Google drops a hint: Will the L release be called Android 5.1?

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Google launched Android One in India today and it’s the first ever unveiling of a new kind of Android device, one that will have software directly fed from Google among a host of other features that aim to bring one of the best smartphone experiences to a price point so far devoid of such options.

While we already have a bunch of stories up on Android One and what it means for the ecosystem and Google’s rivals, one little piece of information caught our eye. Online retailer Snapdeal put up the listing of the Karbonn Sparkle V, the Android One device it will be exclusively selling and we couldn’t help but notice the time on the device render. It says 5:10.
Last year, Android KitKat was unveiled with a device that showed the time as 4:40. The Nexus 4 before that launched with press images that showed the time as 4:20, while the Galaxy Nexus came with the time as 4:00. What about the Nexus S? 2:30 to indicate Gingerbread. All of this is seen in the official press images released by Google, so we were quite surprised to see 5:10 as the time on the new Karbonn Sparkle V. Does this mean the next version of the OS will be called Android 5.1 [insert L dessert]? It could very well be so.

Add to that the fact that Google says the L release will come to Android One devices quicker than most other handsets, similar to the Nexus line. So we can reasonably expect these to be one of the first few Android L devices in the market.

Google has been tight-lipped about the name for the L version of the OS, and there have been quite a few guesses, but everyone has assumed it will be called Android 5.0. However, now even that may not be quite so certain.