Christmas Day Android, iOS activations up 353%

People getting new mobile devices downloaded more Android OS and iOS than ever before

The world is going mobile. If you need proof, look no further than the Christmas Day stats for iOS and Android activations. Christmas Day is always a big day for mobile OS activations, as many people are opening gifts and finding shiny new mobile devices with their names on them. But this year exceeded all expectations.

For instance, iOS and Android activations for the first 20 days of December ranged between 1.3 and 1.8 million downloads per day, averaging at about 1.5 million. However on Christmas day, mobile activations for iOS and Android skyrocketed 353% according to Flurry Analytics, for an average of 6.8 million.

Compare that to Christmas Day 2010, which saw 2.8 million devices activated.

The record-breaking rate at which apps were downloaded in 2011, on both iOS and Android, is an even greater indication of the huge growth in the mobile market. Google's Android Market app store tripled its business in 2011, hitting a high water mark of 10 billion apps total since the store opened.

Then again, Apple's App Store clocked in 10 billion apps downloaded in 2011 alone, which is more apps downloaded than those from 2008, 2009, and 2010 combined.

Interestingly, an hour-by-hour breakdown of the number of mobile apps downloaded during Christmas day showed that they were at high volume from 8:00AM through midnight, maintaining a steady rate between 14 and 15 million per hour for about nine hours. Other days in December saw a peak during "prime time," in the hours between 7:00PM and 10:00PM.

Flurry Analytics indicated that it foresees high number of mobile operating systems downloads throughout the new year, possibly totaling 1 billion.

The stats are an aggregate of iOS and Android, but as we've recently reported how the two stacked against each other in some interesting ways. In 2011, Android beat Apple handily in terms of mobile ad impressions, but iOS was the undisputed king of e-commerce. But that all may change when Google releases their new tablet in the next six months. And who can predict how Facebook's new smart phone may factor in to the mix?

[Image Credit: Flurry Analytics]