India: CyanogenMod Smartphones Coming Via Micromax

In what comes as good news to CyanogenMod users in India, smartphone manufacturer Micromax will be launching a Cyanogen powered device in the country later this year.

For the uninitiated, CyanogenMod is a ROM that is by far the most popular AOSP-based ROM around. Earlier this year, the Oppo N1 and the OnePlus One became the first smartphones to feature the ROM out of the box, with the latter getting its own version of the OS called CyanogenMod 11S.

This news, which comes via XDA-Developers, is even more interesting than reports that indicated that Google attempted to acquire CyanogenMod in the recent past. Kirt McMaster, the CEO of Cyanogen, refused a big offer made by Sundar Pichai.

As for Micromax, the company isn't new to baking light and tight versions of Android into its smartphones. It happens to be one of the three existing partners of Google's Android One campaign, which focuses on ultra-affordable smartphones that have software and hardware inspired by a reference design from Google for a strong and smooth user experience.

Over the last few years, Micromax has grown into one of the most prominent names in the Indian mobile industry as it has managed to woo new customers by offering smartphones at extremely competitive prices. In fact, the company tails Samsung for the second place in terms of market share in India.

Given that Micromax is looking for a revenue injection into its balance sheets after rejecting Google's offer, it appears that Micromax can help with just that thanks to the sheer volumes that the company has the potential to sell in India.