Cyanogen, a startup that is aiming to create a more "open" version of Google's Android, has announced a partnership with Microsoft that will see Microsoft's popular apps on CyanogenMod, Cyanogen's operating system.
This essentially means that CyanogenMod will now include the likes of Bing, Skype, OneDrive and even Microsoft Office out of the box. What could this mean for Google?
"People around the world use Cyanogen's operating system and popular Microsoft services to engage with what matters most to them on their mobile devices," said Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster. "This exciting partnership with Microsoft will enable us to bring new kinds of integrated services to mobile users in markets around the world."
Microsoft has been trying to build up its presence in mobile for a number of years now, buying the likes of Nokia and putting an emphasis on its Windows Phone operating system. This, however, hasn't really worked as much as Microsoft probably would have liked. Windows Phone still has a miniscule market share in the mobile market compared with the likes of Android and even iOS.
Targeting Cyanogen seems like a good opportunity for Microsoft to expand into an essentially new market for the company. While certainly not as closed as iOS, Windows Phone isn't exactly open in the same way that operating systems like Android are. Offering its apps on Cyanogen will give it far more leverage on Android, giving it another way to tempt users into using its services.
Still, Microsoft offering its apps on Cyanogen is hardly something that Google should be worried about. Android currently has over 80 percent of the global smartphone market share and with programs such as Android One, that number of only set to grow. Google has by far more means of distributing its platform than the likes of Cyanogen.
In order to seriously compete, Cyanogen will have to seriously step up its game in partnering with handset manufacturers. While new handsets running Android are released every single week, there are only a handful of smartphones that run CyanogenMod out of the box. Of course, users can root their phones and manually install CyanogenMod, but this usually nullifies warranties and is only something that people who know what they're doing can do.
As Cyanogen continues to partner with more companies, the operating system could certainly offer a nice alternative for Android users who aren't so hot on Google's apps and services. We could even see a Lumia smartphone running CyanogenMod sometime in the future. Until then, however, Google has nothing to worry about.
