Micromax-Cyanogenmod Tie up, Put OnePlus One at Stake in India

Just when Amazon India and OnePlus One were gearing up for the release of One's phone, Cyanogen, the Android ROM developer, has announced an exclusive deal with Indian Smartphone manufacturer Micromax.

According to the deal, Micromax will be the sole copyright holder of CyanogenMod based smartphones.

The OnePlus One Android smartphone is based on CyanogenMod developed 11s Android OS, due to which the deal is a big blow for the OnePlus and their dedicated fans. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has expressed utter shock and displeasure in an official blog post over the deal.

OnePlus and Cyanogen have already signed a contract on carrying support and updates on OnPlus One smartphones in 17 countries. The deal includes India too, but the sudden deal with Micromax won't allow Indian OnePlus One buyers to get further OS updates, though the phones can be updated manually. Since OnePlus One smartphone's comes pre-rooted, it is easy to downgrade or upgrade the OS version, but the official support for the OS wouldn't be available.

The OnePlus One Android smartphones will be rolled out in the country from 2 December through Amazon India. After global appreciation, OnePlus and Amazon were surely expecting some spectacular sales figure in the second highest consumer market. 

Meanwhile OnePlus has announced that they have started working on their own version of Android. The ROM will be based on Android 5.0 Lollipop and will keep the Google made cosmetic improvements.

Significantly, Micromax mobile recently announced that its Yu series smartphone, which will be based on CyanogenMod Android KitKat 4.4 based ROMs, is expected to be available by next month.