There were a lot of statistics thrown around at Apple's press-event last night, especially when it came to the popularity of iOS devices. However, the latest numbers from NetMarketshare show that it could be more than just bravado.
The stats show that, for the month of August, hardware running iOS represented over 1.1 per cent of all unique internet-connected devices. This was, for the second month running, significantly more than all systems running Linux-based operating systems combined - including Android.
With the recent launch - and resounding success - of both the iPad and iPhone 4, it's no surprise that Apple's mobile OS is gaining market share so rapidly. The stats obviously include the iPod touch as well, significantly increasing the size of the user base.
Of course, Android is also gaining users, and accounted for 0.2 per cent of all devices, or around one quarter of the total Linux-market. However, with many upcoming tablets expected to run on Google's OS, its market share could grow exponentially as we head towards the end of the year. Even so, it will take quite a while before Android manages to eclipse Apple's well-established platform.
As ever, these statistics should be taken with a certain amount of scepticism. Between limited sample-sizes and margins of error, a 0.3 per cent difference could be largely negligible. None the less, the rapid growth of iOS does speak to the incredible popularity of Apple's mobile devices.
