Cyanogen and Microsoft today announced a new partnership to bundle Microsoft apps and integrate various services with Cyanogen OS.
In the announcement (received by email), the two companies will work together to offer a unique experience for Cyanogen users with native integration. Bing, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook and Microsoft Office were mentioned in the announcement.
Microsoft has been pushing hard on competitor platforms, namely Android and iOS, to launch improved experiences for consumers to make full use of the company's array of services. This new partnership with Cyanogen is another step for Microsoft to attract potential customers.
Cyanogen Announces Strategic Partnership With Microsoft
Cyanogen Open OS Platform to Offer Microsoft Services Later This Year
PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - April 16, 2015) - Cyanogen Inc. and Microsoft Corp. announced a partnership to integrate popular Microsoft services across the Cyanogen Operating System. With offices in Palo Alto and Seattle, Cyanogen is a leading mobile operating system company that is evolving the Android platform to create a more open, level playing field for third-party developed apps and services.
Under the partnership, Cyanogen will integrate and distribute Microsoft's consumer apps and services across core categories, including productivity, messaging, utilities, and cloud-based services. As part of this collaboration, Microsoft will create native integrations on Cyanogen OS, enabling a powerful new class of experiences.
"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 Kirt McMaster, CEO of Cyanogen Inc. "This exciting partnership with Microsoft will enable us to bring new kinds of integrated services to mobile users in markets around the world."
"We aspire to have our tools within arm's reach of everyone, to empower them in all aspects of their lives. This partnership represents another important step towards that ambition," said Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President of Microsoft Corp. "We'll continue to deliver world-class experiences across productivity and communications on Windows, and we're delighted that Cyanogen users will soon be able to take advantage of those same powerful services."
The distribution arrangement includes a number of Microsoft services: Bing services, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, and Microsoft Office.
Reader comments
Cyanogen teams up with Microsoft to offer bundled apps and services
When I left WP I put every windows app on my Android phone.
The only two things I miss are the live tiles and Cortana.
good job...
Does anyone have the wallpaper from that screenshot?
I don't need cyanogen mod to have all Microsoft apps installed. :D Installed when I could
I'm beginning to respect Cyanogen a bit more.
@author This post needs an update. Cyanogen just posted this was false. http://www.cyanogenmod.org/blog/microsoft-and-cm12-1-nightlies
HMM, this is interesting. Over at Ars Technica, the article comments on this news are universally negative; no one over there wants to substitutite one mega corporation for another. Over here, we have a much wider range of comments. I like it better here.
This is just great, I'm not really sure why yet, but I'm sure it's good news
Android users who flash Cyanogen to their phones are going to install Google apps anyways.
android(without google apps & services) + xbox services for games + ms bloatware + age of empires:castle siege i'm in to have it as my secondary phone
Hope this means a non-shitty version of Office for Android. Don't get why they would go through the pain of maintaining 3 separate Office apps for iPhone and iPad, and then artificially limit non-shitty Office for Android to tablets.
Thats an interesting and good move by MS :)
Give Windows 10 Phone OS to Cyanogen team. They will make it better than Android.
Why the hell is MS focusing on making other platforms better.Here my 520 can't open many sites on internet explorer because of html5 and there they are making these things happen. Launching Office for Apple first Cortana for Android and now this. C'mon MS if you put these efforts on WP certainly you can beat Android in a year or two though i still appreciate MS efforts till now.
They know they will never catch up to iOS and Android. I think this is very wise for them. I really think Windows Phone 10 will the the mobile OS that will decide the future of Microsoft and phones. Providing services on all mobile operating systems is the smart way to do business in case WP10 does not catch on. I got frstarted with my Windows 8.1 phone and switched to Android. It was really not painful at all since almost all the Microsoft services and apps I used were available on Android. I even installed a Windows 8 Live tile launcher and was quite impressed on how well it worked with Android. I'd like to see Microsoft come out with their own Tile launcer with Cortona for Android. I want to see Microsft survive and I do think their key to survival is supporting all mobile operating systems at this point.
I'll switch back to Android. Wasted my money on windows phone.
