Android 3.0 was released earlier this year, making its debut on the Motorola Xoom shortly before the release of the iPad 2.

Google is scrambling to deliver the newest version of its mobile operating system, Android 4.0, to roughly coincide with the release of Apple's iPhone 5, AppleInsider reported Tuesday.

Google released Android 2.2 last year just prior to the unveiling of Apple's iOS 4 software. In December, it also delivered Android 2.3, which incorporated support for NFC tags, improved copy and paste functionality and Google's WebM video codec.

Android 3.0 was released earlier this year, making its debut on the Motorola Xoom shortly before the release of the iPad 2.

Google has aimed to release Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, by the end of the year. "It's looking like the first Ice Cream Sandwich devices could start hitting the ground as early as October," BGR reported Tuesday. Google is looking to push up the release of Ice Cream Sandwich devices as Apple's iPhone 5 is expected in September or October, and the company doesn't want potential customers switching to the iPhone 5.

According to a survey by Gene Munster, 64 percent of Verizon users plan to buy an iPhone for their next mobile, and 74 percent of those users said they are waiting for the iPhone 5. Some 53 percent of AT&T users who plan to buy a new iPhone are also waiting for the iPhone 5, the survey showed.