Hasta La Gadget!

When it comes to flashing custom ROMs onto Android phones, safe to say it is not something that the not-so tech savvy should attempt as a mistake could result in you bricking your brand new phone. Sure, one could go and do their homework and follow instructions, but not everyone is so tech savvy which is why the folks at Cyanogen Inc. released the CyanogenMod Installer app onto the Play store before it was pulled. Basically what the installer did was to help users install a custom ROM like CyanogenMod on their phone in a few easy steps, as opposed to the traditional method which required multiple steps and could sometimes be a lengthy process.

In any case the good news is that for those running Mac computers, a beta version of the CyanogenMod Installer has made its way onto the Mac. Like we said this is currently a beta version so there might be some kinks left to work out, but should otherwise prove to be quite functional. For those interested in getting their hands on the installer, head on over to the CyanogenMod Mac community page and follow the instructions which has been listed under the “About this community” section where you will find links to the download and a list of devices that are currently supported by the installer.

CyanogenMod Installer Beta Makes Its Way Onto Mac Computers original content from Ubergizmo.

The CyanogenMod team developers the most popular custom Android ROMs, they are used by millions of people around the world who want a different experience on their Android devices. These AOSP based ROMs bring a lot of features that are otherwise not present on stock or even OEM modified Android iterations. Moreover, ROMs are often swiftly updated with new features, which means that they almost always have something new to offer. CyanogenMod today launched GalleryNext on the Play Store, its their new software that seeks to revamp the built-in image gallery that ships with their ROMs.

The team believes that the current AOSP Gallery shipping with its ROMs is “severely lacking,” and it has addressed this with GalleryNext. Available in beta, the new app brings all pictures in one centralized location and offers integration with a plethora of cloud services such as Dropbox, Flickr, Picasa and Facebook. It also touts Moments support, which automatically classifies and groups media based on meta data. GalleryNext also supports video playback and GIF, along with deduplication in ‘All’ view and more. Upcoming features include editor support and implement of Android 4.4 KitKat’s immersive mode user interface. Since this is a beta release, there might be a few bugs here and there, which will be taken care of in the subsequent updates. To download GalleryNext, join CyanogenMod’s Google+ community and then proceed to the Play Store.

CyanogenMod Launches GalleryNext original content from Ubergizmo.

The folks at Cyanogen may have partnered up with Oppo to release the first Google CTS certified CyanogenMod phone, but they’re not stopping there. The team already makes the most widely used custom ROMs for Android devices, now they’re looking to break into the mainstream market. Recently it was announced that Cyanogen’s first hardware partner is a new company called OnePlus that’s headed by ex-Oppo vice president Pete Lau. The company has dropped a few hints about its first CyanogenMod powered device, the OnePlus One, it has pegged the release for the second quarter of 2014.

The company claims to be focusing on design, and it is confident that appearance wise, its phone is “more attractive than just about any phone on the market,” it calls the iPhone an exception. While it hasn’t been revealed what exactly we can expect under the hood, the company has confirmed that this smartphone will be compatible with 4G LTE. It has also revealed that a lightweight iteration of CyanogenMod will power the smartphone, an interation that’s going to be a departure to the familiar CyanogenMod experience we have come to expect on our Android devices. Customized features and new elements have been promised for the OnePlus One. The company is yet to talk about pricing and availability, so we’ll have have to wait and see how this project ultimately turns out.

OnePlus One Release Pegged For Q2, To Be ‘More Attractive’ Than Its Rivals original content from Ubergizmo.

Cyanogen Inc., the makers of an alternative Android ROM that last year raised $30 million (in two chunks) in VC funding, from Benchmark Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, to try to turn what has generally been a geek project into something with more mainstream appeal, has named an official hardware partner for its endeavour.

Fittingly enough, this partner, OnePlus, is itself a startup — albeit, one founded by a person with experience of putting CyanogenMod on phones. Namely, former Oppo VP Pete Lau, who had been involved in bringing CyanogenMod to Chinese OEM Oppo’s N1 smartphone.

Lau has clearly decided to take that experience and apply it wholesale, in a new setting — where the effort isn’t an adjunct to business-as-usual Android handsets.

In a blog post announcing the news, OnePlus said: “The CyanogenMod team will work in tandem with us to combine the best hardware with the best software. They are developing a custom version of CyanogenMod with special features and tweaks.”

The first fruit of the partnership is going to be called the rather tongue-twisting OnePlus One. There’s precious little detail at this point about how the phone is going to differ from the N1 running CyanogenMod — not to mention stand out from the more-vanilla-Android crowd. But it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a mid-range device, with a pledge of “the latest and highest spec hardware” for the OnePlus One.

Other descriptors used are “fast, clean and beautiful”, which is all terribly non-specific so it’s a case of wait and see what the partnership delivers. The biggest trick the pair will have to pull off is making CyanogenMod attractive to a more mainstream user than has generally been the case thus far.

The OnePlus One is due to debut in the first half of this year, with a limited launch in “selected markets” initially, but with the aim of broadening availability down the line.

H/t to @whatthebit

[Image by Johan Larsson via Flickr]

Its easy to get flabbergasted by the sheer number of Android devices that are out there in the world, and its equally as impressive to see the success that CyanogenMod has achieved. The CM team makes the world’s most popular custom ROMs for a plethora of Android devices, they are loved by millions of users around the world. The official status page reveals that now more than 10 million Android devices around the world are powered by CyanogenMod custom ROMs, its good news for fans of the CM and Android customization community.

The 10 million figure represents the number of devices, not users, those with multiple devices running CyanogenMod ROMs are counted twice. Furthermore, devices that are not actively used are removed from the stats in 90 days. CM Jelly Bean ROMs are by far the most popular, with over 1.15 million users, Jelly Bean trails at second with 700,000. The most popular device is Samsung Galaxy S with more than half a million active users around the world. First Nexus device doesn’t come until the 8th spot on the list which is occupied by the Galaxy Nexus GSM. These figures are bound to go up soon, given the fact that the first Google CTS certified Oppo smartphone with CyanogenMod pre-installed is going to ship in the near future.

Over 10 Million Android Devices Now Run CyanogenMod original content from Ubergizmo.