Introduction

Many of you have heard about Cyanogen after arriving of OnePlus One to Sri Lankan market. Few of you might already familiar with custom ROMs such as CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android, and many other. In this article you may learn more about CyanogenMod and related information to make best out of your smartphone. 🙂

What is CyanogenMod?

 CyanogenMod is an open source smartphone operating system based on Android. It will allows your smartphone’s hidden features to activate and bring the best outcome. Technically speaking, original android firmware might not allow your smartphone to USB or Bluetooth tethering, Wi-Fi hotspot, or many other features that your smartphone already could do. It also can increase your phone’s performance and reliability compared to the original firmware. The hardware components can might have that ability but the software does not. Therefore, CyanogenMod will activate those features and unleash the beast out of your smartphone.

 Why Do I want It?

 You may be having an old phone or you may be having a great phone. For both, Cyanogen works fine to get what you ever want from your smartphone. I personally got involved with CyanogenMod because I didn’t have money to buy a new phone at that time and my phone (Sony Ericsson Walkman – W8) didn’t get the Android 4.0 ICS update. Therefore I had to install CyanogenMod ROM to get the best out of my smartphone. It significantly increased my phone’s performance and features that I can access. Plus, it gave a new look for the phone.

 Even like new smartphones like OnePlus, Samsung, LG and Nexus can get most out of it by installing CyanogenMod ROMs. When I was using my OnePlus One with Oxygen OS, I had a problem with changing the notification light color for certain applications. It wasn’t a problem when I had Cyanogen OS. Mainly you get bored looking at the same interface or wallpaper every day. Cyanogen allows you to apply various themes and even change the interface and gives a brand new look to your smartphone.

 How Can I Get It?

 Now here is the catch! You won’t be able to get CyanogenMod installed to your smartphone and unleash the beast that easily if you haven’t got the brains to yourself. Well, at least you could read, research, understand, and follow the instructions to the letter. And you need to understand that if you are using a new phone with a warranty, it can void warranty. Of course unless or otherwise you are using an awesome smartphone like OnePlus. 😀 (I don’t know about Sri Lankan warranty so you should better check with the buying agreement before you advance forward)

CyanogenMod site prefers 5 easy steps to install for certain smartphones. You can check whether your smartphone is eligible of installing CyanogenMod with these 5 steps by following the link here : https://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/CyanogenMod_Installer

If so you can advance forward.

Follow the link and follow the 5 easy steps : http://beta.download.cyanogenmod.org/install

What If My Phone Is Not On The List?

Don’t worry! Most smartphone’s will not be on that list. Therefore you need to do some research to find a site where you can get instructions to root your phone. After that you can flash CyanogenMod ROMs and enjoy the benefits.

Here is one link : http://www.xda–developers.com/

Type your device name and search it. There will be tabs where you can get information such as Forums, Root info, ROMs, Kernels, and Tools and Utilities. These tabs will be differ to phone to phone so don’t be alarmed.

In Root Info tab, you can learn how to root your device and grant access for flashing custom ROMs. Please be advised to take extreme precautions before you advance and follow the instructions to the letter. I or they will be not responsible for bricking your phone. Do at your own risk! 😀 (If you got brains nothing would go wrong… 😀 )

After rooting your phone, (I assume that you will also have installed a custom recovery mode such as TWRP or CWM while rooting) you can go to the link below and search for the latest CyanogenMod ROM according to your smartphone.

All CyanogenMod ROMs for all devices : http://download.cyanogenmod.org/

You can download either a stable ROM or a nightly ROM. Stable ones are less features but more stable ROMs. Nightly ones are with more features with some minor glitches. I have installed nightly versions for my OnePlus One and I can assure that they are as good as the stable ones but with more stuffs included.

Then you may need GAPPs (Google APPs) for some versions of CyanogenMod ROMs. Note that Cyanogen can run without GAPPs but you may not be able to go to Playstore and download APPs. Therefore I recommend you to download GAPPs too and install.

Here is the link for GAPPs : http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Google_Apps

How Can I Install?

 Installation can be vary from device to device. You can search on Google, “how to install CyanogenMod for (device name) or how to flash CyanogenMod for (device name)”. It won’t be that hard after having a rooted device with a custom recovery. Specific instructions will be given by the site where you have got instructions to root your phone and flashed a custom recovery. There you can learn how to flash or install a custom ROM with the TWRP or CWM.

Important Notes!

