What do Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, Kit Kat, Lollipop and Marshmallow have in common? Two things as it happens – firstly these are all desserts and second, they are the names given to the consumer version of Android, starting at Android 1.6 Donut and moving up to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Each iteration included new features, for example Android 2.0 or 2.1 Eclair included integrated voice guided Google Navigation out of the box, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean introduced Google Now. This is Google Android’s tradition and the next version of Android is currently known as Android N: we don’t yet have a version number or a name for the next release of Android at the moment. Another of Google’s traditions is that the company will announce the full name a few weeks before the operating system is ready to be released, but for the next version as released in 2016, it appears Google are mixing things up a little. This time around, Google are asking the Internet for a suggested name.
The current Internet favorite name is “Nutella,” although of course this is a brand name much like Android 4.4 KitKat. Google are clearly open to suggestions, which is perhaps either because the company is wanting to generate interest in the next iteration of Android or maybe even because Google approached Ferrero SpA, Nutella’s owner and manufacturer, but were rebuffed? At this juncture we simply do not know why Google has opened up the naming idea to the Internet at large in the form of a contest, nor do we know the exact details other than Dave Burke, Vice President of Engineering at Google, confirmed that the company has reserved the right to pick the final name. We also understand that Google ran a poll to pick a name for the next version of Android with “Napoleon,” “Nougat” and “Nori” as being amongst the top three names.
At the present time, Google have not announced where and how it will run the contest but as and when this story breaks, we will let you know. If you have a brilliant potential new name for Android N, keep your eyes peeled!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1IocBl_5UM