CyanogenMod, insanely popular for its customized aftermarket firmware for select Android devices, just announced an impressive milestone of 1 million installs (combining both official and unofficial). If you aren’t familiar with hacking or installing custom ROMs then you should know the CM team is the standard. These talented developers are great at finding ways to innovate and bring new features to stock Android. CM not only revives older devices left in the cold, but frees them from their shackles placed on them by the overlord — manufacturers/carriers.
This is how the numbers shake out. The most flashed version of CyanogenMod is CM 7.1 (Gingerbread), with over 235,000 unique installs across various devices. When it comes to the top five devices (most installs), the HTC Desire comes in number one, with over 80,000 installs. Second, is the ruggedized Motorola Defy with more than 55,000 installs. Finishing off the top five spots is the Motorola CLIQ, HTC EVO, and ZTE Blade.
I remember when I started getting into rooting (unlocking) and uploading custom ROMs on to my phones. It started when I purchased the Nexus One almost 2 years ago, then it carried on with a few more devices, including the Samsung Vibrant and HTC myTouch 4G. Thanks to the awesome work from developers associated with CyanogenMod and others, it’s because of them we don’t have to be prisoners of our own handsets, as these guys routinely turn limited to limitless.
[via Droid-Life]