Android crushes iPhone, makes Google $5 billion

Only a few years ago, Apple's (AAPL) iPhone clearly ruled the smartphone roost. Recently, it's been clear that Android has taken over. Google (GOOG) just released, as it periodically has, its most current claim of Android activiations: 700,000 a day. To save you the trouble, that's 255.5 million units a year. To be reasonable, that's the current rate, not historic, so it's not as though that many Android devices will sell in 2011. However, they will next year -- and the number doesn't include anywhere near all the Android devices shipping. Google is starting to leave Apple in the dust, and the unit success casts great doubt on whether Microsoft's (MSFT) strategy on Windows Phone has even the faintest prayer of succeeding. Oh, and Google is likely also making a bundle on its "free" product -- about $5 billion by a reasonable estimate.