CyanogenMod 6.0 brings Android 2.2 to T-Mobile G1

Android programmer Steve Kondik has announced the arrival of the first release candidate (RC1) for version 6 of his modified Android firmware, known as CyanogenMOD. The CyanogenMod project offers free, community-built custom ROMs that don't include Google's custom closed source applications, such as GMail or Google Maps and YouTube, for a variety of Android phones. The custom ROMs are popular as they are often more up-to-date than the official model-specific Android releases and typically extend the capabilities of the phones.

CyanogenMod 6.0 RC1 is based on the latest Android 2.2 "Froyo" release, which adds a number of new features to Google's open source mobile operating system, including a new Dalvik JIT compiler that improves overall CPU-bound code performance by two to five times compared to the previous release. Other improvements and changes include support for Adobe Flash 10.1, a faster web browser that includes the V8 JavaScript engine, resulting in up to a 3 times improvement in JavaScript performance, and the addition of several new APIs and services, such as a new data backup APIs that can be used to, for example, back up and restore applications

The custom ROMs are currently available for the HTC Dream (AKA the T-Mobile G1), HTC Magic (AKA the T-Mobile myTouch 3G) and Google's Nexus One smartphone. The developer has yet to confirm when the final version will be released.

To date, the only mobile device to officially receive the Android 2.2 "Froyo" update is Google's Nexus One smartphone. Once updated to Froyo, Nexus One owners gained several new, device-specific features, such as, the ability to turn their phones into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot (USB tethering is also supported) that can be shared with up to 8 devices and easy switching between multiple keyboard languages.

More details about the release can be found in the official release announcement and in the change log. Download links for the HTC Dream, HTC Magic and Google Nexus one can be found in the release announcement. The H reminds users that, as with all custom ROMs, inexperienced users are not advised to flash their devices with unofficial firmware as they could unintentionally brick them and cause them to stop functioning entirely.

See also:

• Google release Android 2.2 "Froyo" source code, a report from The H.
• CyanogenMod: Android without Google Apps, a report from The H.
• Google wants to ban customised Android ROMs, a report from The H.

(crve)