Cyanogen Inc., is a newly created company that has been producing the slowly adopted, but somewhat popular CyanogenMod custom Android ROM. They just released a new app called the CyanogenMod Installer which will unlock the user’s boot loader, root their device, and flash CyanogenMod to their phone with almost zero extra effort. The app is free over the Google Play store and after downloading their free desktop software you can have a very user friendly, highly customizable version of Android.
Why is this a big deal? Because all the good parts of Android are quickly becoming locked by Google. Android has traditionally been an open source project that was supported largely in part by Google. It was created as an option to fight against the iOS dominance. In the beginning, Google had no foothold in the mobile markets, so anything would help. The main thing they were trying to accomplish was to keep Google Search from being removed from the mobile space. Now, Android claims a majority of users around the world, with an overwhelming stake in the markets outside of the US, they have a much bigger reason to stay on top.
Rooting a phone used to be a fairly complicated process. I mean, your average person could follow the instructions and get it done, but why bother? It took hours, often voided your warranty, and gave very few tangible benefits because the OEM Android ROMs like HTC’s Sense UI were extremely user friendly and just plain worked.
The biggest advantage the CyangoenMod has over other ROMs and OEM supported devices is how well optimized it is. It runs buttery smooth on devices ~3 years old which were not meant to handle android 4.1 or 4.2. You don’t need to have the latest smartphone with the latest Snapdragon processor to be able to run it smoothly and use all of its functions. Also, fun features like profiles, quick menu access, and customizing the power menu for longer battery life are a huge gain. Cyanogen Inc. is hoping to “[make] replacing and upgrading your current Android installation as simple as a few clicks,” and it seems to work. There’s a list of supported devices on CyanogenMod’s wiki.
The company formally incorporated a couple months ago after seven million dollars worth of funding. The new Installer app is a serious attempt to get their software on more devices, and right now it seems to be free and easy with no real strings attached. Keep in mind though, that rooting your device will probably void the warranty and will most assuredly delete any data you have stored on the phone, so back that shit up.
Photo by Johan Larsson, via Flickr.
Source via BoingBoing
