner in the smartphone sector.

Earlier this month, research firm ComScore revealed that Android had become the most popular smartphone platform in the United States during the three-month period ended January 31. The company said the operating system was running on 31.2 percent of smartphones during that period, just besting RIM's 30.4 percent market share. Android's subscriber gains were up 7.7 percent over the previous quarter, while RIM's figures dropped by 5.4 percent.

Apple proved to be the third-most-popular OS provider during the period, at 24.7 percent.