In a post issued on 24th December the the CyanogenMod team announced in a blog post that they will be shutting down the 8 year old custom ROM community that CyanogenMod was known for. The name that made custom ROMs and modding of Android phones safe and mainstream now shuts down as Cyanogen Inc (Cyngn) and Kondik the name behind the CyanogenMod shuts down the infrastructure backing the community.
The post labelled “A Fork in the Road” explains how some recent changes made the whole team expect an outcome similar to this and that in no way will the development of Custom ROMs stop. The debs involved will move on to make ROMs under a new name, still possibly held together by their development past.
Embracing that spirit, we the community of developers, designers, device maintainers and translators have taken the steps necessary to produce a fork of the CM source code and pending patches. This is more than just a ‘rebrand’. This fork will return to the grassroots community effort that used to define CM while maintaining the professional quality and reliability you have come to expect more recently.
The future of this highly popular and community based ROM may simply shift to a new name. But, for now an 8 year old legend comes to a rest and a lot of users of the ROM are left with a bad taste in their mouth.
The CyanogenMod team will be moving on to form what they are calling the new LineageOS :
So, yes, this is us. LineageOS will be a continuation of what CyanogenMod was. To quote Andy Rubin, this is the definition of open. A company pulling their support out of an open source project does not mean it has to die.
There is no shortage of mobile Internet browsing apps. Now, here comes one more browsing app called Gello, right now, only for Android. Gello is a Chromium-based browser that is developed by Cyanogen. But what is so special about this browser? In a market already full to the edge with third party browsers, Gello’s single selling point will be tons of customization options.
If you have been using the Chrome browser on your Android device, what you see in the video may look familiar. Apparently, CyanogenMod is using Chromium and adding its features and services.
CyanogenMod’s Joey Rizzoli teased the new browser on Tuesday in a Google+ post and said, “Coming to a screen near you through +CyanogenMod! Will unveil more soon!!” He also shared a 14-second YouTube video showing some highlights of the upcoming browser including an extremely customised interface, save for offline browsing feature, night mode, new privacy and safety settings, and new download settings.
The Gello browser would be directed at those who fancy AOSP instead of Google’s Android. But, it is also possible that it could be installed directly on traditional Android devices.
If you have entry-level handsets, then Gello might not be for you. According to CM team member Joey Rizzoli, Gello will not be available on “low-end devices or devices with small system partitions”. Rizolli also cited that the team plans to bring more characteristics to Gello. Let us wait and watch!
At the moment, We do not know the release dates of Gello. But, when the browser finally gets released, it will come with an open-source licence, which will allow everyone with enough creativity or programming skills to contribute to the project.
The two budding players in their respective fields, Cyanogen and OnePlus, are finally breaking their last thread. Both the companies went through ups and downs in the past few months and now, the two have decided to part ways. A confirmation came from Cyanogen at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing when Cyanogen’s co-founders announced about ending their relationship with OnePlus.
The Co-Founder of Cyanogen, Steve Kondik spoke on the issue –
That’s probably the last you will see from that partnership.… Two new companies are trying to do crazy stuff, a lot of people collide.
Kirt McMaster and Steve Kondik, Co-Founders of Cyanogen stated that both the companies have different goals, and their visions are not coinciding at a point. The fledgling firms will now be heading with their own goals.
The conflict between Cyanogen and OnePlus started when Cyanogen decided to jump into bed with Micromax. For a period, the One devices were banned by the Supreme Court of India. The two companies went back and forth for a while, but have now officially decided to part ways.
Happier Days : OnePlus running Cyanogen
Meanwhile, it is learnt that OnePlus has moved on quickly, and is already working with new brand partners. This might help them scale up the production of the next software to reach the markets quickly. No names linked with OnePlus have come up till now, but it is likely to be an inexpensive Chinese manufacturer. The Chinese equipment maker confirmed on the separation and its association with other partners –
OnePlus shipped reasonable volume, but nothing compared to what some of these other partners can ship… we are working with partners that can scale much quicker.