Please note that I haven’t give you specific instructions or methods to root and flash custom ROMs. Each phone has it’s unique way of rooting so I will not be able to instruct you each and every one of them. Do some research and find an easy way to do it. I did like that. Nobody gave me or teach me how to do these. I did them myself with the help of the internet and my brain. 😀 If I can, you guys can too. May be you guys have friends those who already know about stuff like these. Get help from them too.

If you have an old phone try to flash that first before going to an expensive phone. You may brick your phone if something goes wrong. So, be knowledgeable before you step into the Cyanogen world. 😀 I hope you unleash your beast without a hustle.

Adios Amigos!

EnjoyCM!

Introduction

Many of you have heard about Cyanogen after arriving of OnePlus One to Sri Lankan market. Few of you might already familiar with custom ROMs such as CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android, and many other. In this article you may learn more about CyanogenMod and related information to make best out of your smartphone. 🙂

What is CyanogenMod?

 CyanogenMod is an open source smartphone operating system based on Android. It will allows your smartphone’s hidden features to activate and bring the best outcome. Technically speaking, original android firmware might not allow your smartphone to USB or Bluetooth tethering, Wi-Fi hotspot, or many other features that your smartphone already could do. It also can increase your phone’s performance and reliability compared to the original firmware. The hardware components can might have that ability but the software does not. Therefore, CyanogenMod will activate those features and unleash the beast out of your smartphone.

 Why Do I want It?

 You may be having an old phone or you may be having a great phone. For both, Cyanogen works fine to get what you ever want from your smartphone. I personally got involved with CyanogenMod because I didn’t have money to buy a new phone at that time and my phone (Sony Ericsson Walkman – W8) didn’t get the Android 4.0 ICS update. Therefore I had to install CyanogenMod ROM to get the best out of my smartphone. It significantly increased my phone’s performance and features that I can access. Plus, it gave a new look for the phone.

 Even like new smartphones like OnePlus, Samsung, LG and Nexus can get most out of it by installing CyanogenMod ROMs. When I was using my OnePlus One with Oxygen OS, I had a problem with changing the notification light color for certain applications. It wasn’t a problem when I had Cyanogen OS. Mainly you get bored looking at the same interface or wallpaper every day. Cyanogen allows you to apply various themes and even change the interface and gives a brand new look to your smartphone.

 How Can I Get It?

 Now here is the catch! You won’t be able to get CyanogenMod installed to your smartphone and unleash the beast that easily if you haven’t got the brains to yourself. Well, at least you could read, research, understand, and follow the instructions to the letter. And you need to understand that if you are using a new phone with a warranty, it can void warranty. Of course unless or otherwise you are using an awesome smartphone like OnePlus. 😀 (I don’t know about Sri Lankan warranty so you should better check with the buying agreement before you advance forward)

CyanogenMod site prefers 5 easy steps to install for certain smartphones. You can check whether your smartphone is eligible of installing CyanogenMod with these 5 steps by following the link here : https://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/CyanogenMod_Installer

If so you can advance forward.

Follow the link and follow the 5 easy steps : http://beta.download.cyanogenmod.org/install

What If My Phone Is Not On The List?

Don’t worry! Most smartphone’s will not be on that list. Therefore you need to do some research to find a site where you can get instructions to root your phone. After that you can flash CyanogenMod ROMs and enjoy the benefits.

Here is one link : http://www.xda–developers.com/

Type your device name and search it. There will be tabs where you can get information such as Forums, Root info, ROMs, Kernels, and Tools and Utilities. These tabs will be differ to phone to phone so don’t be alarmed.

In Root Info tab, you can learn how to root your device and grant access for flashing custom ROMs. Please be advised to take extreme precautions before you advance and follow the instructions to the letter. I or they will be not responsible for bricking your phone. Do at your own risk! 😀 (If you got brains nothing would go wrong… 😀 )

After rooting your phone, (I assume that you will also have installed a custom recovery mode such as TWRP or CWM while rooting) you can go to the link below and search for the latest CyanogenMod ROM according to your smartphone.

All CyanogenMod ROMs for all devices : http://download.cyanogenmod.org/

You can download either a stable ROM or a nightly ROM. Stable ones are less features but more stable ROMs. Nightly ones are with more features with some minor glitches. I have installed nightly versions for my OnePlus One and I can assure that they are as good as the stable ones but with more stuffs included.

Then you may need GAPPs (Google APPs) for some versions of CyanogenMod ROMs. Note that Cyanogen can run without GAPPs but you may not be able to go to Playstore and download APPs. Therefore I recommend you to download GAPPs too and install.

