Android 5.0 Jelly Bean due summer 2012?

Windows 8 in Google's crosshairs.

Google's Android 5.0 Jelly Bean mobile operating system could be tempting your tastebuds as soon as summer 2012. And according to sources in the Taiwanese supply chain, new tablets will be able to dual boot between Windows 8 and Android 5.0. Just like combining different types of jelly bean to create a flavour extravaganza, then.

But Google had better watch its back – Apple could also be vying for the OS crown with an iPhone 5 announcement around the same time.

Android 5.0 is all rumour and hearsay right now – but if we take into account Android’s Chrome integration and its quick start-up abilities, it seems likely that Jelly Bean will bridge the gap between notebooks and tablets.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has already taken the first steps to help phones and tablets get along in software land – adding notebooks seems like the next logical step.

Microsoft is aiming to integrate Windows 8 with its mobile offerings, with the recent announcement of Windows on ARM pointing to closer ties between its mobile and desktop OS. So it's likely that Google will do the same and continue down the Asus Transformer Prime path of tablet and notebook synergy.

But with a Retina Display toting iPad 3 due on March 7 and rumours of a major MacBook overhaul, could Apple have a fruity riposte to Jelly Bean in the offing?