For now, OnePlus has launched its first own OxygenOS that would fill in for CyanogenOS. After that, the new (unknown) software is expected to replace OxygenOS or provide an alternative for it.
After weeks of delay, OnePlus finally rolled out the much-awaited CyanogenMod OS 12 (CM OS 12) based on Lollipop. It was only for a few days that the release sustained and after that, the company decided to halt its roll out. The Chinese smartphone brand did have a sold reason for this. They announced that the OTA update of CM OS 12 had been paused temporarily to add a new feature called “OK OnePlus”.
The Co-Founder of OnePlus commented on the issue on Twitter. His quote is captured in the screenshot below:
As per his comments, the roll out will resume mid-week with the new ‘OK OnePlus’ feature. He also added, “Those who don’t want to wait, feel free to flash manually.” The new tool on OnePlus One functions similar to ‘OK Google’ on Android phones. It will also work when the device is in sleep mode; a feature that was introduced with the Moto X.
For folks who have updated their One devices with CM 12 will also be able to access the feature. Users with the pre-installed operating system will receive an OTA update to incorporate ‘OK OnePlus’ tool on their handsets. It is not certain if the Indian version of OnePlus’ custom ROM OxygenOS will get the voice command feature.
The latest CyanogenMod OS 12 update brings some unique features like new Cyanogen email app, Exchange Support, Multiple Account integration and canned responses for quicker replies.
After months of battling rumours, Cyanogen has officially confirmed that they are partnering with Microsoft. They commented that they will be bringing Microsoft’s useful apps integrated on their popular OS soon. The two companies have supposedly been negotiating for quite some time to create a Cyanogen version which features Microsoft applications.
In an email to The Verge, Cyanogen CEO said:
People around the world use Cyanogen’s operating system and popular Microsoft services to engage with what matters most to them on their mobile devices. This exciting partnership with Microsoft will enable us to bring new kinds of integrated services to mobile users in markets around the world.
Cyanogen said that it would be pre-installing Microsoft apps on its modified Android OS, starting later this year. It means users will have access to Microsoft apps such as Bing, OneDrive, Outlook, OneNote and Microsoft Office. In turn, Microsoft will be experimenting with a number of Android apps. This project has been taken up to lure away consumers’ dependance on the Android applications. It seems like the win-win partnership between Microsoft and Cyanogen.
OnePlus users were finally delighted to see the launch of the new Oxygen OS by the company. It had been in works for quite a while and it has now finally reached OnePlus One devices. In the meanwhile, the company was also supposed to launch the new version of CyanogenMod for its customers but it seems like they have to wait a while to get their update.
OnePlus has said that the new update has been delayed due to certification issues at Google. Cyanogen is proactively working to release the new update, and its boss, Kirt McMaster was visibly frustrated with the mounting queries for the date of arrival. It was the OnePlus bosses who had promised an estimated time of arrival (ETA) for the latest CyanogenMod OTA update.
An interaction with the co-founder of CyanogenMod, Steve Kondik was posted on the forums of OnePlus. Steve said that they are in a scramble mode and really want to bring their hard work to the public. In one of the latest posts, Steve has said that it might take about four more days to get the certifications done. He added that he might write about what all transpired behind the scenes to bring the new update once it came to the market that we bet would be exciting to read.
The comment was posted on Friday, hence we should expect the update within the next two days. OnePlus updates have faced delays in the past and though it is appreciable that it wants to give top-notch service to its customers but it’s rather necessary to give them a quality bug-free update.
At the launch of OnePlus One in India, the Chinese producer confirmed that it will release the latest Android update for the One devices within three months. It’s been exactly three months since (on 23rd February) and the Indian One users are still deprived of the highly acclaimed update.
The Co-Founder of OnePlus Carl Pei took to Twitter and apologised for the company’s failure in delivering the latest Android OS on time. He announced that it will be delayed further for a few more weeks and will arrive sometime in March. The delay period is for both the operating systems – OxygenOS and CyanogenMod 12S.
