Tag Archives: CustomRom

Cyanogen is now a company, aims to be third major mobile ecosystem

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Cyanogen is now a company and it wants to be the third major mobile ecosystem

CyanogenMod has grown unusually quickly in the past several months, polishing its custom Android firmware and introducing new services. We now know why the team has been so busy -- it's quietly been operating as a full-fledged company since April. The newly announced Cyanogen Inc., led by Boost Mobile co-founder Kirt McMaster, is devoted solely to building CyanogenMod as a platform. Some of the project's veteran developers are now full-time staff, including Steve Kondik (CTO) and Koushik Dutta (VP of Engineering). Read on to learn what the company has in store, including its hopes of eventually competing on the same level as heavy-hitters like Apple and Google.

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Source: CyanogenMod Blog

CyanogenMod details Device Finder, promises a secure way to track lost phones

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CyanogenMod Device Finder detailed, gives modders a secure way to track lost phones

While there's no shortage of tools to find lost Android smartphones, they're not especially secure; it's theoretically easy to spy on a handset without consent. The CyanogenMod team may foil those would-be snoopers with its newly detailed Device Finder service. Unlike many locators, Device Finder avoids storing passwords and encryption keys on its servers. Only the user's browser and the missing gadget know how to talk to each other, reducing the chances that ne'er-do-wells will steal logins or conduct man-in-the-middle attacks. The optional tool will eventually find its way into future CyanogenMod ROMs, although the developers have already posted source code for those who want to verify Device Finder's security first-hand.

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Source: CyanogenMod (Google+), CyanogenMod Blog

CyanogenMod 10.2 nightlies arrive, offer an unofficial taste of Android 4.3

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CyanogenMod mascot Cid

Official Android 4.3 upgrades are currently few and far between, but you won't have to wait for one if you're willing to experiment -- the first CyanogenMod 10.2 nightly builds have arrived. As of this writing, those with Samsung's Captivate, Galaxy S Relay 4G or AT&T Galaxy S III can install the unofficial firmware to take advantage of 4.3's new features. Just be aware that you're taking more risks than usually exist with such firmware; this is an early release of unsanctioned code, after all. If that's no deterrent, the first releases of CyanogenMod 10.2 await at the source link.

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Via: CyanogenMod (Google+)

Source: CyanogenMod Downloads

Mobile Miscellany: week of January 21st, 2013

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Mobile Miscellany week of January 21st, 2013

If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a new smartphone from Xolo to India, HTC's crackdown on a custom ROM distributor and the UK's largest mobile spectrum auction to date. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of January 21st, 2013.

Xolo A500 debuts in India with Android 4.0

Mobile Miscellany week of January 21st, 2013

A new Android 4.0 smartphone known as the Xolo A500 became available within India this week, and from all appearances, it's entirely run of the mill. That said, with a price of ₹6,999 ($130), it may just turn a few heads. The Xolo A500 sports a 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480) display, along with a dual-core 1GHz CPU (Snapdragon S4 Play) and dual-SIM functionality. You'll also find a 5-megapixel rear camera, along with a front-facing VGA shooter. The device includes a 1,500mAh battery, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of built-in storage and supports microSD cards up to 32GB in size. [Fone Arena]

Ofcom kicks off 4G spectrum auction in UK

The largest mobile spectrum auction to date in the UK began this week, which is set to nearly double the wireless resources available to Britons. In all, 28 lots of spectrum are available across the 800MHz and 2600MHz bands, which will add 250MHz of spectrum to the 333MHz in use today. Telefonica (O2), Vodafone, EE, Hutchison (Three), Niche Spectrum Ventures (BT), HKT and MLL are participants in the auction, which carries a total reserve price of £1.36 billion. According to UK regulator Ofcom, the auction will take place in several rounds over the coming weeks. [Android Central]

AT&T CEO reveals interest in smartphone financing

Mobile Miscellany week of January 21st, 2013

Verizon's Lowell McAdam now has some company. During this week's earnings call, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson revealed that AT&T is similarly monitoring T-Mobile's shift to drop the subsidized business model and instead provide customers the ability to finance their new smartphone purchase. While Stephenson may lack grace with his words, the intent is clear: "We expect there to be some dynamics in the marketplace that -- and we'll have to respond to some of it -- we find interesting, like the handset financing that they're doing." Curiously, Stephenson admitted that AT&T has considered the approach in the past, but like Verizon, much of how his company responds will depend on consumers' reception of T-Mobile's new approach. [FierceWireless]

US Cellular now offers carrier billing for online shopping

Mobile Miscellany week of January 21st, 2013

US Cellular announced this week that it now supports carrier billing for online purchases. The system was launched in partnership with Boku, and subscribers may pay for goods at participating merchants by entering their mobile number at checkout and then confirming the purchase with a text message. From there, customers will find the total amount of the purchase added to their wireless bill. [PhoneScoop]

AT&T working to integrate Data Sense for Windows Phone 8

Data Sense is one of the more unique features of Windows Phone 8, which allows users to monitor their data usage and squeeze more from their data plan through the magic of server-side compression. Verizon is the only carrier to support the feature within the US, but that may soon change, as AT&T has revealed that it's "exploring Data Sense and how to optimize the experience" for its subscribers. About damn time, right? [FierceWireless]

HTC forces shutdown of custom ROM site

Mobile Miscellany week of January 21st, 2013

A provider of many popular Sense-based ROMs is no more. This week, HTCRUU closed its doors and took its repositories offline in acquiescence to legal threats from HTC. Historically, HTC has taken an admirably lax approach to distribution of customized Sense ROMs, which are popular among enthusiasts of the company's smartphones. Naturally, many other sources exist for custom Sense blends, which raises the question of whether this move was but a one-off showing of legal force, or whether HTC will take a more active approach to ending the underground custom ROM community. Those interested can learn more of the situation on Reddit. [Android Police]

