Key Lime Pie next version of Android in Google cartoon

Fancy a slice of Key Lime Pie? A Google employee has served up a tasty treat of a cartoon giving us the strongest hint yet for the name of the hotly anticipated next Android update.

Google software engineer Manu Cornet, who also produces the tech-themed webcomic Bonkers World, doodled the evolution of Android pictured above. The image is "just for fun" and we shouldn't read much into it, but with rumours of the Key Lime Pie name swirling since the start of this year, this is a pretty strong indication from inside Google that the next version will indeed be lime-flavoured. 

Google names each new version of the Android software for phones and tablets after a veritable sweet trolley of tasty treats, arrayed in alphabetical order. We've so far feasted on Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean, with Key Lime Pie set to be the next sweet treat to get the Android treatment.

The latest version of Android is Jelly Bean 4.2, which adds the clever Photo Sphere camera feature and debuts on the Google Nexus 4.

Android updates aren't without controversy, however. Jelly Bean 4.2 broke Bluetooth on many phones and managed to miss out December from some apps, forcing Google to rush out a hasty 4.2.1 update. And phone manufacturers struggle to get new software onto your blowers -- even claiming that updates can damage your phone.

As a result, most phone fans are stuck with what they feel is out-of-date software even on brand new phones. As of November, Ice Cream Sandwich is on a quarter of Android phones but more than half still run Gingerbread -- three generations old, not including the tablet-focused Honeycomb.

Will Key Lime Pie defeat the iPhone for good? What do you want to see from the next version of Android? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.