Although the rivalry between Facebook and Google is already high, a new study from Appcelerator and the International Data Corporation (IDC) indicates some surprising results that will likely heat up the competition even further. The study, which surveyed, more than 2,000 mobile developers, found that 39 percent of developers plan to focus on Google initiatives instead of Facebook’s social graph this year.

Since this was a bit of shock to everyone, Michael King, Appcelerator’s principal mobile strategist, told us that the companies actually did a follow up survey to find out what was really happening. As he explained to WebProNews, developers think Google is better in terms of its network assets such as YouTube, search, maps, and Android. They also felt Google was better about engaging with them and offering guidance for how they should develop social applications for mobile.

King said that Facebook really needed to step up its efforts because, if not, Google could move ahead of it.

The study also found that developers have a smaller interest in Android apps, but that both HTML5 and cloud development are on the rise.

Do these results come as a surprise to you, or did you expect developers to gravitate toward Google instead of Facebook? Please share your thoughts.