The latest platform distribution numbers from Google show that legacy versions of Android are beginning to diminish, but they still make up a significant part of active devices (40%). Most of the recent phones to launch are now shipping with Android 2.1, but there are several older handsets that have yet to be upgraded to Android 2.x.

The main offending handsets in the U.S. to run outdated versions of Android are found on T-Mobile. The Motorola CLIQ is still on Android 1.5 while the G1 and myTouch 3G are currently running Android 1.6. Motorola expects to upgrade the CLIQ to Android 2.1 sometime in Q3 and the future of the G1 and myTouch 3G are still up in the air.

When I recently spoke with a head representative from T-Mobile (at the Galaxy S event), I asked him why his company was so slow to upgrade their handsets or at least make their upgrade plans public. He responded that software upgrades were still being planned, but T-Mobile didn’t want to announce any distribution schedule for fear they may miss the target date and upset customers (too late for that haha). I also asked about the “No phones left behind” pledge and he told me that only applied to the myTouch Slide.

Devices with Android 2.2 are now registering on the platform versions chart at 3.3%. Only the Nexus One has officially received Android 2.2, but many hacked devices have installed a custom ROM that is based off the latest firmware. For example, 18% of Android users that access our site are now running FroYo.

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