Man, you got to love the Android developer community. These smart folks are guardians to those left out of the loop when it comes to software updates. As a result, the incomparable CyanogenMod team is forgoing the ROM Manager app and bringing its OTA updater back from the CM5 and 6 days. This is huge because now users get updates from CyanogenMod pulled straight to their handsets, which effectively takes the place of the phone carriers. The update system is unique, it acts like an email client that pulls information instead of pushing it directly to your device (iPhone owners are used to this system with Apple’s mail client application).
What’s even cooler about this updater feature is you’ll be able to set a timeframe to check and grab the latest versions directly from CyanogenMod’s servers. A feature like this, makes hacking your phone a bit mainstream, now people who aren’t accustomed to rooting and updating ROMs at least can consider doing it. If you’re apart of the Android faithful, then you know times are rough when it comes to getting firmware updates. Carriers have the last say to when or if you ever receive an upgrade, however, with this CyanogenMod system in place it puts a wedge between a phone carrier’s control.