Yeah I feel the same way and switched
That only makes me think about one thing: If Microsoft is moving its pieces to other OSs, then Why should we be faithful to WP? I have a Lumia 1520 and love the camera, and like WP easyness of use.... But if i can get that with other OS and still get Office, Skype, etc with Apps ways better than our own WP Microsoft App ... Plus all the App we keep waiting for... Then i ask again, why should we be faithful to WP? ... I want to support Microsoft but don't want to wait 10 years to see it work great.
i wonder even if waiting will be "worth the wait"
I know that's why I left this OS I wasn't faithful to the core lol then I just gave up.
Screw being faithful, it's about what fits your needs. Only fans care about this. I'll use what I like and I like both Android and WP, but Android handle my needs more at the moment, even though I like WP OS more.
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Only thing I miss is the UI.
Exactly.... For example, i have Amazon Prime, but I can't use Amazon Music because there is no WP App, so I have to pay for a Spotify subscription. I bought a MiniJambox Jawbone Speaker (At Microsoft Store) and Android has an App to enhance the Jawbone experience, BUT WP does not! (and I bought the speaker at Microsoft Store!) .... And this is just an example.
Microsoft has finally beaten Google in across platform apps. Take that, Google.
Wouldn't say they have beaten google, google still doesn't have its apps on Microsoft's platform, which hurts Microsoft more than it does google.
You know the meaning of across platform? Having apps across all platforms? If google is not putting apps up on WP, then yes, Microsoft has beaten Google at one place at least and that's across platform availability.
But they are only beating them because Google refuses, not denied. MS has been wanting google apps more than google.
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Still beating, aren't they?
Just admit that Google is beaten here, will you?
And really, we WP users don't care for Google apps anymore, not a bit.
If you say so. You're missing the point. Considering they have the two biggest OS marketshare, they can get someone to switch from WP to Android because of lack apps (cause there are people posting below and including me) and still use MS apps AND GAPPs, what 3.5% marketshare? What's CM. Yes I understand your point. That's why MS is proven they will always be just a software company and WP will always stay ~3-4% market share. I don't think you really understand what being beat is.
Amazon Fire, Tizen, Sailfish, and CM can all essentially get gApps. They can get MS apps too. Why? Because it's all Android based APK. But guess who can't get Gapps.
So who really has who beat. But to each their own.
Posted via the Windows Phone Central App for Android
And that's the point. We don't want Gapps. We don't and have no problem with their non-existence on the Windows app store.
And yes, Microsoft is a software company and so is Google. It's hardware isn't globally successful. People might buy a hell lotta Nexus's out in the US, but they are not bought anywhere else. Google is definitely as much a software company as Microsoft is. Except, Google doesn't understand software availability as well as Microsoft does. It thinks just because WP has 3.4% share, it doesn't need their Gapps (we don't anymore, as I said before) but that isn't how software is supposed to be. It's, in this age, supposed to be available everywhere on every possible platform. And Google doesn't understand that. And therefore, Google is a software company but Microsoft is the better one. Google still beaten. And really, Google has nothing to beat here if you think. If Google offers all of its apps on all platforms, it will be the one which benefits the most. Google not doing that is just it being ignorant and that's not called "beating".
1. Google is a search giant first and foremost. They utilize software for that data collection. Yes they create software, but their main focus is for search and ads. That's the only app that window phone even have and I Personally used more than bing.
2. Google does not and never had made hardware. The Nexus line out outsource to MFR with Google speciation for the stock Android. The phone is simply a variant of the OEM version they put out.
3. You and other may not want GApps. But don't speak for everyone. I myself have used several third party apps (youtube too) that utilizes Google services. So say we is not a collective.
As I have said, if nobody cared about any Gapps in WP, MS wouldn't had been up in arms trying to push YouTube or filing unfair business practices against Google apps not being in.
I can tell you one thing, I didn't miss WP experience as much as I did the Android experience. As much as I personally use GAPPS heavily even more so than before, would keep from going back.
But whatever. I'm done.
But I mean you can sit here and think oh nobody gonna use Google services would be the same way thing no one is gonna use MS services on Android.
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Speak for yourself..
There is good and bad on every os and being able to run both gapps and Microsoft services regardless of what the os is is actually the best option for the majority of people.
Being able to protect your privacy is very doable with Android and being blinded by hatred of Google is also what keeps WP in it's low position of market share.
Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face....
Including Microsoft services in Cyanogen OS will only strengthen Microsoft's position because of abundance of Android devices it will be possible to get them on. It's not the short run they are looking at but the long run positioning they are playing for.
