Google released the latest version of their Android operating system, Jelly Bean, earlier this summer and its new features and smoother interface were well received. Sadly, Android smartphone users tied to a carrier are still waiting to experience Jelly Bean, and for many of them, there's no upgrade date in sight. Luckily, if you're a Verizon Galaxy Nexus owner, you might be seeing Jelly Bean very soon.
A preview build of the Jelly Bean update for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus was recently made available for download. Named JRO03O, it still needs to gain approval from Verizon, meaning that it could be unstable and not for the average consumer.
What it does indicate, however, is that Jelly Bean will be hitting the Verizon Galaxy Nexus very soon.
If you've backed your phone up, and aren't afraid to do some software tweaking here's a guide from Ubergizmo on how to get the build running on your Galaxy Nexus.
Owners of Google-direct devices such as the Galaxy Nexus 7 tablet receive their Android upgrades the earliest, directly from Googe. Those who purchased the Galaxy Nexus (or any other smartphone for that matter) through a carrier, have to wait for their phone manufacturer to develop the build, then for their carrier to approve and distribute the update. This takes time, somtimes an incredibly long time, as many Verizon Android phone users will tell you.
So far there are only a handful of smartphones running official Android Jelly Bean versions around the world, but developers are working on Jelly Bean upgrades in hopes of countering Apple's upcoming iOS 6, so expect to see Jelly Bean up and running on many more handsets and tablets by the end of 2012.