There's a small movement going on online to Indianise the upcoming Android N version and the hero is the humble neyyappam.
After Google announced that it would be seeking suggestions for naming the next version of Android, Twitterati have been soliciting votes for ‘neyyappam’, a traditional delicacy from Kerala made of rice flour, jaggery, coconut and ghee.
Every Android version has been named after a confectionary in alphabetic order, starting with Cupcake, which was followed by Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop and the latest Marshmallow (Android 6.0).
The other contenders for the latest version are noodles, nuts and nachos.
Why neyyappam
Even the Kerala Tourism Department has pitched in, urging followers to vote for the name on its Twitter account.
“Neyyappam is a better choice than Nutella,” said Bengaluru-based engineer Ashok Raj, “It is a sweet and stylish name.” Nutella would have seemed a likely choice to its fans around the world but the hazelnut spread company probably did not want to go the KitKat way. Google struck a licensing deal with Nestle to use the brand name KitKat for its Android 5.0 version.
Meanwhile, twitterati have been having a field day with Neyyappam references.
“Hi @sundarpichai, we Malayalees want #AndroidN to be named after our delicacy #Neyyappam. Hope you’ll keep your promise #AndroidNeyyappam,” tweeted GK @krishnajgd.
The doubters
Some are of the opinion that the campaign could simply be a clever marketing strategy.
“India has a large population yet to come online. This could be a marketing strategy to make people aware of the Android platform. Hence, there is a chance that Android N turns out to be Neyyappam,” said Shijil, a member of Free Software Movement Karnataka.
Of course, it’s lack of popularity outside the State may pose a small problem for its success. "I don’t know what Neyyappam is & at this point I’m too afraid to ask #AndroidNeyyappam,” tweeted Ravi @theravidarade.
And what if the sweet snack doesn’t win?
There’s always plan B: “If #AndroidNeyyappam doesn’t workout, we will wait and pitch again for #AndroidUnniyappams” suggested Swetha Iyer @swethaiyer.
First naming campaign since Pichai took charge
This is not the first time Indians have campaigned for an Indian sweet to win the tag. There were earlier campaigns for Laddoo and Kaju Katli when the names of the previous Android versions were under consideration. Both names later lost out to Android Lollipop and Android Kitkat.
However, the campaign gains significance this time because it is the first after Sundar Pichai took charge at Google. In December last year, to questions from students at IIT Chennai, Mr. Pichai had said that if there were suitable suggestions, the next Android version could have an Indian name.
