Most of you have heard of CyanogenMod (CM), and majority of you know that it is an operating system for smart phones. But guess what; there is more to it. For those who want to know more about this, read on!
Android is an operating system based on Linux kernel, which was developed by Android Inc. and later bought by Google mostly for touch screen smart phones and tablets. Android is an open source OS and whenever Google announces a new version of Android, they release the source code on their website. Now device manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, LG, and others download this source code and customize it according to their will and release it on their devices.
CyanogenMod works in a similar way. It is a group of developers that provide a highly customized version of Android. The development of CyanogenMod commenced in the year 2009 with an aim to create a modified Android, to be installed on rooted devices. The purpose was to provide users with extra features, which are not found in the original versions of stock Android. Cyanogen is a startup that makes alternative firmware for Google’s Android operating system. Steve Kondik is the founder of CyanogenMod Inc. CyanogenMod is also known as Cyanogen, while Mod stands for modify.
Features of Cyanogen
Cyanogen provides various features, which are not found in Android. CM gets updated on the latest Android quickly and it continuously releases updates every week or so. CM offers better RAM, resource, and memory management since it does not include a lot of apps that many companies include by default. CyanogenMod stands out because all others have for long imposed certain restrictions upon the smart phones. Most of the smart phones have their own customs and have certain preinstalled apps that are useless for the users and which in turn slow down the devices.
But some of the Android enthusiasts have already identified alternates to do away with these restrictions. Obtaining complete access to an Android device is now possible through a process called rooting. Rooting allows users to easily replace the smart phone’s stock firmware with a different one. When this process was formulated, developers started making their own custom ROMs and began distributing them throughout the Android community. But rooting has its cons: you can no more have the warranty of the device as the device is no more secure after rooting and you may even damage your phone if proper steps are not followed.
In CyanogenMod, you can tweak your phone and customize integral parts of your phone’s performance, visual appearance, and much more. You also get powerful features which are not available on stock Android. You are the ones who decide how your phone will look and feel like, not the manufacturers.
Why Cyanogen is likeable?
The main objective of Cyanogen was to create a direct-to-consumer operating system, which is currently not deployed by other handset manufacturers. Imagine for a second, a phone that instantly backs up your files and other data to cloud or uses Spotify as standard music playback. This is what every smart phone user dreams to get their hands on? Cyanogen builds an open platform where the best services play a much bigger role than they currently do as a standalone app. Cyanogen is now coming up in phones as pre- loaded OS like Android.
Stock ROMs come built-in with all Android phones in large size, but they have heavy user interface thus providing a bad user experience and constant lags and slow responses. The main advantage of CyanogenMod over other OS is the control it gives you over almost every part of your phone.
Other useful features:
- Ability to reply to messages from the notification bar
- Record your screen as a video file
- Customize the Android’s PIE Controls which allow you to do away with the on-screen navigation bar.
- CyanogenMod has its own File Manager
- A customized lock screen with shortcuts
- M Account software
- Privacy Guard
- User configurable navigation bar
Another major reason behind using CyanogenMod is that you can use Android the way Google intended it to be. With all additional non- useful carrier based built-in apps, the stock Android look is taken away from the Android devices provided by different manufacturers. Most of us do not even know about the look and feel of stock Android. With Cyanogen you can feel and experience stock Android on your device without the need to buy a Nexus device. The speed of Cyanogen is much better compared to the other android devices. OEM skins are those that take up extra resources leading to lagging of the device while using some resources in apps. In Cyanogen, there are no OEM skins that take up these precious resources. Thus, this free resource will help you in improving the performance of your device. Also you do not have to wait for your manufacturer to release the latest version of Android to your device. Whenever a new version is released by Google, the CyanogenMod team integrates the sources with the CM branch and releases the build.
How do I get CyanogenMod?
To install CyanogenMod in your phone, you need to follow some easy steps. The steps might vary depending on the devices. The link (http://get.cm) provides a “one click” installer that will take you through step by step process of making your device run on CyanogenMod. You might also require a PC-based installer app which is available from CyanogenMod, as this process is much more than just a simple app installation.
Are you ready to customize your phone with CyanogenMod? Share your thoughts with us.
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About the author:
Telvin is an Android Software Developer, who has been working in Suyati Technologies for close to a year. He is a tech freak, and his curiosity and passion towards technology drive him to be a developer. Telvin is in love with traveling; in fact, his bucket list is loaded with travel itineraries alone! He believes that the world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.