
Android KitKat - kolistivra
http://www.android.com/kitkat
======
jmduke
I don't get why people are extrapolating corporate stuff out of this. Google
needed a candy/desert that began with 'K'. KitKats are delicious, and its
pretty hard to think of anything else that fits the pattern (I saw 'key lime
pie' thrown around a bunch, but I think that's more of a stretch.)

~~~
Samuel_Michon
Key lime pie, Kugel, Kringle, Kifli, Kulfi, Klondike, etc. But hey, KitKat
works.

~~~
truth_to_power
Shout out to the Racine Kringle Company.

------
jamesjguthrie
"Google told the BBC that it had come up with the idea and that neither side
was paying the other."

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23926938](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23926938)

~~~
theycallmemorty
The incredible take-away from that article is that the deal was struck 24
hours after a cold-call to Nestle's marketing switchboard.

------
yid
Text from my friend: "The new Android version is apparently named Kitkat. HN
is distressed."

------
msoad
KitKat is very fragmented already! ;) [1]

[1] [http://www.buzzfeed.com/lydiah/35-kit-kat-varieties-from-
aro...](http://www.buzzfeed.com/lydiah/35-kit-kat-varieties-from-around-the-
world-18d7)

~~~
dkl
A huge number are from Japan. Man, they love their KitKats! I've actually
tasted the Wasbe KitKat. It was pretty horrible, too.

~~~
MichaelGG
Doesn't Japan have a huge variety of all sorts of food and drink, in general?
Something about the huge amount of vending machines, and needing to grab
attention with something different?

~~~
adrinavarro
Combini stores, vending machines everywhere… And that goddamn Suica!

Somehow they can afford having a convenience store (combini) open 24h each 350
yards and at each side of the street. Economy at an amazing scale.

------
dowskitest
Ah, product placement. Immediately brought this to mind:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lgLYGBbDNs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lgLYGBbDNs)

~~~
bitwize
Brought to you by Carl's Jr.

------
drunkenmasta
I was excited to learn about a new Android release but all I got was a
transfer to the KitKat candybar site at the bottom and a manipulative "See if
you have won!!! aka go buy some kitkats" at the top.

~~~
psbp
They just released it today to counter the iPhone press conference
confirmation.

~~~
C1D
*announced it. See the bottom of the page, its a mailing list for when they release.

------
Bjorkbat
KitKats aren't a dessert item, they're a cheap brand of candy people buy at
gas stations or at the grocery store checkout line either because they want
some no-thrills candy to snack on, or because their kids won't shut up.

If given the choice between a delicious eclair, or the frozen yogurt, and a
plain old package of KitKats, I would choose eclair or the froyo. Quite a few
people probably would too. This is because KitKats are inferior. Some people
will even add crumpled KitKats to their frozen yogurt much in the same way
they might add sprinkles.

Anyway, you guys get what I'm saying. I basically think it was a bad idea to
name the latest version of android "KitKat". Key Lime Pie is classier.

~~~
waqf
You could apply the same criticism to Jellybean. Or, for that matter, Ice
Cream Sandwich. (Ice cream is a dessert, but ICS can only be interpreted as
cheap prepackaged food.)

~~~
Bjorkbat
I don't know, I used to go out of my way to buy those Jelly Belly brand
Jellybeans, but I do agree that ice cream sandwichs and for that matter donuts
are a cheap food, kinda realized that while I was thinking about the post.

Still, KitKats really stood out to me as just less wholesome compared to the
other dessert items Google has chosen for android versions, if that makes any
sense. I've had some fun experiences with trying out weird flavors of jelly
beans, or eating ice cream sandwiches during the summer.

As for donuts, I got the wild idea a few years back to to be an organic
farmer, to the point where I dropped out of school and actually worked as a
sort of vegetable grower/manager for a while. If I was running behind and
didn't have time to cook, I would visit any one of the locally-owned donut
shops, occasionally run by some owner of Czech heritage (something about
Czechs and really good pastries), and pick something up. So despite donuts
being ridiculously unhealthy, they bring back interesting feelings.

KitKats, they don't quite have that emotional effect on me.

------
donbronson
[PUN WARNING] it's a breaking change

~~~
michaelwww
Give me a break...

