Android handset makers are racing to serve first the latest Android flavour, Key Lime Pie, and the likelihood is Sony will beat them to the draw, a new report said.

While Android watchers are assuming that the upcoming Nexus 5, Nexus 7 version 2 or the Motorola X-Phone will enjoy the distinction of flashing Android 5.0 in advance, Google, it appears, is playing it fair.

At Android handset manufacturers' disposal is the Android PDK, courtesy of the internet search giant, which in theory allows these tech firms to deploy platform upgrades with minimal or no delay at all.

Now, why Sony seems to enjoy an unprecedented edge? According to Gotta Be Mobile, the Japanese was given an access to the Android 5.0 PDK tools. The same report, however, was not clear if the same privilege was extended too to other device makers or if Sony was simply given some lead time.

Regardless, it now up to Sony to score a coup on the situation. The company can probably ramp up efforts by its enginners to re-configure the KLP for its latest gadget releases that is headlined by the Xperia Z.

While not generating the same intense attention commanded by it rival Android flagships - the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 - the Xperia Z has so far attracted considerable enough sales figures that counts it as Sony's first major Android hit.

And the same goes with the latest Xperia tablet lines.

KLP, analysts said, will be unveiled at the Google I/O Developers Conference next month but it could be months before the new platform is actually pushed out on Android handsets.

The top Android devices to date, the HTC One and the GS4, are not expected to chew in the KLP upgrade in the immediate weeks after its introduction. It could take several months, especially in Samsung's case.

The South Korean tech titan will likely use Key Lime Pie first on its new phablet, the Galaxy Note 3, before it dispatches KLP for the delight of global GS4 users. The earliest that the Galaxy S4 can get Android 5.0 is Q4 2013, experts said.

As for HTC, the chance is high for the One to embrace KLP a bit sooner given that the Taiwanese firm is on a rush mode to recover this year. It definitely could use the advantage of providing more advanced software features, courtesy of Google's latest Android incarnation.