• The Verge, Thursday, April 26, 2012 1:08 PM

While always trumpeted as a great success, Google has never disclosed Android’s financial performance -- until now. Back in 2010, with about 20 million Android-operated phones on the market (and a projected 40 million by the end of the year), Google expected to make some $278.1 million in revenue from Android -- made up of $158.9 million in mobile advertising and $3.8 million in app sales.

The numbers were included in a quarterly review presentation given on July 12, 2010 by Android chief Andy Rubin, but only just revealed during the ongoing patent trial between Oracle and Google. Regarding the 2010 data, The Verge writes: “That's a staggering gap between ads and app revenue, even accounting for the 70% of app revenue that goes to developers, and Google expected the delta to widen; the company forecast making $840.2m from Android mobile ads in 2012 vs just $35.9m on apps sales.”

Recognizing the issue in the quarterly report, Rubin listed: "Market: low rate of app purchases, policy issues" as a "lowlight" for Android. Worse still, Google also expected to boost related revenue with its music service, yet, as The Verge notes, “Google Music remains a consumer afterthought.”

Read the whole story at The Verge »