Google is planning to launch a new Nexus smartphone this month, according to a report, Digital Spy said.

TechRadar cites multiple sources from the Android community claiming that the internet giant is on the brink of releasing a flagship Jelly Bean-powered handset.

Samsung, HTC and LG are among the rumoured manufacturing partners for the device.

It was recently reported that Google is planning to release a super-cheap $99 Nexus 7 tablet computer by the end of 2012, but device-maker Asus has since refuted such claims.

Google's next addition to its Nexus line was expected to serve as the launch vehicle for its Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie operating system, but sources claim it will instead run a refreshed version of Jelly Bean.

Google is yet to officially confirm that it is working on new Nexus hardware.