------
bitwize
I just hope they fix Bluetooth.

I have a very nice Bluetooth keyboard that simply does not work on Nexus
devices because 4.3 broke Bluetooth keyboard mappings. It's fixable by rooting
and renaming a certain file, but dammit, it should work out of the box.

~~~
robbiet480
Can't forget that GOOG just added AVRCP 1.3 support, after 2+ years and
hundreds of comments on the issue
[https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=5450](https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=5450).
Also, Bluetooth Low Energy support, again, greatly delayed.

Apple has had AVRCP 1.4 since iPhone 4S :(

(I just really want cover art in my car!)

~~~
freehunter
I just wish my car supported A2DP streaming instead of just voice streaming
over Bluetooth... 3.5mm or USB cable doesn't even supply the song's name.

------
nemof
Krass as fuck. Really deeply irritated by Google deciding to sully their
product by associating with scumbags like Nestle:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestle#Controversy_and_criticism

Please excuse my sweariness but I am somewhat put out.

Also, KitKats taste like shit.

~~~
tomkarlo
Is the deal with Nestle, or Hershey's (which represents KitKat in the USA.)
The Android.com/KitKat page points to
[http://www.hersheys.com/kitkat.aspx](http://www.hersheys.com/kitkat.aspx), at
least for me in the US.

~~~
rsynnott
I assume with Nestle, the IP holder. Hershey's makes KitKats under license;
I'd be amazed if they have the right to use the trademark any way they feel
like as a part of that.

------
salimmadjd
So I take it Lollipop is then next? That is assuming google follows the
alphabetic confectionary nomenclature.

~~~
JimmaDaRustla
Then M&M?

~~~
pitchups
This deal with KitKat may well set the precedent for that to happen! In fact,
wouldn't be surprised if the marketing/branding folks at M & M and other candy
manufacturers are already thinking along these lines.

~~~
JimmaDaRustla
My GF isn't a techy person, but she asks "What's with this Android KitKat
thing!?". So I explain it to her. She says "I MUST HAVE A KITKAT."

Of course...I also got a KitKat...

------
kalleboo
Well this guarantees my sister isn't getting an Android (she's part of the
Nestlé boycott since they continue to push breast milk replacements on people
living in poverty)

------
inthewind
For those worried about Google coming to blows with Nestle (How we still
lament the demise of Rowntrees)...

From Wikipedia 'kit kat':

Use of the name "Kit Kat" or "Kit Cat" for a type of food goes back to the
18th century, when mutton pies known as a Kit-Kat were served at meetings of
the political Kit-Cat Club in London.

Now a mutton pie doesn't quite sound as sweet a desert.

~~~
pimeys
Kit Kat is also a famous sex club in Berlin nightlife.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KitKatClub](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KitKatClub)

------
eranation
This is just a reminder how "hidden scroll" content is such bad UX, how many
of you noticed the little triangle / scrolled down and found out there is
more? I found out only accidentally.

~~~
dlhavema
i just assumed there would be more and scrolled down, worked out.. but yeah,
not very apparent otherwise

------
tylerf
I predict that the name "KitKat" was selected not only for cross marketing
purposes, but also to serve as a handy metaphor for the key enhancement to
Android 4.4. I suspect Google has reengineered Android to allow for modular
system-level updates, while leaving user-space modifications, (such as carrier
and manufacturer-added software,) untouched, similar to how Canonical has
stated Ubuntu Touch updates will work.

We've already seen Google take a more modular approach to adding Android
enhancements via individual application updates to the Play Store, GMail,
YouTube, etc. This has allowed users running older versions of Android to take
advantage of more up-to-date software, despite the lack of manufacturer-
provided updates. Given the degree to which the Play Store service can modify
the OS in the current version of Android, it seems reasonable to suspect that
these modular updates could be extended to include the kernel, system
services, and low-level run times. Google may have decided that they will own
and update key portions of the operating system, and leave their partners to
focus on updates to their device-specific "enhancements."

This prediction is consistent with the tag line associated with Android 4.4 on
the linked page: "It's our goal with Android KitKat to make an amazing Android
experience available for everybody."

How to explain the value behind such a "behind-the-scenes" feature to the
technologically illiterate masses? A KitKat is a modular candy bar. All the
fingers are the same. You can swap out a single finger without fundamentally
altering the integrity of the whole. Perhaps Eric Schmidt will explain it
better on-stage.

------
olivercameron
I assume KitKat has a trick up its sleeve to solve the notorious fragmentation
issues that plague Android. Why else would they say "available for everybody"?