Other random tidbits

  • Following in the footsteps of Android and iOS, Microsoft has upped the mobile data cap of app downloads and updates for Windows Phone to 50MB. [WPCentral]
  • The Meizu MX2 is now available as a subsidized handset for customers of China Unicom. The smartphone can be gotten for free with all two-year plans of ¥226 or more per month, or with all three-year plans of ¥156 or more per month. [GSM Arena]
  • Colombia's state-owned telecom, UNE EPM, announced that it would invest $2.5 million to bring LTE services to Barranquilla -- the country's fourth most populous city -- which sports a population of approximately 1.8 million. [RCR Wireless]
  • An internal leak has revealed that the HTC 8S will become available at Bell Mobility on February 1st. [MobileSyrup]
  • Videotron has announced that it'll begin selling the Nexus 4 on January 30th. Similarly, Fido is accepting reservations (and a requisite $40 deposit) for the smartphone, which it's targeting for an early February arrival. [MobileSyrup 1, 2]

[Buy More Stuff photo credit: jbhthescots / Flickr]

[Mobile Miscellany photo credit: Thristian / Flickr]

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CyanogenMod 10.1 Milestone 1 hits Nexus and Samsung devices

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CyanogenMod 101 Milestone 1 hits Nexus and Samsung devices

Despite all the nightly builds of CyanogenMod 10.1, there hasn't been much of anything definitive to hang our hats on. There's at last some sense of reliability now that Milestone 1 versions have hit the servers. Most Nexus devices, as well as swaths of Samsung's Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab 2 ranges, can get the unofficial Android 4.2 build for themselves. The M1 code is deemed "mostly stable" and good enough for daily use, although that's relative -- it's not yet to the level of a fully stable build, let alone factory firmware. If you only needed fewer risks than before, though, the downloads and details await at the source links.

[Thanks, Rashid]

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Via: DonAndroid

Source: CyanogenMod (1), (2)

Rough hack converts an Optimus G to a Nexus 4, minus the constant sellouts

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Rough hack converts an Optimus G to a Nexus 4, minus the constant sellouts

It's almost a truism to say that the Nexus 4 is near impossible to buy, at least for those who don't want to pay a carrier premium. G33k3r, Rohan32 and others at XDA-Developers may just save us from camping at the Google Play storefront through a new software hack. Their work converts an LG Optimus G's firmware to that of an 8GB Nexus 4 by swapping every LG-customized software element with a Nexus 4 parallel. The nearly identical hardware makes for a very close rendition, at least if you discount the unavoidable design differences. If anything, the work is almost too faithful: the current hack turns off LTE, caps the internal storage at 8GB and even requires using Nexus 4 firmware for future upgrades. It's possible to revert to LG's code if there's jitters, but it goes without saying that the overall procedure carries more than the usual share of risk when even familiar ROM flashers are warned to be careful. Anyone who throws caution (and the price of an Optimus G) to the wind can find their stock Android experience at the source.


[Thanks, Greg]

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Source: XDA-Developers

CyanogenMod 10.1 nightlies spread to more Nexus models, ASUS and Samsung devices

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CyanogenMod 10.1 on a Nexus 4

There was a certain degree of irony to the first CyanogenMod 10.1 nightly reaching a lone device that already runs Android 4.2. What about the rest of us? Thankfully, logic is getting the upper hand with the arrival of regular test builds for a much wider hardware selection. All versions of the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 get their expected turn at the code. However, the mix also includes devices that weren't predestined to receive an official update to the latest instance of Jelly Bean, such as ASUS' Transformer Pad Infinity and Samsung devices ranging from the original Galaxy S through to both Galaxy Tab 2 slates. It's still throwing caution to the wind by running an unfinished version of unofficial firmware, but we're sure CyanogenMod's target audience is comfortable enough with the risks to visit the source link.

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Via: Android Central

Source: CyanogenMod

Stable CyanogenMod 10 builds arrive, give devices an unofficial taste of Jelly Bean

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Stable CyanogenMod 10 builds arrive, give devices an unofficial taste of Jelly Bean

The very first CyanogenMod 10 builds surfaced while Jelly Bean was still extremely fresh in our memories. The passions around Google's new OS might have cooled months down the road, but that doesn't diminish the impact now that the first stable CM10 builds are here. Four (relatively) safe versions have arrived for devices that are either just getting their official Android 4.1 builds or were never destined to get one in the first place: support for the Samsung Galaxy S III in Sprint and Verizon editions is a natural fit, but both the LG Optimus Black and Samsung's Galaxy S II Skyrocket are making their own unofficial leaps. More devices should be coming down the road once any teething bugs are ironed out. You're still taking your own risks by going with a custom ROM, but it may be worthwhile for CM10 if perks like a root-friendly file manager or an expanded desktop are too tempting.

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Stable CyanogenMod 10 builds arrive, give devices an unofficial taste of Jelly Bean originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Optimus G comes with locked bootloader, might not be cause for panic

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LG Optimus G for Olleh, AT&T and Sprint

We're fans of the LG Optimus G, although the custom ROM lovers among us might want to tamp down their expectations after this. We've confirmed comments to Android Central that the late 2012 flagship has a locked bootloader much like the Optimus 4X HD and Optimus Vu that went before it -- any serious experimentation with a typical carrier variant could at least require jumping through some hoops, if it's possible at all. It might not matter much for the sort who cares about bootloaders, though. If statements by other LG staffers are more than just wishful thinking, there could be a Nexus variant of the Optimus G next week that's as good as a blank slate for modders.

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LG Optimus G comes with locked bootloader, might not be cause for panic originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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