While Android shows fairly impressive growth-- with WW Android devices reaching 500000 daily (at least that's what Google's Andy Rubin tweets)-- the platform is losing developer support to Apple iOS, according to Flurry.
As one can see in the chart comparing project starts on iOS and Android, new Android projects are down from Q1 2011's 36% to Q2 2011's 28%.
Meanwhile new iOS projects are on the rise, with iPhone/iPod Touch projects up from 54% (Q1 2011) to 57% (Q2 2011) and iPad projects up from Q1 2011's 10% to Q2 2011's 15%.
This is a change of preference from 2010, where Android support was on a steady rise-- reaching a peak of 39% in Q4 2010.
Why such a decline? Flurry offers 2 probable causes.
One is the iPad 2's launch further luring developers away from building for Android as they follow the money (and where customers' preferences appear to be going). Google's app store is also still in need of further improvement, and Flurry says Google Checkout adoption is "critical to its success".
The lack of a unified consumer payment system for Google invites 3rd party competition-- and the billing fragmentation that comes with it.
The second reason is US related-- the iPhone's launching on Verizon.
Go iPad 2 and Verizon iPhone Take Some Wind Out of Android's Sail