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Android KitKat adoption hits 40 per cent, but Lollipop still sucks

Devices running the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system continue to jump up in market share, it emerged on Friday.

The deliciously-themed update accounted for 39.9 per cent share of all Android devices visiting the Google Play Store in the week ending January 5.

KitKat continues to grow at a decent rate, given it stood at just 25 per cent a little over three months ago. It hit 33.9 per cent a month ago, while it was at 30.2 per cent in November.

However, while the gravitation to KitKat is good news for some folks, Android users will be very well aware that it remains only the second newest version of the operating system.

Indeed, the numbers obtained by the Android Developers Dashboard (via CNET) don’t even show Android 5.0 Lollipop as having a presence. The site claims versions of the OS rocking less than a 0.1 share of the market are considered negligible and hence not shown.

Given Lollipop was first released in November and has been ever-so-slowly dripping down to some newer Android handsets, like Google Play Editions and the new Nexus 9, it seems Lollipop would certainly be appearing on that scale by now?

The figures have highlighted perhaps the biggest problem facing Google in its desire to get everyone singing from the same hymn sheet.

Even a couple of months after Lollipop was released, hardly anyone is using it, with manufacturers testing it and adding their own bells and whistles before releasing it widely.

Third party manufacturers like HTC, Sony, Samsung and the rest aren’t likely to begin launching handsets running Lollipop until next month.

Have you strapped yourself in for the long haul? Or are you prepping to buy a new Android 5.0 device when they begin arriving at next month’s MWC 2015 trade show in Barcelona? Let us know your thoughts below.

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