A little background -
On Google revenue -
First Android revenue numbers revealed: $278.1m in 2010, iPhone more lucrative | The Verge
Looking past the title, you'll find -
... 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.
Who Google's Android partners are -
Open Handset Alliance
Google is closing in on making a billion US dollars per year on Android. It dominates the smartphone market by a good margin, and it's partners are making quite a bit on hardware.
It's superiority to Apple comes down to one simple factor - Android is all about choice.
Consumers can access advanced smartphone features on a wide range of hardware, covering all price points and hardware features, and it represents a class of operating system software, customized by each hardware manufacturer to add features and therefore perceived value.
Until this last year, there was a single iPhone. Now there are a line of three, courtesy of ongoing production of two older models at reduced prices.
Beware of app sale comparisons. Many of the must-have Apple app functions are built in to Android for free.
Choice is, without a doubt, the major driver for Android success. Add to that that the range of choices include all popular user demands in a smartphone included right out of the box. It's nearly an irresistible choice as either an impulse purchase or a planned personal communications and computing investment.
And smartphones are outselling PCs.
Anyway, maybe some of that can be useful to you.
Best luck on your dissertation!