@rajarshi_10 We released an L alpha a while ago, but a more stable build (OxygenOS & CM12S) will need to wait until March. Sorry for delay!
The company is said to be working on an upgrade called CM12S, which will be based on Lollipop. Meanwhile, OnePlus’ own operating system OxygenOS is in progress, and it will also run on Android Lollipop. For now, an Alpha built of OxygenOS is out. Since we already know, Indian OnePlus One devices will not receive any more updates from Cyanogen, and, as a result, current OnePlus One devices run on Google’s Android v4.4 OS.
Users can advance to the CyanogenMod 12S by simply updating the handset, but if someone wishes to install OxygenOS on their devices, they have to wipe out their phones completely. For now, the users have to wait patiently until March for either of the upgrades.
Despite all the discrepancies between Cyanogen and OnePlus, CyanogenMod 12S is in its final stages of testing and ready to roll out for OnePlus Global devices. This implies that most of the phones shipped with CyanogenMod 11 S are still going to get updates in the future. Though an exact date has not been announced yet, since multiple parties are involved.
Lollipop build for @oneplus one has entered QA/QE stage for release! Testing & cert to begin alongside 3rd party partners to meet GMS reqs.
This is quite contrary to OnePlus’ recent announcement that they will be developing their own exclusive software called Oxygen OS. With Cyanogen no longer the partner of choice for OnePlus, there will still be support for all phones that shipped with CyanogenMod 11S.
As most of us are already aware, OnePlus and Cyanogen had a tiff of sorts after Micromax bagged an exclusive deal for CyanogenMod in India. OnePlus One devices purchased outside of India, will get to keep their OS, while devices manufactured specifically for the Indian market will at some point get an update to OxygenOS. Now that is a bit of a bummer for OnePlus One owners in India.
The Chinese electronics manufacturer OnePlus was granted some time by the Delhi High Court to think of some alternative to Cyanogen embedded on its devices and the firm has made the best use of this liberty. OnePlus has announced the development of an alpha version of its non-Cyanogen ROM called ‘Android Lollipop Alpha’. It is said to be in the early stages and an official roll out is yet awaited.
The Android Lollipop Alpha is a result of the allegations put by the homegrown smartphone maker Micromax on OnePlus, which was in an exclusive agreement with Cynogen. According to the statement by Micromax, OnePlus devices cannot run on CyanogenMod as the exclusive rights to use the same are with Micromax. The flagship phone was banned by the Delhi High Court and even its promotion and import was restricted in India. Later, the court lifted the ban temporarily and granted the Shenzhen-based electronics giant a few weeks time to come up with an alternative to Cyanogen.
The company said that the new ROM has nothing extra to offer and comes with the stock features of AOSP Lollipop. It also added that users will come across a lot of bugs as the ROM is in early stages.
As per the statement on the OnePlus forum –
This is the first step in what will become our own custom ROM. It’s so early, in fact, that this build contains no extras beyond the stock features of AOSP Lollipop. It’s the base that we will continue to build upon, improve, and customize as we stabilize core functionalities on the latest firmware updates.
As we look towards the official ROM release in the near future, we will keep to our promise and deliver an experience that is customizable, yet bloat-free with stock-Android-like simplicity by default; we wouldn’t ask you to settle for anything less.
Willing users can download the new ROM here, but the company will not cover any damages caused by the Android Lollipop Alpha.
A few bugs known to be occurring in the new ROM are:
Data roaming turns on by default
The ROM is likely to cause bricking. It’s advisable to take the backup of your data.
Unstable camera and video.
Capacitive keys do not turn off when you enable software keys.
Periodical clock crash.
Startup time will be a bit slow on first boot.
Unstable Wi-Fi.
Build not eligible for OTA updates.
With the deadline on this Chinese smartphone company from the Delhi High Court, it seems that OnePlus has done all it could to work on a variant of the Cynogen. However, this new ROM seems to have a few bugs and it will be interesting to observe whether this will hinder the sales of OnePlus in India.