~~~
kkowalczyk
Most likely what they mean by that is an optimization of the system so that it
runs better or low-end (i.e. cheap) devices (think: india, africa, china
markets) as currently you need relatively high-end hardware for smooth
operation.

"everybody" in this context means "large numbers of people who can't afford
high-end hardware"

Google was talking about those optimization plans during last I/O, I believe.

~~~
nutjob123
I believe they already released most of the interface performance
optimizations in 4.3. I would be happy to see more though.

------
likeclockwork
I can't tell if this is a joke.

~~~
TillE
I think the android.com homepage clinches it:

"We’re naming the next version of Android after one of our favorite chocolate
treats, KitKat. Look for specially branded KitKat bars in a store near you
that give you a chance to win a Nexus 7 or Google Play credit."

This is a tiny bit embarrassing for Google, honestly.

~~~
brokenparser
I'm okay with this.

Android Lion

Android Mars

Android Nuts

Android Oreo

Android Peppermint Crisp

They'll have to introduce their own brand of chocolate after that.

~~~
fpgeek
I think Android Quik would be next (and perhaps likely if KitKat goes well
given the Nestle connection and the scarcity of "Q" dessert names).

~~~
brokenparser
It's called Nesquik.

~~~
fpgeek
And another tiny bit of my childhood dies... :(

------
boryas
I was sure it was going to be Key Lime Pie

~~~
estebank
I kind of hoped it would be[1] as well.

[http://cdn-static.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg/cat/mobiles/key-lime-pi...](http://cdn-
static.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg/cat/mobiles/key-lime-pie-cartoon.jpg)

------
sobering
"KitKat's SEO (for the candy bar) just dove into nothingness. Forever." -my
boss

~~~
Samuel_Michon
I thought you were kidding, but then I checked. Indeed, on Google,
android.com/kitkat comes up first, then kitkat.com. On DDG and Bing, search
results are still all about the snack.

~~~
consultant23522
I'm having a harder time telling the natural hits from the ads these days but
in mine it's kitkat.com first followed by "news for kitkat", then wikipedia,
hershey's, and finally android.

~~~
Samuel_Michon
This is what my Google SERP looks like in Safari, not logged into Google:

[http://i.imgur.com/hTa6Izu.png](http://i.imgur.com/hTa6Izu.png)

(The Kitkat.com listing has a different description than it did an hour a go,
because of the Android tie-in. But even then, the Google Android page was
higher up the list.)

------
victoriap
it's not Android 5.0 but 4.4. I am curious what functions are still left
before we don't need anything new. I mean, with Windows XP, Microsoft had
already reached the upper limit of what is enough for anybody. But, somehow I
am expecting a surprise on Chrome, ChromeOS, Android integration, but can't
guess.

~~~
WalterSear
It's part of their defragmentation play.

------
radley
At least it's not Mavericks.

------
tlarkworthy
Tech users may scoff, but normal people like KitKats. People don't say Google
phone or Android, they say Samsung and iPhone.

This is an attempt to make Android a household name like ... Kitkat

------
emehrkay
Software gets me more excited for new hardware than the software itself. I
can't wait to get a nexus with kitkat. At this rate we would see Android
Whatchamacallit by 2022.

------
NicoJuicy
Actually, this is a smart move from Google.

They are promoting Google+ with it, as it seems that KitKat is an active user
(on G+) and has a lot of members on it.

They are trying to get more bussiness on g+ and refering to the new Android as
chocolat. Which probably means they want to create the whole Android
experience a lot smoother and unified (judging from the description on
[http://www.android.com/kitkat/](http://www.android.com/kitkat/) )

------
duiker101
well... i didn't know that google was so short on money that needed a
sponsored release...

