With Jelly Bean 4.3 almost a shoo-in for a late July arrival, the Android guessing game now shifts to version 5.0 or Key Lime Pie - when is the definite release date or which gadget gets to chew in the upgrade first.

Top handset contenders abound and for some analysts the logical choice would be the Moto X since the smartphone's maker, Motorola, is a Google-owned company.

But the avalanche of specs defining what the Moto X strongly suggests that it is a mid-range device geared for the price-sensitive market. For sure, Google would want to show off the capabilities of its answer to Apple's iOS 7 with a handset oozing with power and sex appeal.

The strongest candidate within the Android block would be the Galaxy Note 3 that Samsung will reportedly unleash on September 4. It's almost certain that right out of the box, the large-screen smartphone would strut away with Jelly Bean 4.3.

Viewed, however, as a minor Android jump, this Jelly Bean sweet will be quickly replaced by KLP sometime in October and November and the likelihood is, it will be the 5.7-inch Note 3 which will display the sheer power lumped with the full fifth Android version.

As new reports indicated this week that Samsung will release its third phablet offering in numerous builds, it is not remote that one of them is the Galaxy Note 3 Google Edition or as some Android watchers would love to call as the Nexus-flavoured Note 3 clad in vanilla Android.

This sort of Samsung-Google collaboration we have seen in the Galaxy S4 Google Edition so doing it twice in a year is not too remote at all.

And to further deepen the 'friendship' between the two tech giants, it is possible too that the GS4 will become the first branded Android handset to boasts off having Jelly Bean 4.3 inside its system, beating even the Moto X that will not be out until August or September this year.

In fact, the GS4 already sports the sweet vanilla that is the Android 4.3, courtesy of the Google Play Store that started taking orders (initially for U.S. customers only) on June 26. Actual use of the Nexus-centric Samsung flagship for average buyers should happen in the immediate weeks and even days ahead.

It is only a matter of time before the already circulating GS4s will absorb the new Jelly Bean menu, which experts would likely happen before or after the Note 3 release date. Expect Samsung to put notice of this important upgrade in conjunction with the Unpacked Event it plans for Sept 4.

As for the Galaxy S3, it took some time for the former Samsung to access the latest Jelly Bean and the same scenario should be replicated for this year's bump up. The safest best for 4.3 to hit the GS3 is Q4 2013, the earliest, with the unlocked versions grabbing the upcoming Google cooked-up first.