Okay this is NOT a rumored device but...
If there was a phone that had solid specs and came pre-rooted and with the latest version of CyanogenMod on it, would you buy it? I have thought about this idea a lot and have come up with a few major problems, but most are resolvable.
1. Who would build it?
Manufacturers want to differentiate themselves; that's why we have Sense and Touchwiz and Blur. If it's not a Nexus device, it could be hard to convince a major manufacturer to build a phone for Kondik and company. Samsung did send the CyanogenMod team a few Galaxy S2 units for free around release, though. So there may be hope, as Samsung at least acknowledges that the CM team exist and that they are important to many people who use Samsung devices.
2. Carriers: Who would support it?
In the US, some carriers (like a red one) take a lot of control over devices. They need to buy the devices from manufacturers, so it doesn't matter how much the people want it, if Verizon, AT&T, etc. don't want a phone, it may be more expensive for consumers. The consumers would need to buy a phone off-contract, at full price. It would be more expensive initially, but service would only be on a month-to-month basis instead of a 2 year contract (think Google Play's Galaxy Nexus.) T-Mobile did tweet about hoping for a CyanogenMod phone, so there's a little hope here too.
3. Warranties? I don't even know on this one, because the device is already rooted to begin with. Users who don't know what they're doing could potentially mess up their phones because of root access (not sure how exactly, but it's more likely with root.)
Let me know what you guys think!
If there was a phone that had solid specs and came pre-rooted and with the latest version of CyanogenMod on it, would you buy it? I have thought about this idea a lot and have come up with a few major problems, but most are resolvable.
1. Who would build it?
Manufacturers want to differentiate themselves; that's why we have Sense and Touchwiz and Blur. If it's not a Nexus device, it could be hard to convince a major manufacturer to build a phone for Kondik and company. Samsung did send the CyanogenMod team a few Galaxy S2 units for free around release, though. So there may be hope, as Samsung at least acknowledges that the CM team exist and that they are important to many people who use Samsung devices.
2. Carriers: Who would support it?
In the US, some carriers (like a red one) take a lot of control over devices. They need to buy the devices from manufacturers, so it doesn't matter how much the people want it, if Verizon, AT&T, etc. don't want a phone, it may be more expensive for consumers. The consumers would need to buy a phone off-contract, at full price. It would be more expensive initially, but service would only be on a month-to-month basis instead of a 2 year contract (think Google Play's Galaxy Nexus.) T-Mobile did tweet about hoping for a CyanogenMod phone, so there's a little hope here too.
3. Warranties? I don't even know on this one, because the device is already rooted to begin with. Users who don't know what they're doing could potentially mess up their phones because of root access (not sure how exactly, but it's more likely with root.)
Let me know what you guys think!