The Nexus phones was Google’s way of creating the yardstick for judging all Android devices and many more things. It provided pure Android experience sans the various skins – Sense, Blur, TouchWiz, etc. It was the perfect device to let developers test their apps and also for the ones who wanted to experience Android as is.

But the last couple of Nexus phones have undermined the value of the Nexus. They’re still good devices, but compared to where Android is in terms of hardware, its quite like the child who got left behind. While the industry has moved to quad cores, the current Nexus is a dual core and not the cutting edge version too. Clearly, the balance has shifted.

It seems just to address this, Google has decided to make a few changes. We got a tip from someone who doesn’t wish to be named or identified (his source is quite reliable and hence is pretty much confirmed), that the Nexus device coming later this year will probably be the last one that Samsung is making.

This validates what Digitimes reported a few days ago about the next Nexus device. However what’s not known is who will make the next device, the one after this one by Samsung.

Most suspicions and fingers point to just one direction and that’s Motorola, since they are owned by Google now. But here’s the twist, it isn’t Motorola at all. Far from it.

The surprising names as it turns out is the Taiwanese brand – HTC.

Yes, HTC will be making the Nexus device that as per Google’s plans will be launched in 2013 end and make it to markets in 2014. [At least that's what our informer says so]

We’re not sure on the specs and other details but if we are able to lay our hands on it, we’ll keep you posted. There are many reasons for this, but we’re not all to certain for the exact reasons for this change either.