Cyanogen Mod Goes Corporate and Raises $7million to Build A Better Android

[DroidModderX]

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Team Cyanogen Mod has become a corporation and has raised $7million to build a better Android. Who knows what the future holds for this Android fork! Did you know that CyanogenMod is the most popular custom rom and boast a user base of over 8 million users who elect to share data with Cyanogen mod. The number of actual users is greater. Why wouldn't CM want to find a way to capitalize on this massive user base? You can rest assured that the capital generated has not been in the form of donations. Businesses will be expecting a return on their investments.

Who knows what Steve Kondik's vision is for this project. We could see OEMs adopt a utopian "you pick firmware" model where you could easily install Cyanogen Mod or Roms like it without going through the gauntlet of unlocking the bootloader, rooting, flashing a custom recovery. Maybe we will see a one click process developed by CM that would do the whole shebang for you (unlock, root, recovery, CM install) over your stock OEM. Maybe they are planning on releasing a device of their own. What are your thoughts. Is this a good thing. Would you pay for Cyanogen Mod? Would you buy a CM Phone?

via PocketNow

 

[combatmedic870]

No and no.

 

[kodiak799]

I personally never understood why OEM's don't outsource support to developers/groups like CM.

It makes perfect sense to me. OEM's could still even retain proprietary apps and features.

Although a more powerful phone and I'm not sure how much I'll want vanilla Android. My primary need for root are a handful of apps, tether, and a gmail hack so Pure Messenger works with it. But once you start messing with some of that stuff you want to be able to recover re-flashing a rom or ruu.

 

[Graymayre]

More effort is put into CM than the stock OS. It only makes sense. Too much time is wasted by CM having to overcome resistance from vendors. Imagine if all that effort went into the OS...

Raged Bionic

 

[skennelly]

I think this is a big step in the mobile industry. We are about to see a huge change in the hardware/software for phones. There is no reason for hardware manufacturers to spend time and resources on software and vice versa. I can't wait to see what's in store for the future.

 

[jspradling7]

It must be an interesting business model to generate that much attention. I smell a partnership behind the scenes somewhere. Or... CM did this so Google would buy them???

 

[Big Ry]

Wasn't there some story a year ago about Samsung hiring Steve Kondik?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

[Miller6386]

Wasn't there some story a year ago about Samsung hiring Steve Kondik?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

Yeah be wasn't there long and left if I recall.... Something about a difference of creative paths....

Note Uno Uno.

 

[johnomaz]

Didn't MIUI get a deal with an OEM in China or Japan to use their customized Android experience on their phones, why not CM. I dunno though, the OEMs have shoveled so much money into their own interfaces, why would they ditch it for CM.

 

[WestOkid]

I think this will be great for smaller OEMs. Maybe make phones less expensive. My daughter's Kyocera is basically pure Android as it is.
However, large OEMs have no interest in uniformity. They want to lock users into an experience they become attached to; ala Apple.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

 

[cereal killer]

If I were them I'd have an OEM lined up and get to work on a handset with all the CM goodies baked right in. Problem is getting that handset on the major US carrier networks. Could take some time for that to happen but to build that ecosystem they need to get CM out to the masses. Most consumers don't spend their time in an IRC or CM's site. I see an OEM on board with them.

 

[kodiak799]

Although one problem for the masses is CM isn't all that user friendly. Sure, you don't have to change any settings, but it would be overwhelming for people with little technical expertise.

IMO, the main advantage of rom's has always been the significant battery savings. No idea why that hasn't been baked-in to Android or some OEM UI's. Instead, the OEM's took that on with hardware (i.e. big-little Eoxynos, the X8, etc..).

 

[Graymayre]

Although one problem for the masses is CM isn't all that user friendly. Sure, you don't have to change any settings, but it would be overwhelming for people with little technical expertise.

IMO, the main advantage of rom's has always been the significant battery savings. No idea why that hasn't been baked-in to Android or some OEM UI's. Instead, the OEM's took that on with hardware (i.e. big-little Eoxynos, the X8, etc..).

The battery drain in phones was due to processes and applications that carriers put in their phones. Has nothing to do with the build, typically. If you have been around the ROM block, you know of the ones that are stripped down stock versions that run better than stock and more energy efficient.
If CM goes OEM, then they need to keep it in multi-carrier devices such as the galaxy series and refuse to cooperate with the carriers, in effect forcing the carriers to accept the build or not run the device line. Which CAN be a hit on the carrier, but it is difficult.

For example Moto bending to Verizon's demand, dangling the HTC droid series in effect saying "If you don't, they will".
If Moto held the trademark association for Droid instead of Verizon, then it could have been the other way around.

Raged Bionic