Google will launch Android 5.0 - codenamed Jellybean - as early as Q3 2012, to coincide with the launch of Microsoft's Windows 8 and offer dual-OS designs for tablet computers.

Taiwan-based supply chain makers have fuelled the rumour mill again, this time with claims Android 5.0 is closer in the pipeline than we may have thought.

However, it's a potential double header with Microsoft that raises eyebrows here. Google is allegedly set to integrate Chrome-like functions into Android 5.0 tablets with dual-operating system designs, Digitimes reports.

Brand vendors will be able to adopt Android 5.0 as a standalone platform, or add the OS to Windows 8 devices with crossover abilities. This will all be possible without shutting down the tablet, apparently.

Windows 8 aims to amalgamate platforms and bring more PC-like functionality to tablet computing - a feat Android 4.0 is said to struggle with. A symbiotic partnership is therefore a titillating prospect for both companies and could be the extra ammunition they need to take a sizeable bite out of Apple's dominance in the mobile market. ®

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