Yes I am fully aware and understand that this does nothing for Windows Phone right now, but if this works out next year the mobile market is going to look a lot different.
Right now most diehard Android /CM fans consider Microsoft services bloatware just as most diehard WP fans feel the same for Gapps. A lot of the prejudices are well earned from both camps, but if WP is ever going to crawl out of the basement of market share they need to do this and get in front of as many people who don't own a desktop computer. Android based phones are the best way.
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Google chooses not to put it's app on WP. They are on iOS. CM is pulling away from Google services, but because it's Android based people can still load Google services on there with the right know how. MS however is doing what they do best... distribution of their software. This is where they will prevail and be successful. Not in their OS or Lumia devices. Their software will be more used across the board. So yes you are definitely correct on that aspect. I couldn't see MS being successful any other way.
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See, there are two outcomes.
Being successful and not successful.
Both have a 50% chance. So let's no draw conclusions just yet.
If Cyanogenmod releases a version of the OS wihtout ANY scroogleware at all then that may be my answer when Windows Phone finally dies (I hope it doesn't die but it's not looking good).
They cannot do that. To use Android and gain its open source license, Google has made it mandatory to include all Google apps. And really, its not "bloatware" as you are mentioning, some of those apps are really useful.
That's only if you want to use their apps and playstore. Android itself is open source. That's why Nokia, Tizen, Sailfish, and CM are able to make versions of it. Google apps themselves are proprietary and how they made now. You can still obtain the apks and side load the apps if you know how. Really you just need to side load the play store and gain access, but it's doable. A lot of Chinese knock off phone and tablets have Android but not the play store cause they aren't certified. If you make a forked Android, you aren't able to access their apps. This is where places like Amazon app store, OVI, and Microsoft can benefit cause all these forked androids still run Android apps. So it's essentially no loss.
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And that's the whole point. Cyanogen cannot possibly make a viable app store so that they can bail out on Play Store. Making sure that as many apps are available for users on Cyanogen as for Stock Android users, forces them into using all those Google apps and services
They could be true, but Amazon Fire is doing just fine with a forked Android and no GApp. Sailfish is slowly beginning to become popular without the playstore. CM can adhere to the Amazon app store and be fine. Only the hard bent off GAPPS lovers will care. China market if it serves me correctly does not come with the playstore. CM is not solely desperate in need of Google for markets like India and China. Maybe more so for the US. But you are not forced into using GAPPS unless you buy a certified phone. That's why Google now requires all certified phones to say Powered by Android at boot up.
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Okay, if the gApp is not going to be huge, then I truly think that Cyanogen should get rid of all that Google stuff (even though useful) and go all Microsoft. :D
That to be honest could be an option. If a person like a WP user never uses GAPP services they won't be missing anything. That's what makes competition great.
Posted via the Windows Phone Central App for Android
False. As aitt mentions it is entirely possible and the restriction would come in the PlayStore and I would not care about that.
Also, it's OK that you find scroogleware useful. Obviously my post only cover specific cases like mine for people who don't want any of their stuff.
Read comment above.
Read it. Does not make it any less false.
Where do all your contacts back up to on cyanogen? Google servers?
Yep. There is an outlook app you can use to sync your contacts with outlook.com but its very iffy.
Cheers, that's me out then! Don't trust google with my contact data!
I wonder if they're considering the use of the OneDrive app to sync the data...that would be cool
What jus they need to do is simply remove chrome. Make Spartan available soon. Tie up with Mozilla to give the beat experience. Remove g +, hangouts and g drive crap. And let keep those apps which are better maintained by google such as u tube.
It will be interesting to see if Spartan will be available on multiple platforms! It is a must for the browser to survive.
Microsoft puts too much time into "competitor platforms".
MS has to in order to stay relevent...what's their other option? Dump a ton of resources into a platform with marginal (and stagnant) market share?
MS is a software company first - they create software to make money and the money isn't on WP.
They have no choice if they want to thrive as a company, which as a publicly traded company they have the obligation to do. Their WP strategy to date has failed. If they can ever turn it around then they won't need to cater to competing platforms.
I dislike Android a lot. Cyanogen is a good move although it takes away some of the buy a windows phone for free office exclusivity. But I guess getting people onto office 360 subs is the ultimate aim and for that to subsidise the hardware on wp then that would be ok.
