CyanogenMod 10 on the Nexus 7

Last week's review of Ubuntu core 12.10 on the Nexus 7 tablet showcased one of the alternative operating systems that can be installed onto this particular device. But Ubuntu is certainly not the only choice out there. While he was busy installing software onto the tablet, your editor decided to give the latest CyanogenMod build a try. As is usual with CyanogenMod, the results were good, but also a bit discouraging with regard to how the Android development community works.

The cyanogenmod.org page suggests that there is no stable build for the Nexus 7, but there is a 10.0.0 release listed on the get.cm stable releases page. Beyond that, "nightly" development builds are available under the "grouper" code name. Naturally, the nightly build was chosen; when would a self-respecting editor pick a stable build over something leading-edge and potentially dangerous? As it happens, the installation of the December 4 nightly build went without a hitch. Or, at least, it did once your editor remembered to wipe the device prior to trying to boot the new system; otherwise it simply hung at the boot splash screen. As usual, one also needs to install the Google applications separately.

The CM10 nightly release works flawlessly, as far as your editor can tell. It has some interesting differences from the stock Android install, many of which are reminiscent of a handset-oriented system. For example, the number of applications is far below what stock Android has; CyanogenMod lacks Google+, Chrome (it has the standard Android browser), Maps and more, but it does include the camera application by default. The missing applications can, naturally, be installed easily from the "Play" store afterward.

As reported here in July, recent CyanogenMod builds seem to have fewer shiny features above stock Android than they did in the past. There is a whole set of configuration options, especially with regard to how the interface works. CyanogenMod also adds profiles, a more configurable lock screen (though stock Android is catching up and taking its own direction in this area), a more useful user space for those who get to the command-line level, and a set of scary "performance" knobs. That is about it; many users might not ever notice or make use of the additional features that CyanogenMod offers. Given that, many users might well wonder why they should bother installing CyanogenMod; for many of them, the best answer might be that they shouldn't.

That is doubly true for Nexus 7 users at this particular point in time; CM10, while not yet released in stable form, is already obsolete: it is based on the Android 4.1.2 release. Anybody running a stock Nexus 7 is likely to have already been updated to 4.2, which offers a number of new features. The CyanogenMod developers are busily trying to catch up with this release and the list of devices supported by the experimental, 4.2-based CM10.1 release is growing, but the Nexus 7 does not yet appear there. So running CyanogenMod on this device means accepting a net loss in new features: no fancy lock screen, no swipe typing, no screen magnifier, etc.

Unfortunately, that state of affairs looks to be a permanent part of the experience of running CyanogenMod (or any other Android derivative). As has been pointed out many times, Android is (mostly) open source, but it is not run as an open-source project. Instead, the world outside of Google gets an occasional code dump after an official Android release is made. Thanks to the heroic efforts of the Google folks working on the Android Open Source Project, those code dumps are both timely and useful for the community. They are a great gift, and we should never forget the value of that gift.

It is worth keeping in mind why things are done that way as well. Clearly, it is easier to run a large software project without having to involve all those pesky community people; there is a whole level of bikeshedding behavior that the Android developers simply do not have to deal with. Keeping the code under wraps also allows Google to control when it first appears on devices — and which devices those will be. The Nexus-branded handsets and tablets have a lot of nice features, including their relative openness. Not the least of those features is that they tend to be the first showcase for new versions of the Android system. If the public Android repositories were always current, a new Android release could be old news by the time it appeared on an officially blessed device.

So Google's reasoning is understandable, but it is still hard not to wish for a different situation. An always-current public repository would allow the CyanogenMod developers to keep up with the tree as it evolved, rather than having to figure out a new code dump a couple of times each year. Perhaps they could even manage to upstream more of their interesting work, helping Android to evolve more quickly, and in more interesting directions. It would help Android to be a real open-source project.

That, however, does not appear to be in the cards. So CyanogenMod and others will tend to lag a bit behind what official Android can do, at least if Google continues to develop and release the system at the current fast pace. The result is that, for those who have devices running current, relatively pure Android software, CyanogenMod may not have a lot to offer. On the other hand, CyanogenMod retains its value as a laboratory where new features can be tested. It is unparalleled in its support for older devices that are no longer supported by their manufacturers — and, in this industry, "older" can have a value of less than one year. Users who have devices that are infected with manufacturer- or carrier-supplied "enhancements" will continue to appreciate the work that the CyanogenMod developers do. So there is a an important role for CyanogenMod, even if that role is changing over time.

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