Google's chief Android guru Andy Rubin says that some 300,000 Android phones are being activated every day, jumping up from a claimed 200,000-unit activation figure cited by Rubin only recently. Meanwhile a Frost & Sullivan analyst is questioning the claim.

Google's Android creator Andy Rubin (pictured) said Dec. 8 that there are now 300,000 Android phones being activated each day. The stat, which Rubin delivered via a rare tweet late Wednesday, came two days after he reiterated at the D: Dive into Mobile event that Google was seeing more than 200,000 activations of Android smartphones each day.

Rubin's tweet was seconded by Android developer Dan Morrill. (Both tweets have apparently since been removed.)

In October, Google's count of Android activations were vociferously smacked down by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who skewered Google's claims of Android being open and sporting 200,000 daily activations. At the time, Jobs countered that Apple is seeing 275,000 daily activations of devices based on iOS, including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

This time it's Frost & Sullivan analyst Michael Jude who questioned the claim, according to TG Daily. Skeptical that activations had grown so quickly in just a few months, Jude suggested that Rubin's 300K figure "may represent the number of phones being shipped from manufacturers, many of which end up in warehouses rather than in people's pockets," says the story. However, no solid proof was presented to rebuke Rubin's claim.

ComScore recently estimated that Android market share makes up 23.5 percent of U.S. smartphone sales, trailing Apple, at 24.6 percent, and RIM, at 35. 8 percent. Strong sales of Samsung's Galaxy S devices and Motorola Droid X and Droid 2 have carried Android, with Samsung recently grabbing the crown as top Android handset seller in the U.S. from Motorola, said ComScore. 

Samsung is said to have shipped more than three million Galaxy S devices since the Vibrant, Captivate, Epic 4G, Fascinate, and Mesmerize launched this past summer. Samsung is set to roll out the Nexus S Android 2.3 device (pictured) Dec. 16 from T-Mobile and Best Buy. The device is equipped with an NFC (near field communication) chip that could facilitate sensor-based mobile payments.

Moreover, Android phone users are proving super-hungry for data, downloading applications and doing other things with their gadgets in addition to making calls, according to a study by software maker Arieso.

At Dive into Mobile, Rubin also hinted that he had discussions with Nokia, prompting speculation that a deal is in the works to get Android on smartphones from the world's top handset maker. Rubin also unveiled a prototype Motorola tablet based on the Android 3.0, or Honeycomb build. Both the tablet and OS build will appear in 2011.

Android surges as Gmail and YouTube apps updated

In other news, Google released updates for its Gmail and YouTube applications for Android, with Gmail gaining Priority Inbox message management access. The YouTube app, meanwhile, has gained more desktop-like features including a new full-screen user interface.

In related eWEEK Android coverage, ten reasons are cited for Android's phenomenal growth, including widespread carrier support, and devoted developer and power user communities. 

Clint Boulton is a writer for our sister publication eWEEK.

This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.