Google May Use Online Poll to Decide Name of Next Android Version

When interacting with students at Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) on the second day of his India visit on Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai was asked why an Indian dessert had not yet been used for an Android version name. A smiling Pichai humorously replied he will ask his mother for suggestions, adding that Google may use an online poll to decide the name of the next version of Android.

Pichai added he didn't like sweets as a child, and mixed sambar with payasam, so that the payasam wouldn't taste as sweet.

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Following the current Android naming scheme, the next version's name will be a dessert beginning with the letter 'N'. Some of the suggestions that came at the event itself included 'peda', 'neyyappam' and 'nankhatai'.

The one-hour session was similar to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Q&A session at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in October. Zuckerberg was also stumped when an audience member asked when Facebook would stop the unwanted invites for Candy Crush mobile game.

Pichai's session at Shriram College of Commerce was moderated by cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle, who called the India-born executive the 'Rahul Dravid of the tech industry'.

The Google CEO suggested students to do their own thing in life. He said while India has a culture of valuing education, the system here should encourage creativity and make sure it doesn't penalise the person for being different.

When asked how much he had scored in his class 12 exams, Pichai quipped: "Not enough to get into Shri Ram College of Commerce."

Written with inputs from PTI