In August last year we were informed through a press report that big names from industry like Microsoft, Samsung and Yahoo are showing interest in an investment plan for the Cyanogen startup. Today, the Wall Street Journal reveals some new details about Microsoft’s involvement in this deal.
This new report let us know that Microsoft will invest up to $70 million in Cyanogen, the company following to have the role of a minor investor. Also, it seems that beside Microsoft there’s some other investors present that want the same thing, more precisely to diminish Google’s control over the Android operating system alongside Cyanogen.
Cyanogen’s plan is to develop a proper Android ecosystem where Google won’t be able to impose rules about which apps need to be installed from the factory on phones. At the moment, Google is asking OEMs to install its deafult apps, such as Google search engine, YouTube social platform and the Play Store app.
A company that is currently offering on the market such a solution is Amazon, producer who launched both tablets and a smartphone that are running Amazon Fire OS. This operating system is based on Android, but it comes with Amazon’s proper apps as well as a dedicated app store. Through such a platform, Amazon is able to promote its services directly.
Such an option can be in the mind of Microsoft too, company that could introduce its Bing search engine on the phones, method that will exposure Bing more than now on mobile devices. We also get to know that at the moment, Cyanogen has a volunteer team of 9.000 software developers that are working on its own variant of Android.
Also, last week we found out that Cyanogen plans to launch its proper App Store in less than 18 months, following that the Android ecosystem to be launched in 3 to 5 years. Kirt McMaster, Cyanogen’s chief executive said that the company is ready to take Android away from Google.
Until now, Cyanogen raised about $100 million, amount required for the developing process of this proper Android version. It remains to see in which extent will Microsoft benefit from this partnership, one thing being for sure that Microsoft thinks about other variants in case Windows 10 Mobile won’t manage to bring more customers to this operating system (WP market share – 3%).
via: wsj.com
