Android 4.4 OS Version is Kit Kat, Not Key Lime Pie (VIDEOS & PHOTOS)

Google announced on Wednesday that the next version of its Android OS, the Android 4.4, will be called Kit Kat, not Key Lime Pie as earlier speculated.

Sundar Pichai, Android chief, said in a Google+ post that Android has licensed the name from Nestle which manufactures a chocolate brand known for its wafer filling. It is the first time that Google opted for a branded name since it the past it named its OS after generic food items such as Éclair, Jelly Bean and Ice Cream Sandwich.

Mr Pichai said that neither Google nor Nestle spent money on the deal. John Lagerling, Android director of global partnerships, explained the decision to ditch Key Lime Pie in favor of Kit Kat when it "realized that very few people actually know the taste of a key lime pie." In contrast, Kit Kat's flavour is more familiar to programmers than the Key Lime Pie, although it is the official state pie of Florida.

He disclosed that the deal was finalised at a secret meeting in the earlier part of 2012 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, hence there was no leak at all of the OS name change.

The deal would translate into Nestle shipping over 50 million real chocolate bars Kit Kat with the Android brand on its in 19 countries to help spread the new OS name.

The promo gives buyers of the Android-branded chocolate bars an opportunity to win Android items such as a Nexus 7 and Google Play credit.

In the same Google+ post, Mr Pichai disclosed that Android has passed 1 billion activations.