GLOBAL, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 – In exchange for zero dollars (that’s right, nothing), Nestle is lending Google the name of its trademark “break” snack KitKat to brand the latest version of its mobile operating system. Android 4.4 KitKat replaces Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, which was announced earlier.
News broke through the official website android.com/kitkat, followed by the unmasking of an Android statue made out of KitKat at the Google headquarters. Aside from the name, further details about the 4.4 version (including the launch date) are yet to be made available.
Google SVP Sundar Pichai shared a snapshot of the statue on his Google+ page, tagging the candy bar as one of the team’s favorites – this, after disclosing that Android devices have passed one billion device activations.
In support of this, more than 50 million limited edition KitKat bars with an Android stamped on the packaging will be distributed across 19 markets, with a special offer to win Nexus 7 tablets or Google Play credits.
Nestle’s head of marketing, Patrice Bula released a statement on the official website: “We’re excited to announce this partnership with Android, the world’s most popular mobile platform, which will help us to enable even more KitKat fans to enjoy their break.”
Minutes before it hit the web, competition Apple was busy sending out media invites for the September 10 event in California and Berlin, where the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C are expected to unveil.
More on mobile: Microsoft and Nokia just entered into a EUR 3.79 billion agreement which sees the latter’s devices and services unit – along with 32,000 employees and CEO Stephen Elop, and patents being transferred to former.
