India campaigning for next Android version name
A region where Google has been making inroads with its Android operating system is hopeful Google will acknowledge their culture with future Android releases. Individuals from the India tech community are banding together to campaign for regional desserts to be considered as names for the next version of Android.
Google’s announcement that the next version of Android would be dubbed KitKat sparked graduates from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) to push for the use of lassi — a thick, yogurt-based drink popular in southeast Asia — as the followup. Another group comprised of Indian tech startups wants Google to consider ‘ladoo,’ a different Indian sweet.
A group from IIT Kharagpur has written an open letter to Google’s Sundar Pichai, arguing that India’s consumer support of the Android operating system warrants the use of a name familiar with locals. They are also hoping to appeal to Pichai on a personal level. He is a graduate of IIT Kharagpur.
Naming the next version of Android ‘lassi’ or ‘ladoo’ would be a great gesture by Google, but it probably isn’t going to happen. Google has shown no penchant to stray away from desserts more familiar with western audiences. The selection of KitKat for the latest name also suggests Google might be heading toward more corporate tie-ins for future versions.
Yesterday we predicted the future of Android version names, and lassi and ladoo were, perhaps not surprisingly, nowhere on our list. What do you guys thing? Should Google listen to the voice of India’s growing group of Android users?
[via ZDNet]