With the introduction of the YU brand, Micromax has shown that it has the potential to rise in the brutal global mobile market. The first phone from the brand, ‘Yureka,’ is packed with amazing specs and comes for a price that can induce goosebumps. YU televentures is a brand formed by a collaboration between Micromax’s founders and famed custom ROM maker, CyanogenMod. Cyanogen’s active support might help YU create a mass fan following for itself.
The first offspring of the collaboration is the ‘Yureka’. It flaunts a 1.5 GHz, 64-bit Snapdragon 615 processor, 2 GB DDR3, 16 GB internal storage and CAT-4 LTE. Yureka’s spec sheet looks better than any other release from Micromax’s stable.
Let’s look into why Micromax failed to be a brand that Indians could proudly call their own. Firstly, Micromax is not into the manufacturing business (if you didn’t already know), it rebrands handsets that it buys from China. This leads to a frequent disappearance or shortage of the devices from the market. Another adverse effect of this business strategy is the lack of spares for the devices. The company buys a limited quantity of devices by an estimation of sales numbers and if the Chinese manufacturer stops producing the model, the access to spares of that particular model also starts to dry up. This is the reason why sometimes phones with defects are stuck at their service center for weeks or even months.
Secondly, as the devices are bought from foreign manufacturers, there isn’t software support for them. The bootloader is locked, so advanced users find it tough to tweak around the device, unless someone takes the effort to unlock it. The lack of software updates is also a major bone of contention between the company and its customers. While products like the Motorola Moto G and E, which exist in Micromax’s home market, get almost instant updates; Micromax users are left fending for themselves.
Motorola, one of Micromax’s competitors, managed to deliver regular software updates whereas Micromax fell behind.
It isn’t like Micromax is short on cash. If we would have to bet our money on one company that could have become a stalwart of phone manufacturers in India, we would bet on Micromax. But instead, they took the easier approach by simply rebranding devices made by foreign manufacturers. The company has the resources and potential to become a respectable brand around the world, but it chooses to be an amateurish brand with no real long term strategy. It could have been India’s Xiaomi, but its choice of mediocrity and the lack of real effort is holding it back.
With YU televentures, Micromax hopes to take on the issues that have blown up its public perception. The new brand though is not setting up a manufacturing unit as of yet, which should be one of its top priorities. But at least Micromax has taken the first baby steps to answer its critics.
YU’s biggest strength, of course, is Cyanogenmod, the custom ROM brings improved functionality and provides immense convenience to the consumers. Running on CM OS 11 which is based on Android 4.4.4, the YU Yureka offers an immense amount of customizability. It provides themes, ability to manipulate the functions of the buttons, improved hardware performance and everything in between. Not just that, it adds features like Baton from Nexbit (a Silicon Valley partner of Cyanogen) that would make the transfer of data and apps from one device to another feel like a natural limb movement.
At the press event, the term ecosystem was used multiple times. The presenter spoke about establishing a common forum where customers and developers can interact with each other to improve the functionalities of the devices. This is also something Micromax could have created by itself in the past four years. But better late than never. With their new forum page, YU will be a collaborative effort between consumers and the company. Customers can discuss the issues that they have with their devices and the developers will try to address them. There will also be regular OTA updates every month which will keep these devices in sync with the latest developments.
Micromax’s collaboration with Cyanogenmod gives it an edge above others
For Micromax, the success of YU televentures can work as a great PR boost. For the business aspect of YU, the company is taking the approach of reducing distribution, advertising and retail end costs by releasing the device online. According to earlier reports the unit price of the imported device stood at Rs. 8301 and it is being sold at Rs.8999 so the margin for the company is minuscule. This is an effort to create a buzz for the device.
The service aspect of the Yu also garnered massive applause at the presentation. The company plans to begin a door-to-door service initiative by which professionals would come to the house of the buyer to service the device. This sounds like a far fetched plan for a device worth Rs. 9,000. To see if this initiative actually succeeds, we have to wait for it to arrive. But if it does succeed, we would be the first to applaud as it would raise the standard of customer support for mobiles in India.