~~~
themstheones
This takes silly version names to a whole new level.

I guess it makes sense for an ad company to sell naming rights to some extent,
but I can't think of another occurrence of google mixing it's branding like
this before. Google historically set themselves apart by keeping ads somewhat
separate.

~~~
ianstallings
More likely is someone chose this name, that conveniently starts with a K, and
then they sought out the owners of KitKat to make sure they were okay with it.
I'm sure they were, free advertising.

------
joshmcmillan
Wow, looks promising. I might take a break from iOS for this.

(Sorry)

~~~
antr
Me too, can't wait until 2021 to see it on my Android.

 _pointing out one of Google 's major issues: deploying updates in a timely
fashion.

Downvotes to this post will show how Google wants to hide this fact_

------
zmmmmm
I wonder how comprehensive Google's agreement with Nestle is?

Today's marketing stunt is fun, but this is an OS name - it is going to live
on in history for a decade or more, it is going to be checked into the android
git repository. There will be reviews calling "KitKat" a smoking turd, people
trashing and trolling it all over the internet. Tim Cook will probably get up
on stage and lay into it at some point. People will be making icons and fan
art based around it, and pulling all kinds of stunts that would normally catch
the ire and get a swift cease and desist from a major company like Nestle.

So has Google negotiated with Nestle that they are not going to suddenly get
"uncool" with this and go with the flow? If not, fun as it is, I feel like
this could be something that ends badly. Proprietary trademarks and open
source don't generally mix well, and when they do you need pretty robust
agreements in place.

------
dllthomas
Gimme a break.

~~~
sarreph
Hahaha. I hope HN's anti-pun psyche sees through this one.

------
benatkin
My main gripe about this is that Google is sending the message to consume more
toxic junk food to the public, while sending the opposite message to
employees. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-
cru...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-crunches-
data-on-munching-in-
office/2013/09/01/3902b444-0e83-11e3-85b6-d27422650fd5_story.html)

This is different from the generic names of sweets. This is a specific
product, which isn't sold at Whole Foods, and is cheaper, more unhealthy, and
less satisfying than what Googlers are likely to buy.

------
pbhjpbhj
Really, dislike this advertising.

Also just realised that "froyo" is not just a made-up name but stands for
"frozen yoghurt" [mental process: why's "froyo" got a dish of ice-cream? ah?].

------
kayoone
Well, seems like Nestle bought itself some geek cred.

------
slacka
Android 4.3 was only release a few days ago. I'm surprised they're announcing
4.4 already. Both this link and the BBC article don't have any information
about what new features are in this release. Seems pointless to just announce
a name.

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23926938](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23926938)

~~~
mg74
The next Nexus phone should be out in November. They often introduce the
newest version of Android on those (all except the Nexus 4, which came with
4.2 introduced on the Nexus 7).

------
msoad
> It's our goal with Android KitKat to make an amazing Android experience
> available for everybody.

Android optimized for lower powered devices?

~~~
mcintyre1994
My first thought was continuing the anti-fragmentation push with more Play
Services stuff. I can definitely see an optimisation push though, the spec
wars are getting ridiculous and it's still worthy of mention in a review that
a phone doesn't lag.

------
speeq
Maybe the next release is gonna be called Mars®

~~~
sjwright
The next letter in the alphabet is L.

Lollipop seems likely.

~~~
ianstallings
Or Licorice.

