CyanogenMod has been my preferred version of Android since shortly after I bought a Droid Incredible four years ago. The Incredible was a great little phone, but I was hungry for the latest version of Google’s mobile OS. I spent hours fiddling with drivers, command-line programs I didn’t really understand, and custom recoveries that didn’t exactly scream “user friendly.” I loved the results, and CyanogenMod has ended up on every device I’ve owned since (though my new Moto X is waiting for a release). The installation process for custom ROMs has gotten more familiar with practice, but it hasn’t fundamentally gotten any easier for people trying out the process for the first time. That may be about to change, and it’s all thanks to the same people who brought me my first and favorite ROM.
Last weekend, Cyanogen Inc. made its first product, the CyanogenMod Installer, available to a limited number of consumers. In its own way, this simple-looking program may be every bit as revolutionary as the open-source operating system it installs. As long as your device is supported, the whole process is completely automated. I’m not talking about mostly automated, like many of the so-called “one-click” programs for rooting Android devices. Plug in your device, run the installer, click yes a couple of times, and you go from a stock device, complete with locked bootloader, to running a full-fledged custom ROM in under 15 minutes. You don’t even need to download Google’s proprietary apps, like the Play Store, manually. The installer takes care of everything for you. Just restoring my Nexus 7 to stock to try this process took longer and was more difficult.
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Until now, custom ROMs have been the epitome of geek tinkering on Android. It’s a process that has simply been beyond average users, even if it interested them. More than one person has asked me to put CyanogenMod on their phones or tablets when they wanted the results without spending a ton of time figuring out how to get there. The CyanogenMod Installer could mean I never need to deal with that particular process again. I would feel confident in recommending the Installer to almost anyone, certain that they’d end up with a device running CyanogenMod.
This new installer has the potential to change a lot in the Android ecosystem. Cyanogen Inc. is looking to have its version of Android officially certified by manufacturers, which could mean faster updates for more users on more devices, without worries over voided warranties. Cyanogen Inc. has an install base roughly as large as Windows Phone right now, despite the difficulties. How many people will run it when it becomes easy?
For now, the CyanogenMod Installer is in beta testing, so few users have tried it. As of this writing, the CyanogenMod Installer Beta community on Google+ has only 1,672 members approved for access, but you can join in here. CyanogenMod veterans know that rule number one is don’t ask for ETAs. It’s done when it’s done. That being said, given how smoothly my experience went, I don’t see us having to wait too long to see the Installer get an official release.
That makes me want to get a second phone for playing with. My may phone for use, my second phone for messing up by experimentation. As in the old days when I ran two separate desktop machines, one on which I kept all my personal, and professional work. Then I had a second machine specifically for finding out how far I could go before it broke down (multi OS boot system).
Your article got my attention, that’s for sure.
liar. you used that second machine for porn.