Three billion smartphone apps have been downloaded onto Google’s Android operating system, the company has claimed.

If true, it would represent extraordinary growth for the OS. Android reached its two billionth app download in February, according to previous claims from the company.

For such a jump to occur in the space of three months, over ten million Android apps would have to be downloaded per day.

It took Google 20 months to hit its first 1 billion installs on Android, then five months to hit 2 billion.

As of December 2010, Google said over 300,000 Android phones were being activated each day, up from 100,000 per day in May 2010.

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In a Google financial report, exec Jeff Huber offered an update:

"We're activating over 350,000 Android devices every day," he said.

"Android Market is taking off too. Over 3 billion apps have been installed, up 50 per cent in just the last quarter."

Android launched in October 2008.

Apple, by comparison, reached its 10 billionth iOS app download in January.