Android News
Android Person of the Year Nominee: Cyanogen
December 23, 2010 | by Chris Smith
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Cyanogen
Developer of popular custom ROM.
Nominated because: He leads one of the most prolific custom ROM development teams
From the Android BBQ (dammit, why didn’t I go?), to CyanogenMod 6 and 6.1, to any other custom kernel or open source fun that most Android fanboys enjoy, the name “Cyanogen” is somewhere in the mix. Steve “Cyanogen” Kondik seems to be a figurehead for user-driven, open source Android development, and with his Team Douche band of developers helping build CyanogenMod for almost every Android handset that you can think of, Kondik is a major cog in the Android machine.
Most Androinica.com readers know Cyanogen, but for the two guys/gals out there that don’t have a clue, here is what you are missing. Cyanogen is an Android developer that found that hacking and modifying the HTC Dream’s firmware back in 2008 was an awesome thing to do. His idea was to develop and “hack” custom ROMs that used the open source Android operating system as a base, making the device run smoother and have the ability to gain newer features more often and faster. What he developed was the now infamous CyanogenMod that breathed new life into the G1 and other first-gen Android devices.
The goal of Cyanogen and CyanogenMod is to bring the standard-issue version of Android (Android Open Source Project) with essential fixes and tweaks that really enhance a phone’s use. The ROM requires users to root (gain root file system access) their phones and then flash the custom CyanogenMod firmware. The team has helped make this process even easier with the addition of the ‘ROM Manager’ app into the Android Market, essentially making installing, modding, fixing, and backing up of ROMs easy for almost anyone.
One of the greatest things about CyanogenMod is that as soon as the open source version of the latest build of Android is released, Team Douche is off to work porting it to a host of devices. Most times, the modified, stable versions of CyanogenMod are released before the large manufacturers and carriers can push out the update. While hordes of G1, myTouch, and other users spent much of 2010 waiting for updates, the wait for CM has typically been a few weeks (or nightly for the more adventurous). This shows the devotion (some may say obsession) that Cyanogen and his team possess when it comes to developing, creating, and making things work. With the release of the newest Android treat Gingerbread it will only be a matter of time before we see a custom build brought to supported devices.
Even after the debacle of late 2009 where Google sent a cease and desist to Cyanogen to not bundle the “Google Experience” apps with the custom CyanogenMod firmware, CyanogenMod is alive more than ever with support for around 17 devices, including the most popular Android devices in the U.S. There are literally tens of thousands of people running his modification, and many of those people are doing it on devices that would otherwise see limited development if left up to carriers and phone makers. When it comes to impact in 2010, thousands of people can vouch for Cyanogen.
You can get all of the information and features of the CyanogenMod firmware from the official website.
[Image credit: via AndroidAuthority]
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This article is part of a series of profiles on the people who most-impacted Android in 2010. Read more about the Android Person of the Year series here.
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+1
Easily the winner and I don't need to see any other names. Had CM on my G1 when people said it had been outdated and it performed just as well as the newer phones. Have it on a N1 and MyTouch Slide now and I'm not sure what boat I would be in without it. With the N1 being sidelined by the S it will not be seeing updates as regularly as before and let's not even start on the Slide. I hate to think what regular owners running the stock Roms on their Slide are putting up with right now. Carriers should take notes.
def the winner hands down
Hands-down winner. This guy has made Android the modding success and celebration of open source Google heralded it as. Kudos to Google, certainly, but without Cyanogen it would all just be talk. I love CM on my N1, and I'd never suffer anything less, now that I've had the best. Buy phone with unlocked bootloaders, people!
Google could have earned Person of the year in 2008 and 2009, but Cyanogen is definitely the Person of the Year for 2010. (Rohan Sharavan coming a close second cuz he has turned the Android world into crazy lunatics waiting for the much-anticipated Adam . . . including me!)
Like said in the article … the problem is not the "Google experience", it's phone makers crappy crap ! So long to get updates … I think they should propose the clean version to every one when a new one comes out. Each one choose to update right away or wait until the ROM for builders to come out.
THE BEST DEV . LONG LIVE CYANOGEN
Its a tough call for me between CyanogenMod and Chevys Simply Stunning. Both are fantastic but if you want all the bleeding edge features then Cyan is where its at. But SS has been so stable for me that I tend to use it more. Hope Cyanogen wins the person of the year. He obviously has a love for android and its great that he shows that love to so many devices. Its been a great year for android and 2011 looks even more promising! Thanks for all the great software!
Cyanogen and the rest of Team Douche do a great job at bringing later Android versions to devices that the manufacturers and/or carriers have abandoned. It's a shame they don't support devices from manufacturers like ZTE and Huawei which thousands of people own.
We published a full-page print piece about Cyanogen last month–yes, spurred by the awesomeness that was the Android BBQ
A PDF of the Cyanogen profile–more like an introduction of Kondik to the international business community–can be found here: http://www.yousendit.com/download/RlRwOU1YQVMwMEd4dnc9PQ