Almost 3 percent of Android devices have been upgraded to run the new ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ (ICS) version of the platform, according to new figures published on the Android developer blog.

The data is based on the number of Android devices that have accessed Google Play (the former Android Market) within a 14-day period ending 2 April. The 2.9 percent share for ICS (version 4.0.x) is up from 0.6 percent at the end of last year, and not far behind the share for the previous tablets-focused ‘Honeycomb’ (3.x) release on 3.3 percent. 

However, the most dominant Android iteration by far is ‘Gingerbread’ (2.3.x), which accounted for 63.7 percent of devices. ‘Froyo’ (2.2), its predecessor, accounted for 23.1 percent of the total.

In a note to developers, Android said that the information can be used to “help you understand the landscape of device distribution and decide how to prioritise the development of your application features for the devices currently in the hands of users.”

ICS became available at the end of last year and is currently being upgraded on major Android-based smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S II and the HTC Sensation.