The OnePlus One Android handset is far from being properly launched, but the OnePlus and Cyanogen Inc teams have come up with a new contest that will reward ten lucky winners with a OnePlus One handset each. The “Case Chase” competition takes place between April 1 and April 10 in Europe and North America, with clues being tweeted each day for a specific region. More →
One of the most exciting Android handsets of the year will be unveiled in less than a month from now, promising a smartphone revolution… or at least that’s what CyanogenMod’s boss Steve Kondik expects. CyanogenMod will be the official operating system of the OnePlus One smartphone, a choice the company made even before “hardware was even planned or engineering units were produced.” More →
We know more than ever before about the mysterious OnePlus One Android smartphone, but there’s still plenty the company hasn’t revealed. The members of the OnePlus team appear to be rectifying that piecemeal, beginning with a deep dive into the battery that will power the One. More →
The OnePlus One has so far promised to be one of the most exciting Android handsets of the year thanks to an interesting marketing campaign. However, the company did not unveil any actual details about the handset aside for price (sub $400) and launch date (sometime in Q2) until Wednesday, when CEO Pete Lau finally announced the first confirmed spec of the handset: its processor.
Expected to launch later this year, the OnePlus One Android handset that will run a CyanogenMod software version right from the start. It will also supposedly offer some top of the line specs, design and build quality — and now it finally has a price. Pete Lau, the former Oppo exec that departed the famous Chinese Android maker to start his own Cyanogen-related hardware company, said that the handset will cost less than what flagship Android handsets usually cost. More →
The OnePlus One will be the most powerful Android phone that has ever hit stores when it launches this summer, or at least that’s what the company that’s going to make the first pure CyanogenMod smartphone would have you believe. On its Facebook page, OnePlus revealed several details about the OnePlus One handset, without getting into too many specifics. For example, the company said that the phone will see international availability in the second quarter of 2014, but didn’t specify when it will be unveiled and actually launched. More →
CyanogenMod, the popular alternative Android installer, is partnering with OnePlus to create a smartphone called the OnePlus One. This horribly named handset will be OnePlus’s first phone, and OnePlus hopes to launch it in the first half of this year. According to OnePlus’s announcement, “The CyanogenMod team will work in tandem with us to combine the best hardware with the best software.” This announcement is a boost for CyanogenMod, which had a brief appearance on the Google Play store last year before being removed in November. By having its software pre-installed on a handset, CyanogenMod can avoid dealing with Google Play altogether.
The installer for CyanogenMod, a popular alternative to Google’s stock version of Android, has been pulled from Google Play after its creators were informed by Google that the installer is in violation of the store’s developer terms. The Google Play support team told Cyanogen that the installer was relatively harmless, but “encourages users to void their warranty.” Cyanogen was asked to voluntarily remove the installer before Google was forced to take down the app itself. It is still possible to download CyanogenMod through the team’s website, but according to Cyanogen, “it’s a hassle and adds steps to the process.” There is no word on when or if the installer will reappear on Google Play in the future.
For the past several years, Cyanogen’s goal has been to create a better, more secure and more customizable version of Android with its third-party CyanogenMod firmware. Now The Verge reports that Cyanogen is significantly raising its ambitions now that it’s received $7 million in venture funding from Benchmark Capital and Redpoint Ventures. In fact, Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster tells The Verge that his company’s goal is to beat out both Windows Phone and BlackBerry to become the world’s No. 3 most used mobile operating system. More →
CyanogenMod is looking to step up the security in its popular third-party Android software. In addition to an incognito mode to keep personal data secure from individual applications, the team is working on an encrypted messaging service, known as PushSMS, for CyanogenMod users that looks to rival iMessage in terms of security. Developer Koushik Dutta revealed this week that he has built a secure push-based messaging plugin for the software that encrypts messages between two CyanogenMod users from end to end and is sent over the Google Cloud Messaging service. He noted that because the feature is built directly into the CyanogenMod framework, it’s compatible with third-party messaging apps such as GoSMS and Handcent. PushSMS isn’t available yet, however it will likely arrive in upcoming CyanogenMod test builds in the next few weeks.
Steve Kondik, the founder and lead developer of CyanogenMod, announced on Wednesday that he is developing a new privacy feature for his popular third-party Android software. The feature, known as “Run in Incognito Mode,” is designed to help keep personal data secure by allowing Android users to run applications in a restricted mode. While operating in Incognito Mode, an application will not be able to access GPS location or personal data such as contacts, messages, browser history, calendar or call logs. CyanogenMod is an open source replacement firmware for Android devices that is designed to give smartphones and tablets more functionality and stability. “Run in Incognito Mode” is expected to debut in nightly builds of CyanogenMod in the near future.
When the HP TouchPad was released in the summer of 2011 it did little to impress consumers, leading to the tablet being discontinued after a mere 49 days on the market. Remaining TouchPad stock received substantial price reductions, dropping to as low as $99 dollars during a huge fire sale. Shortly after inventory ran dry, crafty hackers had announced their intention to run the Android operating system in replace of WebOS on the TouchPad, and progress thus far has been slow, with alpha versions being released that are fairly stable but have serious bugs. In an act of good will, HP has now released an Android kernel source code to the hacking community. Read on for more. More →
Google’s open approach with the Android platform means developers can build applications that make use of parts of the operating system that iOS developers can’t even consider if they hope to get their apps approved for distribution through Apple’s App Store. Even still, however, there are a number of Android developers with apps that have been banned from Google’s Android Market for various reasons. While iOS developers looking to get around Apple’s strict policies can turn to Cydia, the third-party app store available to jailbreakers, Android developers with banned apps do not have a centralized location through which they can distribute their wares — but that will soon change. Android developer Koushik Dutta recently revealed that he is working on a third-party application distribution resource that will function much like Cydia does on iOS devices. Dutta, known for his work on custom “CyanogenMod” Android ROMs, published an image of the app listing utility that will allow developers to add products to the store, hinting that progress is being made and we may soon see an initial release. Paid and free apps will be available in the CyanogenMod App Store, and a cut of sales will be taken just as it is in the Android Market. Dutta hasn’t yet announced a launch time frame for the new app store. More →
