We’ve heard whispers that Google is planning to wow us with a new smartphone built by Motorola, and the latest claims that the device will get its grand unveiling at Google I/O in May. Called the Motorola X, the device is expected to offer stock Android and a modest price tag, but it won’t be a successor to the Nexus 4. It will reportedly launch in July when it will be available on contract with all major carriers, or unlocked through the Google Play store.

Before we dig too deep into this rumor, let’s just go over where it came from. The details were posted to a certain forum by a user who has long been giving accurate Motorola information to the public ahead of official announcements. However, the post has since been pulled, and the forum has asked not to be named. Luckily for us, all of the information was picked up by Droid Life before it disappeared.

With that being the case, we have to take this with a pinch of salt. Although the source may be credible, we have no way of confirming their claims, so please bear that in mind before reading on.

According to the tipster, the Motorola X will get its grand unveiling between May 15 and May 17 at Google’s annual I/O event. It’s then expected to launch around July 8, but this date is subject to change. When it goes on sale, it will reportedly be available on contract through all major carriers in the U.S.

It will also be available unlocked through Google Play at a similar price to the unlocked Nexus 4, which is $299 for 8GB of storage, and $349 for 16GB of storage. The device will not be a new Nexus handset, so it won’t succeed the Nexus 4, but it will run stock Android with “some bloatware” from carriers. That bloatware won’t come on the unlocked Motorola X from Google Play, apparently.

Verizon, which is expected to offer the device for around $299 on contract, will allow customers to unlock the handset’s bootloader, but it will charge $15 per month for the privilege, according to the source.

At this point, that’s all we know about this mysterious handset. It sounds like it could be a dream smartphone for a lot of users — available on all carriers for a modest sum, with stock Android that hasn’t been spoiled by third-party apps and interfaces. But this is one of the reasons why we’re unsure about this rumor; it almost sounds too good to be true.

Furthermore, if the Motorola X is available on all carriers, with stock Android and for around the same price as the Nexus, would there be any point in the Nexus? Who would buy a Nexus if the Motorola X offers the same features at the same price and is more accessible. While this device may not be a Nexus successor, then, it could turn out to be a Nexus killer.

Having said that, we’ve been expecting Google to produce a handset like this since it acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion back in May 2012. The company has stated that it wants to produce a small number of devices each year that’ll stand out from third-party Android handsets, and if the claims above are accurate, it’ll certainly do that.

• ViaDroid Life