Microsoft is reportedly working with Android off shoot CyanogenMod to spread the reach of Windows apps and it may be a way to shoot a deep, sharp marketing dart into one of Google's most valuable assets.
CyanogenMod, maintained by Cyanogen Inc., is a mobile operating system that forks off Android's open-source core. As long as the Cyanogen OS doesn't use Android elements protected by Google -- services like Gmail and Google Search -- there are few legal steps the search engine company can do to squash the offshoot platform. In programming terms, a fork is when developers copy of source code from one software package and create a separate piece of software through independent development.
Microsoft is clearly a big fan and showed its love when Cyanogen opened itself to another round of investment. Cyanogen stated it had raised $100 million in funding and analysts struggled to account for anything above $30 million before concluding that Microsoft bought a firm minority stake for $70 million.
It may seem odd the Windows Phone OS developer is investing in another mobile platform, but $70 million for Microsoft is pennies and nickles. Microsoft appears to be interested in furthering the cause of Cyanogen so the Android OS can expand support to more Windows apps.
Android is an open-source OS, but Google maintains the prized variant of the platform and protects its version with strict licensing terms. However, Cyanogen is seeking to make the strings-free versions of Android better than Google's protected version.
Cyanogen CEO Kirk McMaster recently told a crowd of reporters his company is flat out trying to wrestle Android away from Google. Funding from Microsoft and other investors could make CyanogenMod more powerful and more respected, so much so that that McMaster's claim could be more than an empty threat and drive more hardware manufacturers to go the route of China's OnePlus in adopting the forked version of Android.
The Android strategy comes on the heels of Microsoft's continuing development of its Windows 10 OS -- branded as a "one platform, one product family." While it's obviously more endeared to Windows 10, Microsoft clearly wants some Android as well.
