Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has officially confirmed its plans to roll out the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system update to the owners of a Galaxy Nexus SC-04D smartphone on its network. The carrier also announced that the software will be released from May 9 onwards.

The Galaxy Nexus, launched in collaboration with Samsung in November 2011, was the first smartphone to run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). Google stopped selling the Galaxy Nexus in October 2012 after the announcement of its successor, the Nexus 4. Many smartphone enthusiasts would have forgotten about the Galaxy Nexus but it seems that Google is still taking care of its old warhorse with a software update in Japan.

The Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update brings many new features to the Galaxy Nexus. The update brings lockscreen widgets to access certain apps without unlocking the screen. Users can side-scroll-right for the camera or left for other widgets (time and weather, gmail and more).

The operating system upgrade from Android 4.1 to 4.2 includes a redesigned camera interface and new Photo Sphere feature, which allows users to take a 360-degree panorama picture.

The software update also brings along DayDream screen saver that lets your Android device display useful and delightful information when idle or docked. DayDream can show your photo albums, get the latest news from Google Currents, and more.

The software update will arrive on devices as build number JDQ39.SC04DOMMD4. Users will be notified of the availability of the new software for their devices, and the Japanese carrier hopes to complete Android 4.2 rollout to Galaxy Nexus by May 31.

To get full details of the software update, visit NTT DoCoMo's official support page (in Japanese).