Google has announced that their Android 4.0.4 (ICS) OTA update for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is now being pushed out. They have also made a link available to download the OS directly if you fancy installing it manually ahead of the OTA update. You can get it from here --> http://t.co/C8b2rCp5 Full instructions on how to install the firmware various ways is here --> http://bit.ly/H5embp

I took the choice to install manually rather than wait for the OTA, mostly because I'm the impatient type and also because I tend to make subtle changes to my Galaxy Nexus that may spoil the OTA process. It is just as well that I did because that is exactly what happened.

If you are getting the "error 7" problem and cannot install the update you are most likely running a different radio than the standard one that came with 4.0.3.
Please make sure you have radio XXKK6 installed (re-install it using fastboot) before attempting to run this 4.0.4 update.
Sure enough, I have made changes to the radio version that came with ICS 4.0.3. The XXKK6 sucked, it caused massive battery drain and had a number of other performance and quality related issues. There have been several radios since and I found that XXKL1 was the most stable and best performer.

But as part of the pre-installation verification the installer checks to make sure that all of the right components are there to be updated, and that includes the radio. Because I had changed mine the "error 7" failure occurred. So I used fastboot to pop the original XXKK6 radio image back in place and the 4.0.4 update ran without hitch.

Whats in the box?
Google have not yet released the changes list for 4.0.4. According to various sources, the update also improves the camera performance of the handset. Not only does the phone take better quality pictures with less noise, it focuses properly before capturing them. The update also contains a new radio, which improves the network reception depending on your location. One of the most important changes in the update is a much-improved auto-brightness. On Android 4.0.2/3, the auto-brightness extremely wonky! It would turn down the brightness to almost 0, and gave the whole screen a very blueish tint. Thankfully, this issue has been fixed in this update.

There are a lot of other bug fixes as well in the Android 4.0.4 update for the Galaxy Nexus like the multi-touch bug, keyboard bug, the Android OS battery drain bug and more.

Any other devices?
Yup, there are separate updates to 4.0.4 for the Nexus S and the Motorola Xoom. You'll have to seek these out on the Interwebs or wait for the OTA to come along. Do not try to apply this Galaxy Nexus patch to any other device.