Every mobile device enthusiast knows what CyanogenMod is and the benefits it has brought to the Android ecosystem. In the eyes of Google and everyone else, CyanogenMod has always been a kind of rebel, however, with the creation of Cyanogen Inc. things changed a lot. Now news is circulating that Microsoft wants to invest in Cyanogen, but the question of the 70 million dollars is for what.
Many smartphones that were abandoned by their manufacturers have found new energy under CyanogenMod, the favorite parallel Android of fifty million people. Not all smartphones can receive it, and the installation process remains a nightmare, but its main advantage is that it returns control of the operating system to the user. Lately we have seen many advances in the area of modular smartphones. The idea of increasing memory or updating the SoC is very attractive, but it loses a good part of its meaning if the available operating system is just one. CyanogenMod has also stimulated the development of other alternative projects, leading to the creation of multiple firmware versions for mid-range and low-end smartphones. Even Microsoft explored the use of an alternative Android in its Nokia X units, but now it would be planning something a bit more aggressive.
According to what was published by the Wall Street Journal, the Redmond giant has as a priority to invest a sum close to 70 million dollars in Cyanogen Inc., currently responsible for the CyanogenMod system. The number one reason for a financial move of this kind is quite obvious: Google. From a technical point of view, Android is open source, but Google's applications are not, and if manufacturers want to include them in their products, they must submit to Mountain View's parameters. The certification processes have become much more frustrating, and some internal Google decisions about security and bug fixing in Android have also been questioned. A couple of weeks ago, Kirt McMaster, CEO of Cyanogen Inc., was blunt with his statements: "We are going to take Android away from Google". 70 million dollars from Microsoft will definitely help in the process.
If we consider that Windows Phone has three percent of the global market, the idea of installing CyanogenMod as a third alternative mobile OS is not so far-fetched. With a greater presence of CyanogenMod, both Microsoft and other manufacturers and developers could avoid the clash with Google and publish their software without so many restrictions. If conditions are adequate, the investment could reach up to 100 million dollars. Cyanogen and Microsoft have opted for radio silence, a typical symptom that both are cooking something...