The company also plans to get into the accessories segment (as it should). At present, it is only offering leather cases and a tempered glass screen protector but they plan to expand it further. They also plan to delve into producing devices like wearables and power banks. This would be an important step towards improving and expanding the ecosystem that the founders of YU wish to achieve.
YU’s grand plans sound amazing on paper, but we will still hold on to our skepticism. Micromax has always promised us grand things, but when it came to delivering, its past promises were found to be mostly empty. We do think that YU has the potential to revolutionize the mobile sphere in India, but bits like providing door-to-door services, still sound audacious for the company. We will keep a vigilant eye on the YU televentures in action to see if it stands true to the promises it has made. In the meanwhile, as a parent brand, Micromax should work towards fixing its follies to become a world-class brand that Indians could feel proud enough to flaunt. We are excited Micromax, don’t let us down.
India’s top phone company, Micromax finally lifted the veils off its new brand ‘YU’. The company claims that the Y stands for the users while the U stands for them signifying the collaborative approach to the new brand. The brand is formed in partnership with famed custom ROM maker CyanogenMod. The first device from the brand is called Yureka, and it’s one revolutionary device. The company also launched a new website for the device with the url yuplaygod.com. It will be the community address for the YU movement.
Personalization
YU is claimed to be an ecosystem where people create, add and manipulate the device in whatever way they want. Cyanogen’s Vik Natarajan explained the features of the device. The custom ROM gives immense personalization options of the device. You can choose from various custom themes; the company will provide two free themes and more will be added with time. You can change the functions of the buttons on the device. You can select the appearance of almost anything on your device. Cyanogen gives you options to tweak everything until it feels just right.
Security
YU devices also offer many security and convenience features. The devices will be dual sim and will have a blacklist feature through which you can block unwanted numbers. It also empowers the users to protect their data and control what they share with the apps. The ‘Privacy guard’ feature shows you on a per-app basis what permissions have been provided to it. Through this, you can select the limits of the access of these apps to your data. In case of a theft of the device, you can find and wipe the device; the data from the device is encrypted. The feature that will improve your sense of security is the jumbled up pin entry where the numbers jumble up and only you know the perfect combination to unlock your device. App lock is installed by default on the system, so you don’t need an extra app for the purpose.
Quality Sound and Pictures
For the shutterbugs, the camera on YU devices will be a treat. It is intuitive and really easy to use. The devices support multiple burst mode and 60fps slow motion video, they are also working on an update to bring 120fps, that would be a real treat.
Music lovers would appreciate the 24-bit high-res loss-less audio on the device. The music app consumes a lot less energy in comparison to others so you can enjoy your tunes longer. Along with these are multiple audio effects options.
Ease of use with multiple devices
Cyanogen has also partnered with a Silicon Valley company called Nexbit for a product called ‘Baton’ that will make your life a lot easier. Through this, you can start your apps from exactly the spot you left in the last device instead of starting from the beginning. It also saves all your app settings and logins so you can get on with your task as if you’d been on the device since the beginning. Using another feature from nexbit called ‘Sync’, you can have the same app settings across all your devices. With the support of another feature called ‘Pass’, you can send an app from one device to another with ease.
YUREKA!
Coming back to Yureka, the device of the hour. It runs on Cyanogen OS 11 which is based on Android 4.4.4. It is powered by the 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor clocking at 1.5 GHz along with 2 GB DDR3 RAM. The internal storage is 16 GB, which is expandable up to 32 GB. It supports LTE Cat 4 with upto 150 Mbps downloads. The device gets its juice from a 2500 mAh battery. The company claims the battery performs 25% better thanks to Cyanogen’s customization.
The display on the device is a 5.5 inch 720p HD screen protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The device is not weak on the camera front either. It features a 13 MP shooter at the back with Sony Exmor sensor with an iris of f/2.2. On the front, you get a 5 MP fixed focus front camera for selfie shooter. The device presently shoots slow motion at 60 fps but after an update it will be capable of shooting at 120 fps. It is also capable of shooting time lapses. This device has the potential to become the darling of amateur camera-persons.
