Tablets, smartphones and gadgets, oh my! There are many wars and battles and competitions going on this year amongst the gadgets. It seems every week a new report is being issued about who is in the lead in regards to tablets and smartphones. Today, however, research firm Nielsen is saying that Android OS is at the top of all operating systems.

According to their findings, Android is in the lead at 29 percent ahead of RIM BlackBerry and Apple iOS, who, as it seems, appear to be at a tie with 27 percent a piece. Of the three, Android appeals most to a younger audience.

Despite the findings, Apple and RIM are the only two that manufacture smartphones that run entirely on their own platforms while Android is available on multiple devices.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek is reporting that software engineers who can work on apps using Google's Android mobile-operating system are in greater demand on online job board Dice.com than those who work on apps for the iPhone.

"Any place that's going to hire developers of apps has to have Android as well as iPhone," says Alice Hill, managing director of Dice. "It's just as important, and it's something they have to support."

Research firm Canalys also found that Android was the best-selling smartphone platform last year despite it being behind in total apps compared to Apple. The demand for Android programmers is evident, as their total number of apps is at 120,000 compared to Apple’s 250,000 programs.

Android has graduated from its smartphone platform and broke through this year with its 3.0 offering, Honeycomb, which was specifically designed for tablets. The newly launched Motorola Xoom was the first tablet to offer the newest in Android’s OS.

Honeycomb features much of its popular smartphone capabilities on a larger screen such as refined multi-tasking, notifications and access to over 100,000 apps on Android Market. The home screen customization offers a new 3D experience and the redesigned widgets are reported to be richer and more interactive.