Android 4.0 CyanogenMod 9 Not Ready Yet

The team behind the popular CyanogenMod has just announced that they need some more time before making the latest flavor of their software ready for public use. 

The new CM9 is based on the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system, namely Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. 

Apparently, the changes that Google packed with the platform in comparison with the previous OS flavor, Android 2.3, prevented the team from having the software ready for users. 

“Android 4.0 contains many internal changes that require updated graphics drivers. Unfortunately, these drivers are almost always closed-source and don’t appear until a device or devkit is released with them,” CyanogenMod notes in a blog post.

“For many devices, our hands are tied. Some very clever workarounds have gone into CM9, but we’re still blocked on some subsystems like the camera.”

The team started with a fresh codebase from Google for the development of their Ice Cream Sandwich software. They’ve also started to port features from the previous CM release to the new software, aiming at delivering better integration. 

“This is a somewhat time-consuming process, but it allows us to rethink everything. We’ve eliminated the CMParts app, instead choosing to add our custom features directly into the main settings,” the blog post continues. 

“We are also taking a “just works” approach when it comes to configuration- CM7 had too many options that just weren’t widely used. We hope to achieve a good balance between tweakability and a great out-of-the-box experience. I want your phone or tablet to feel like it should have come with CM9.”

At the moment, the code can be compiled for devices such as Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (Wi-Fi and T-Mobile versions), the HP Touchpad and Motorola Xoom.

Soon, it will be available for more Samsung devices based on the Exynos chipset, as well as for Qualcomm MSM8660 and 7×30 chipset-powered devices soon after. 

“It’s still unclear if we can provide support for the QSD8x50 family of devices (Nexus One, HTC Evo, etc), but the answer almost always turns out to be “yes” for these kinds of things,” the team explains.

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