If you own an Android device, chances are you have either a) been frustrated by the snail's pace at which upgrades arrive, or b) wondered what all the fuss is about when it comes to ROMS. Lucky for you, the new CyanogenMod Installer aims to change all that.
CyanogenMod Installer officially hit the Google Play store Tuesday, allowing millions of would-be-but-too-scared Android users to begin testing out the world of unofficial firmwares. The app is downloadable for free and will take care of the painstaking process of unlocking the phone and installing an alternative bootloader. Users can then upgrade to the latest Cyanogen firmware with ease. CyanogenMod ROMs are among the most popular aftermarket downloads. As of Tuesday night, the app's rating is sitting at four stars out of five.
Flashing Android devices to custom firmwares can be tricky for beginners due to the risk of rendering the device useless, otherwise known as "bricking."
Of course, it's never quite that simple; there are a number of restrictions to the process. For starters, the only devices the app will work with at the moment are Google Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy Note and HTC One devices. Even then, the app seems to be limited only to U.S. variants of these phones. A full list of compatible devices can be found here.
Bear in mind that of the devices that are compatible, most of the newer ones are already receiving an official Android 4.3 update. Using a custom ROM isn't just for getting updates faster, it's for trying out a new perspective on Android.
There's also the matter of what Android firmwares you can use with the CyanogenMod installer. Naturally, you'll be relegated to CyanogenMod firmwares, which only go up to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean at the moment. The team of modders has said they are hard at work on an Android 4.4 KitKat ROM, but that isn't available yet.
Oh, and you'll need a Windows PC. CyanogenMod Installer only works with Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. The CyanogenMod team has stated its working on a Mac OS X installer, but no release time frame has been given. And sorry Linux users, there's no word on whether the software will come to your machine.
Let us know if you flash your device using CyanogenMod Installer and what you think of it in the comments section below.
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