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Let's all have a break: the KitKat rumors are getting ridiculous

We’re all excited for Android 4.4 and the new Nexus, but some in the Android community are heading to delirium territory with the latest batch of numerology-infused predictions.
By
October 16, 2013
kitkat-gr5

We’re all excited for Android 4.4 and the new Nexus, but some in the Android community are heading to delirium territory with the latest batch of numerology-infused predictions.

In case you’re not up to date with the story, here’s a roundup. First, it was October 15, which obviously wasn’t the big date. Then people connected the dots, and noticed that the text in a Google Plus post of KitKat (the candy bar, not the Google OS) matched the title of a rather obscure song that was released on October 18, 1990.

Then the social media people behind KitKat-the-candy-bar got into the game. The image below is interpreted by Nexus-fevered minds as a reference to a Michael Jackson documentary called “This Is It” that launched on October 28, 2009. And, to save face for the first teaser, the initial name of the band that released “Everybody dance now” on October 18, 1990 was actually “The 28th Street Crew”. October 28 it is!

kitkat teaser

While I have no proof that any aspect of the speculation above is false, my feeling is we’re getting into a tizzy over absolutely nothing. Here are some things that make me believe it’s all just wishful thinking.

  • Two trustworthy sources, Artem of AP and Kellen of Droid Life, reported that Google wants to launch Android 4.4 at the end of October, but it may miss the deadline, as it’s wont to do. Why would Google give a hard date to Nestle to tease if it’s not sure about it?
  • Come to think of it, why would Google give Nestle any date when it’s perfectly capable of teasing on its own to great effect?
  • The +KitKat Google Plus account belongs to Nestle and is in no way connected to Google. The account shared many pics before (1, 2, 3) that are similar to the latest teaser pictures, and nobody saw anything covert in them.
  • I am inclined to believe that the “This is it” post is actually a cheeky answer to this popular Reddit thread, rather than some kind of cryptic teaser.
  • Speaking of cryptic teasers, do you really think that they intentionally made them that cryptic? Teasers should be mysterious yes, but they should also reveal just enough to let the public know what you’re talking about. These teasers can be interpreted in numerous ways. Just read the comments on the two Google Plus posts for a selection of weird and wonderful ideas.
  • “When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras” is a medical aphorism (okay, I saw it in House, MD) that we can apply here. Let’s leave the wild explanations and weird half-life-3-confirmed-style connections aside and think of the simplest, most reasonable explanation: Nestle is just riding the wave of Nexus interest.

I may be wrong. There’s a small chance the conspiracy theorists are right for once, and I’ll be first to admit it if that’s the case. But I doubt I’ll have to.

What do you think?