CyanogenMod 10.1 "quickly approaching" with release candidate

The CyanogenMod developers have published a blog post, indicating that the release of a final version of the Android 4.2 ("Jelly Bean") based CyanogenMod 10.1.0 is "quickly approaching the point where a 'final' build is due." For this reason, the developers have now released the first release candidate for the upcoming version of their Android-based, community-developed firmware for smartphones and tablets. The team is still in the process of building images for individual devices, but once that process is finished, 40 different devices should be supported.

The developers expect that CyanogenMod 10.1.0 RC1 will be one of only a few milestone releases, or possibly even the last, before the final version is announced. Interested users can download a development build for their phone from the get.cm servers. Once the release is declared final, users of CyanogenMod 10 should be able to update their devices – if they are supported by the new version – with the built-in over the air (OTA) update mechanism. The H reminds users that, as with all custom firmware, inexperienced users are advised not to flash their devices as they could unintentionally "brick" them, resulting in a complete loss of functionality.

CyanogenMod is one of the, if not the, most popular third-party firmware options for Android devices. The version of the operating system based on Android 4.2 has been in development since the second half of 2012 and was rolled out for testing to a number of devices in December. Source code for many of the distribution's components is available on GitHub.

(fab)