Google’s Android has passed more than one billion device activations since its launch in 2008 as the company also announced that version 4.4 of the OS is to be called KitKat.

The activation figure means 100 million activations have taken place since May when Google revealed that Android had passed the 900 million activation mark. Android boss Sundar Pichai revealed the latest milestone in a blog post.

KitKat follows the dessert-related naming convention of Android, with recent versions including Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jellybean.

The next version of Android was widely thought to be called Key Lime Pie internally, but John Lagerling, director of Android global partnerships, told the BBC that few people “know the taste of key lime pie” so the decision was taken to go with KitKat, a favourite with Android coders.

This is the first time a version of Android has been so closely linked to a particular brand and is clearly a marketing coup for KitKat maker Nestle — although Lagerling said no money changed hands between Google and Nestle (speculation suggests the deal was done at February’s Mobile World Congress).

Sundar Pichai said in May that Google is looking to make Android consistent across emerging devices such as intelligent watches, Google Glass and flexible displays. The company said its goal with KitKat is “to make an amazing Android experience available for everybody”.

As part of promoting the partnership with Nestle, KitKat buyers have the chance to win a Nexus 7 tablet, Google Play credit and even an Android-shaped KitKat.