Sony Nexus X snaps leak ahead of LG Nexus 4 launch. (Updated: they are fake)

Update: As we speculated in the original story below, these photos were fake. There is no Sony Nexus device. Read how the faker did it and why here.

Those who like their Android as pure and unblemished as freshly fallen snow will no doubt be overjoyed to lay their eyes upon leaked pictures of a new Nexus device.

Photos of the Sony Nexus X come courtesy of the Sony-focused Xperia Blog, which craftily spied the blurry pictures on Picasa. They show a rectangular smart phone with sharp corners and a rounded back, sporting both the Sony and Google logos.

Almost a year has gone by since the launch of the last Google-branded smart phone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and the largely cyclical nature of the tech calendar means the next Nexus blower could be announced any day now. Most likely it'll be LG's Nexus 4, which has been photographed every which way imaginable and even reviewed, despite not being officially announced yet.

All Nexus devices ship with a version of Android that's been left untampered with by phone manufacturers, making it easier to customise and update. With each new flavour of Google's alphabetised operating system, a new flagship gadget is also to be expected -- the last of which was the Nexus 7 slate which arrived earlier this year toting Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

If rumours are to be believed though, Google is bucking the trend in celebration of Android's fifth birthday and could be letting up to five manufacturers bring out Nexus phones before Christmas. Other mobiles that have so far been spat out by the rumour mill include the Google Nexus 5 -- otherwise known as the HTC One X 5 -- the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 2 and the Sony Xperia Nexus.

Whether we can really expect a Sony Nexus phone any time soon, and whether these somewhat suspect pictures show the real thing, is impossible to say yet. After all, the Photoshopping skills of enthusiastic tech fans rather notoriously know no bounds.

Doubts have been raised as to the authenticity of the photos, due to a lack of shadows in the pictures, dodgy logos and design inconsistencies with the LG Nexus 4 and previous Xperia phones.

Let's keep an open mind though, as the use of the Google logo has differed between each Nexus device in the past. Similarly, the Nexus 4 bears little resemblance to LG's Optimus range, so we shouldn't necessarily expect the Nexus X to be the spit of its Sony siblings. As for the grubbiness of the phone, which could potentially be a prototype, and the quality of the leaked photos, well, we've all... seen... worse.

Are the photos bogus? Which manufacturer's Nexus will you be hoping to be carrying in your pocket come Christmas day? Leak your thoughts in the comments below or verify your opinions on our totally legit Facebook page.