Google's Android (Photo : Reuters )
Google designed Android as an open source platform which helped it compete with Apple's closed iOS operating system but it is becoming more restricted in recent times.
Cyanogen mod plans to change this by becoming the truly open source alternative that developers and users have been asking for.
At the moment, over 50 million devices are powered by the mod which includes the popular OnePlus One device. Many manufacturers have adopted it as their default OS but Cyanogen is still based on Google's Android and can't function individually.
The developers behind the application have successfully raised over $110 million through different sources and are planning to release Cyanogen phones which doesn't rely on Android anymore. They will be standalone devices, confirms Stuff.
While getting rid of Google's program gives it complete freedom, the modified operating system will also have to sacrifice essential services like Maps, Chrome browsers among a couple others. It is to be seen how users react to the removal of essential services from their favorite OS.
The company is associating itself with a distributor named Blu who import cheap international phones, rebrand and sell them in the United States. It is unclear at the moment whether Google might choose to force Blu into making conventional Android phones and stop supporting Cyanogen.
"We are all set to put a bullet right through Google's head because all the apps will be replaced by Nokia Here, Bing, Opera and Cortana so that Cyanogen can function independently," said Kirt McMaster, the company's CEO in a confident tone, as reported by eWeek.
