Google (NSDQ: GOOG) disclosed yesterday at its annual developer conference that there will be at least 18 Android phones and as many as 20 for sale by the end of the year, reports the NYTimes Bits blog.

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Andy Rubin, senior director for Mobile Platforms for Google, smartly disclosed the figures in front of a crowd of developers, who Google must woo if they want the operating system to have a wide variety of applications. Yesterday, the company said there’s about 5,000 apps available on the platform today, which is far less than the 35,000 available on the iPhone. With Android poised to have up to 20 devices—if not more—the platform becomes a lot more compelling for developers to prioritize.

The 18 to 20 Android devices are only the ones that Google knows are being made by the eight or nine different manufacturers that it is working with closely. Others, who are using a basic Android system, may also be working on devices without Google’s knowledge. Rubin said he expects carriers in Europe to be more aggressive at launching Android phones, than in the U.S., where carriers work harder to differentiate each handset.