Here is the link for GAPPs : http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Google_Apps

How Can I Install?

 Installation can be vary from device to device. You can search on Google, “how to install CyanogenMod for (device name) or how to flash CyanogenMod for (device name)”. It won’t be that hard after having a rooted device with a custom recovery. Specific instructions will be given by the site where you have got instructions to root your phone and flashed a custom recovery. There you can learn how to flash or install a custom ROM with the TWRP or CWM.

Important Notes!

Please note that I haven’t give you specific instructions or methods to root and flash custom ROMs. Each phone has it’s unique way of rooting so I will not be able to instruct you each and every one of them. Do some research and find an easy way to do it. I did like that. Nobody gave me or teach me how to do these. I did them myself with the help of the internet and my brain. 😀 If I can, you guys can too. May be you guys have friends those who already know about stuff like these. Get help from them too.

If you have an old phone try to flash that first before going to an expensive phone. You may brick your phone if something goes wrong. So, be knowledgeable before you step into the Cyanogen world. 😀 I hope you unleash your beast without a hustle.

Adios Amigos!

EnjoyCM!

Google has announced that they have released next developer version of world’s most popular mobile operating system, “Android – M” starting from this month. The have made this announcement in Google IO annual developer conference held at San Francisco. Just like the last years Google IO annual developer conference held at the same venue, Google has kept the Android users guessing about the name of the new version. All we know for now is it starts from “ M “.

So far with Android’s alphabetical order of sweets we have,

Alpha (not a sweet)

Beta (not a sweet)

Cupcake

Donut

Eclair

Froyo

Gingerbread

Honeycomb

Ice Cream Sandwich

Jelly Bean

KitKat

Lollipop

M ????????????

Lots of guessings are going around the internet. Most highlighted ones among those areMilk shake, Moon pie, Marmite, Mentos, Melon , Mint and Marshmallow. Like most of others I personally I prefer Milk shake one and I have a hunch it will be the name because last year also my hunched worked 😉

One thing you will have to remember about this version is that Google has only released the developer preview not the consumer version. Meaning if you are an Android developer you can download Android – M and can play with it. As this is the developer preview Android – M can be very unstable and developer preview cant be tested on any Android compatible device. So far Android – M supports for  Nexus 5 (hammerhead) , Nexus 6 (shamu), Nexus 9 (volantis) and Nexus player (fugu). For more technical information on Android – M visit Android developer site. To get an idea about installing Android – M developer preview see this. Rumours has it that the final version of consumer preview will be released by October or November this year. Some of the consideration in Android – M are as follows.

Quality battery life

it seems that in Android – M, Google has focused more on the battery life of the device. Considering with Android kitkat and lolipop, 15% battery saving was achieved in lollipop. Still Android was not fully able to control the power draining unwanted applications running in the background. But with Android – M, they have introduced an intelligent power saving mechanism called Android doze.

Google photo

With introducing Android Photo smart app you will be able to organize your photos and videos without laying a finger on them. Google Photo is intelligent enough to organize your photos and videos the way you want. With Google Photo, you will get unlimited storage of high quality photos (up to 16MP) and videos (upto 1080p). With Google Photo storing, sharing and organizing will be easy as never before.

Improved privacy and security

Just like in lollipop version they have again not forgot about the security features. Normally when we download an app from the play store, app permission to use the device features and components is granted there. But with Android – M, these app permissions will be granted when you are using the app not when downloading. The reason behind this is somewhat unclear to me. But hey, it`s Google we are talking about here. There must be a good explanation for this.n Plus they have also standardised the fingerprint sensors used with Android OS. With these enhancements online mobile payments can be done in a very simple and secure fashion. Their next focus is iris authenticated online mobile payments. It seems like all of our sci-fi fantasies will come to true with Google.

Mobile phones are everywhere. Every nook and corner you can easily find a mobile phone, most probably a smart phone. There was a time that you worry about your phones appearance rather than its functionality and inner workings. Flippable, side kick, colored screen phones were most peoples choice back then. Now the things have changed. It matters what kind of phone you are using or on what kind of OS its running, what kinds of apps its supporting or does it has a good hardware spec. These are really important matters to consider whether you are a developer who wants to build mobile apps or a user who want to buy a good smart phone to use. This is  a really good overview of iOs,Android and Windows mobile that can be a good starting point to free from the “best mobile OS dilemma”. Inforgraphy credit goes to nerdgraph.