Getting ‘inspired’ by OnePlus One’s amazing Sandstone back panel, Yu gets a ‘Moonstone grey’ back cover which looks great. The specs on the device look fantastic, at the same time it’s quite a looker. The brand offers suave leather back panels and a tempered screen guard as additional accessories for the device.
Revenge of the Nerds
Cyanogen has always been the playground of nerds and hence the company is giving them comforts quite unheard of in the industry. Not only is the bootloader unlockable and kernel source opened up, the company’s warranty too won’t be void if you root the device. You will also get OTA updates every month, so the device will always be up to date as well as future-proof for a considerable amount of time.
Revolutionary Service Centre
Micromax also did something in terms of service that can only be described by the term ‘legendary’. It will provide free service to anyone who buys the device right at their doorstep. Once you have an issue with the device, you send a ticket, and the engineer will come to your place to fix the device. Service was the biggest bone of contention against Micromax devices, and it seems to have addressed it in the best possible manner.
The Indian mobile market disrupter
The biggest surprise of the day was the price of this formidable device. The Yureka is priced at Rs.8,999 which is phenomenal. The device will be available exclusively on Amazon.in, and the registrations will start on 19th of December at 2pm. It will be up for sale in the second week of January. The folks buying the device in the first sale will also get a free leather case worth Rs. 999 – the deal is simply unbelievable.
Today was definitely the beginning of a grand new chapter in the Indian mobile market. There was a lot of hate brewing against Micromax following the ban of OnePlus One, but this might help it gain some serious goodwill. Yu is a game-changer in every sense of the word, and we can proudly say that we have a Xiaomi-killer in the making. The pricing is simply mind blowing, and Cyanogen’s immense convenience will certainly win hearts all around. In the end, all we can say is good job Micromax, more power to YU.
It seems that trending smartphones aren’t easy to get their grasp on for Indian consumers. After Xiaomi, now its the Chinese device manufacturer OnePlus who has been banned by the Delhi High Court from selling, promoting or for that matter, even importing its devices on Indian soil. Thanks to Micromax, the order has come a day after the Indian manufacturer appealed to the Delhi High Court that OnePlus infringed on their India exclusive agreement with Cyanogen.
Micromax said-
We incurred major expenses for creation of a brand exclusivity for providing to Indian customers mobile phones with Cyanogen operating systems it would suffer irreparable harm and loss if the defendants (OnePlus) are permitted to continue with their illegal acts in violation of the agreement between Micromax and Cyanogen
Cyanogen had apparently signed a deal with Micromax for exclusively offering CyanogenMod OS devices in India. Owing to this exclusive agreement with Micromax, Cyanogen stated that OnePlus devices in India would not be receiving CyanogenMod updates from the company either. In addition, OnePlus One units sold in India would also be deprived of Cyanogen branding as well.
Micromax also has an exclusive license for the whole of South Asia, while OnePlus has a non-exclusive license for the entire world except China. Meanwhile, OnePlus argues that CyanogenMod informed them of the termination of their collaboration, just a fortnight before their launch in India. Cyanogen, on the other hand states that their agreement with Micromax technically cancels all prior agreements.
It will be interesting to observe whether OnePlus follows the same path of their Chinese compatriot Xiaomi, who face a similar ban.
After the dejection that set on Indian smartphone consumers after the ban on Xiaomi, a new development might infuriate them further. Micromax has filed an infringement complaint calling for a ban on sales of OnePlus devices as it now owns exclusive rights to sell Cyanogen devices in India. The fans of the flagship killer have waited for a long time to get their hands on the exclusive device, and this development might backfire on Micromax.
Micromax is going to launch its own brand of CyanogenMod powered devices called ‘YU’. The company states that it incurred massive costs to create an exclusive brand for selling Cyanogen powered devices in India. The devices are up for launch tomorrow, 18th of December.
