Google's flagship smartphone - the Galaxy Nexus - just got a new life after the search giant revealed that the handset is all ready to see the Jelly Bean OS in near future. In case, you want to grab the handset on the cheap, Verizon is offering the Google branded smartphone for just $99 sans the Jelly Bean update.

Verizon Wireless is currently selling the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for $199, after a $50 online discount, on its website with a two-year service agreement. However, the regular price at retail stores is $149, still lower than the $299 debut time price.

Amidst the strong demand for Samsung's latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, Galaxy Nexus' sales don't seem to cool down for the sake of quick software updates.

In the general update procedure, smartphone manufacturers integrate their own skin and bloatware on top of the Android operating system, a process which consumes a lot of time. Moreover, the updates are released months after the launch of a new operating system. The Galaxy Nexus runs on Android OS in its purest form without any modifications; therefore, as a result it receives software updates earlier than any other Android smartphone.

The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the GSM version of Samsung Galaxy Nexus is rolling out globally. However, the Verizon variant has no ETA for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as the carrier has CDMA network.

In case you want to use the Galaxy Nexus on GSM carriers - AT&T or T-Mobile USA - the unlocked version of the Google-branded handset is available for $349 on the Google Play Store.

Spec-wise, Samsung Galaxy Nexus heralds a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED HD display, dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 32GB build-in storage, 4G LTE connectivity, a 5-megapixel rear camera, 1.3-megapixel secondary camera, and 1850 mAh battery.

It is not the first time when the Verizon Galaxy Nexus is selling at discounted prices. Last month, Amazon Wireless slashed Verizon Galaxy Nexus on-contract price to $0.01 for a limited period. However, it is the first time that Verizon is directly selling the Galaxy Nexus at a big discount.