First we had the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition, announced during the opening keynote of the Google I/O conference. Then there was the HTC One with Nexus user experience, unveiled during Sundar Pichai's fireside chat at AllThingsD's D11 conference. And, of course, there's the LG-made Nexus 4. It seems that every manufacturer wants a handset that offers stock Android rather than the numerous additional features and software they spend years developing. Now, it seems, Sony wants in on the act too, with a Sony Xperia Z Google Edition.

An anonymous Sony Insider is alleged to have spilled the beans to dedicated website Android Geeks about a stock Android version of Sony's flagship phone. And it is expected to be announced soon, in July they said.

As Android Geeks points out, it is already possible for a user to install stock Android on an Xperia Z, through Sony's initiation of an Android Open Source Project. However, that is a tricky process for many, so it is claimed that the company is to partner with Google to offer the Nexus user experience on its handset too.

This could all be hokum, but something it's certainly feasible. In fact, the only manufacturer to rule itself out from releasing a stock Android version of its flagship smartphone is LG, maker of the Nexus. We have contacted Sony for comment.

We wonder who or what is next? A Huawei Ascend P2 Google Edition? ZTE Grand X 2 with Nexus user experience? Nokia Lumia 925 Microsoft Edition? Er...