Is Motorola Shamu the Nexus 6?

As you know by now, back in January Google inked a deal with Lenovo to sell off Motorola Mobility for $3 billion, a deal that’s still wending its way towards completion. For now, though, new leaks and rumors point to the possibility that Motorola will be the makers of Google’s next (and possibly final) Nexus smartphone, the Nexus 6.

According to a post on CNET – which cites Dutch tech site TechTastic, which itself sites benchmarks spotted on GFXBench – a new handset codenamed Motorola Shamu has some interesting specifications that might work quite well as the Nexus 6. Running this fall’s Android L and armed with 3 GB of RAM AND THE Qualcomm Adreno 420 CPU, the device seems to have a lot going for it, whether it bears the Nexus brand or not.

So what makes it seem as though it might be a Nexus? To misquote Shakespeare, “the name’s the thing.” All of the previous Nexus devices have been given fish-related codenames. Rumors have swirled over the past few months about “Flounder,” a device that many believe will be the next Nexus tablet, supposedly being made by HTC. Meanwhile, HTC has a press event scheduled for next week, where they could easily unveil the Flounder.

Likewise, Motorola has just announced its own upcoming press event, at which some other long-rumored (and teased) devices should finally be unveiled. Another post on CNET reports that Motorola will hold a press event in Chicago on September 4, at which we’ll find out about “multiple products.” While it stands to reason that Google will make its own announcement of whatever new Nexus devices it has in the pipeline, the timing of both Motorola and HTC’s events seems interesting.

If nothing else, we should hear more about the long-awaited Moto 360 at the event. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll catch a glimpse of Motorola’s Shamu as well. Stay tuned.

[Sources: CNET (1, 2), TechTastic, GFXBench]