~~~
jkestner
Lutefisk.

~~~
ianstallings
My Norwegian step-father just gave you a thumbs up.

I'm gonna retort with lemondrop. Much more my taste. Although a Lutefisk
smoothie does sound _tasty_ ;)

------
jordanthoms
Clearly Google saw the Microsoft-Nokia headlines, and decided they had to come
up with something even crazier than that...

------
klrr
Is this serious release or some kind of joke? (not trying to be negative, just
wanna be sure if it's serious or not)

------
VeejayRampay
Posted this in the other thread but I'd really like to know :)

Does anyone know if Kit Kat will be available for the Nexus 4? I ordered one a
few days ago and it will be my first smartphone so I have next to no idea how
Google deals with providing newer Android releases to "older" phones.

~~~
wutbrodo
One of the main selling points of nexus devices is that they tend to get
timely updates (or at least much more timely than other phones). Particularly
if you bought through Google Play, Nexus phones tend to get OS updates damn
near immediately.

------
speeder
That is sad :(

I preferred Key Lime Pie (the fact that this is my favourite dessert is only
coincidence ;) )

~~~
vs4vijay
kitkat?? dafuq man... what happen to Key Lime Pie.

------
Osiris
_buttery graphics_

Really? What does that even mean? Why is it that the only analogy that people
can find for "smooth" is "butter"? I actually find butter kind of gooey and
greasy.

~~~
martin_k
It's a pun towards Project Butter. [http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/27/android-
jelly-bean-official...](http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/27/android-jelly-bean-
official/)

------
pitchups
Wonder if the success of this tie-up may start a new marketing/branding trend?
That is more companies may start doing cross-brand tie ups among non-competing
products.

------
bound008
They do have KitKats in the mini kitchens at google so at least they are not
lying about being fans. Although they are on the bottom red shelf for
unhealthy snacks.

------
suyash
I wonder how much of revenue from the sales of KitKat, Hershy's would be
sharing with Google. Nice Marketing/Sales ploy though.

------
arbutus
Still have no intention of going back to Android any time soon but I am
craving a Kit Kat now, so I guess the joke is on Google here.

------
joefarish
I wonder if the timing of this annoucement is linked to either:

\- The Note III launch tomorrow

\- The fact that Apple sent out invites for its iPhone event today

------
ricards
The power of open source. Shame on Google.

------
pearjuice
How can a FOSS product have a version name which is linked to a closed source
recipe?

~~~
zurn
Android is not a FOSS product, there's just parts of it that are open source
("AOSP"). There's a big heap of proprietary parts starting from the kernel
level going up to Play Services that are required for a functional Android
experience.

------
kbutler
When Android gets to 'T', they _have_ to choose TicTac.

------
pauletienney
This is only for Android 4.4 (scroll to the end of the link).

------
theycallmemorty
That awesome landing page literally had me salivating.

------
vs4vijay
what about Key Lime Pie??

------
JDSD
Give me a break..

------
bachback
oh, I thought this about nyan cat :(

------
pauletienney
WTF

------
volokoumphetico
Meanwhile at Willy Wonka's...

"Oompa Loompa Stop Whipping Us, He's Not Sleeping He's Overworked"

------
steeve
And to be able to use it, you'll need to buy the next Nexus phone! Or wait
till your OEM releases its crapware loaded version in 6-12 months (or never,
actually).

Thanks, but I'll stick with iphone/iOS, at least I can update it. (iPhone 4
from 2010 running iOS 6).

~~~
jonesetc
What did you just add to this discussion?

------
earlyriser
Some years ago "Don't be evil" was Google's motto, however Nestle is far from
being a good company, specially KitKat brand.

[http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/forests/kit-kat-give-
orang...](http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/forests/kit-kat-give-orang-utan-
break-20100317)

[http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/nestle-
baby-...](http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/nestle-baby-milk-
scandal-food-industry-standards)

~~~
Simple1234
What a loaded comment. Guilt by association is almost always rubbish.

