Android fragmentation is a notorious pain, but it seems some crafty software developers are taking matters into their own hands. Via PocketNow, XDA-Developers forum member XpLoDWilD has posted a preview of the new CyanogenMod 10 that is described as a “free, community built, aftermarket firmware distribution of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean” that “can be used without any need to have any Google application installed.” The folks at PocketNow tried installing the mod onto the Samsung (005930) Galaxy Note and have, so far, come up with mixed results.
“So far, we’ve found the CM10 previews to be exceptionally stable and (most importantly) fast,” they write. “How about [on] the Galaxy Note? Well, that might be the exception. While the CM10 preview works in terms of functionality, there are some performance issues that keep it from being as incredibly smooth as [on the Samsung Galaxy S III and the HTC One X].”
At the same time, they also say that “it’s faster than even the mature builds of Ice Cream Sandwich, so if you have the Note, and you’re feeling brave, we recommend that you go ahead and run the third-party ROM.”
Since CyanogenMod 10 is a third-party mod that carries risks for users who install it, XpLoDWilD has written a disclaimer saying he is not responsible “for bricked devices, dead SD cards, thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed.” In other words, users should think very carefully before installing the software.
