In a manoeuvre that calls to mind Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, internet giant Google has revealed that the next version of its Android mobile OS will be called KitKat. While insisting no money is changing hands with Nestlé, the food company plans to deliver more than 50m chocolate bars featuring the Android robot mascot to 19 markets worldwide.
The decision to name the OS KitKat has come as a surprise, as many expected the next version of Android 4.4 to be called Key Lime Pie.
The new OS was named KitKat because the chocolate bar is favourite snack among Google staff. Previous versions of Android have been called Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo (frozen yoghurt), Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean.
The 50m special Android KitKat bars will be launched in 19 markets, including the US, UK, Brazil, Germany, Russia and Japan, and will direct consumers to a website where they can win prizes such as Google Nexus 7 devices or credit for the Google Play Store.
Android reaches 1bn activations
In a note on his Google+ account, Google senior vice-president responsible for Android, Chrome and Google Apps Sundar Pichai revealed an important milestone for the mobile OS.
“All this Android innovation is driving tremendous ecosystem momentum and I’m excited to share that together we’ve now passed 1bn Android device activations.
Huge thanks to the entire Android community from the hardware manufacturers, chip makers and carriers to the developers and content creators to all of you – our Android users around the world – for making this possible,” Pichai said.