According to Livemint, the complaint was registered at Delhi High court and Micromax secured a temporary injunction in the case. The court has ordered OnePlus to refrain from marketing, selling and shipping its popular handsets in India. But to give the Chinese company some relief, the judge allowed them to sell all the remaining stocks they have on hand. OnePlus began selling the handsets on 2nd of December.
OnePlus has a non-exclusive right to use CyanogenMod‘s trademark and software all across the world except China. While Micromax has an exclusive license for South Asia, this might become a major hindrance in the growth path of the OnePlus. The company had major plans for India, including bringing the next generation OnePlus Two in India, but it is yet to be seen what this development leads to. OnePlus also informed the court that Cyanogen intimated them about the exclusive agreement with Micromax just a fortnight before its India launch. The court told OnePlus that it could sue Cyanogen but that can only be governed by the laws of California where the agreement was signed.
It might not actually mean the end of the Chinese company’s India journey. OnePlus is already planning a new OS based on the latest Android L update, but this will lead to the demise of its most appreciated feature, the CyanogenMod.
Micromax on the other hand can gather a bad public reputation following this development. Though they are right in the technical and legal aspects of things, but the public opinion might shift against them and that too just a day before their brand launch. The company will have to bring something exceptional to take on the massive popularity of the OnePlus One.
Micromax if you don’t want to face immense public ire, you better bring something that blows our minds or else you’ll be seen as the killer of the flagship killer in India, and you really don’t want to be that company.
In other (OnePlus) news, they’re launching a secret device today, any guesses what it might be?
Micromax’s CynogenMod-powered new brand called ‘Yu’ is just a couple of days away. Amazon, which would be exclusively launching the device, is all prepped to host the new brand. A new page for the brand is up and it will get a lot of folks excited.
Using the strengths of CyanogenMod’s amazing features, Micromax hopes to climb up the ladders in the points tally. This may be possible as CyanogenMod is one of the most appreciated custom ROM’s out there which not just gives you amazing customization features, it also adds regular updates. The updates bit would really help Micromax’s image as the company has been constantly berated for its low quality after sales support.
Amazon is presently hosting a page that simply shows an unmarked phone with the words “Are you ready to Play God” written on it. It is followed by a tagline that says “The Zeus of phones is about to arrive,” which rather sounds like an overstatement.
The accompanying video on the page flaunts the customizability features. But weirdly the phone that they are featuring looks pretty close to the OnePlus One – the smartphone that can be credited with bringing CyanogenMod in the mainstream.
Yu comes to town on the 18th of this month, and we hope with this new release, Micromax raises the standards of Indian made devices. The company has also talked about the possibilities of wearables in the future, which would help it compete with the big brands. It has constantly risen up, and Cyanogen can help the company to rise further in the game. All it needs to do now is revamp and strengthen its after sales service because that will add immense credibility to the company’s reputation.
The wait for India’s first truly CyanogenMod based device is about to draw to a close. It has certainly been a long wait. CyanogenMod used to be just for the nerds who had the expertise in flashing custom ROMs, but OnePlus One brought it into the mainstream. Indians fans of the ROM maker were truly elated when OnePlus disclosed their plans for India. But they were disappointed to know that it won’t get support from Cyanogen because of their exclusive partnership in India with Micromax. The Indian brand is now ready to unveil its first Cyanogen powered device/devices on the 18th of December and has sent out invites for the launch.
There isn’t a lot known about the smartphone except that it will be a separate entity from Micromax’s usual Canvas line of devices. Micromax has stated some facts about this new family of devices that sound enticing. The company has said that it will service Yu devices even if they are rooted. It also hinted at probable future prospects of wearables under the Yu brand.
Following the footsteps of the OnePlus, Micromax has also set up a developers forum. Here folks can register complaints, provide suggestions and cooperate in the open source process of making the devices better.
The best part about the Yu devices would be their updatability. Updates have been a major topic of contention between Micromax and its customers. Luckily CynogenMod’s proactive update schedule will take care of all that headache. But we seriously hope they add some serious muscle in the hardware too. We really want an international standard Indian brand and Micromax needs to work a bit harder if it wants to be India’s shining glory in the international market.