DisGonBeGud.gif
Cool, this might end upon my galaxy tab some day soon.
Well, Google might retaliate by "updating" the terms of licensing Google play services by banning bundling services from competitors. Although, I think they won't do that anytime soon as the hall monitor (aka the EU) will be investigating Google's business practices.
Google cannot hurt Cyanogen
Google can't hurt cyanogen directly for sure, but such a move can hurt Samsung or any Android device vendor if there is no access to play store. Therefore, many vendors might avoid releasing cyanogen's version of Android altogether.
Cyanogen does not have the Google play store bundled, so Google cannot do any more damage here.
If Google was stupid enough to make it so you couldn't bundle anything besides their apps right as the EU was investigating them for anticompetitive behavior on Android, they would be sued to all hell lol
Yeah, that won't happend. The EU is already on the case.
Y Microsoft has flat icons of their apps in a android phones.
Imma gonna do some brushing up on Android, Cyanogen and ROM flashing...
Cyanogen on an LG G4 with MS services would suit me until/if MS get their OS and handsets in order.
Good news considering the push for MS software on Samsung Galaxy in the US has pretty much failed due to carrier douchebaggery
whatcha mean failed? it just takes time but it'll happen in the end
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/04/15/verizon-and-att-wont-pre-install-...
Ugh, that's so dumb. No one wants carrier Apps instead... Carriers need to butt out on the App department.
Carriers won't allow it.
Not sure why MS doesn't just sue them and use the previous anti-trust cases from the 90's the government used on MS as the basis. Should be a slam dunk.
Sue them how? What would be the basis of it? Carriers blocking additional apps?
@novron
Because Microsoft needs those same carrier's to sell windows phones :/
Ya I read that too yesterday. Damn VZ and AT&T
VZW I would have expected...I didn't expect AT&T, but I wouldn't have ruled them out either.
1+1 :P
What is cyanogen, how to get That ?
You need an android phone, originally launched on one plus one, great phone. I got one got rid of all google crap and loaded MS apps and use it as a back up to my 920
cyanogen was around long before the Oneplus one. The oneplus was just the first phone that came with Cyanogen out of the box.
Its been around for years and you could always download it and put it on your phone.
To be fair one plus doesn't run cyanogen OS its cyanogenmod which isn't the same thing
Cyanogen is Android but not the official google version its based on AOSP and doesn't include google apps and service and provide update to latest version to supported phones even the one manufacturers drop support for
My Oneplus came with all of the standard Google bloatware
That's because CM had to adhere to Google policy to get the GAPPS officially on there for the phone. Their ROM based does not come with it.
Posted via the Windows Phone Central App for Android
Cyanogen (formerly CyanogenMod) is an Android ROM. Meaning, it's an alternate version of Android.
Unlike WP and iOS, on Android you can replace the operating system on your phone. So, for example, if you don't like Samsung's TouchWiz but you like the S6Edge, you can simply remove the version of Android Samsung installed on the phone and replace it with another ROM, like Cyanogen (it will void your warranty of course).
You can't get this on WP.
We can't get this on WP, and we don't need to.
Most people who use windows phone likely don't care if we get this or not. If I wanted to do this, I'd own android.
Still....good news for Microsoft and hopefully this company will make a windows phone.
The OP asked how to get it, I answered ;)
Though I highly doubt that having more freedom to actually customize WP would hurt anyone...on the contrary. For boring locked down OSs, there's already iOS.
I did manage to turn in a rooted-derooted P500 (LG Optimus One) for a Lumia 520 when my cellphone provider was doing a trade-in program. So whether it 'voids your warranty' does depend on 'if you get caught out.'
Reminds me of the good ole WM days, but yeah with WP I really don't need that anymore.
Why would we want this on windows phone? We already have the smoothest OS with minimal crapware installed. And we can just uninstall any apps we dont want.
I feel like opening the OS would just lead it into becoming as laggy and slow as android is. I am glad its closed off the way it is.
You missed the point of his reply didn't you.
Posted via the Windows Phone Central App for Android
"it will void your warranty of course"
Everyone always says this, but I don't think that's true.
Actually no.. It's not formally CM... CM is still available and is a mod for downloading C-OS is a complete os and separate.
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
There is also another way to convert s Kindle Fire to Android called N2A OS. Enables me to run all apps from the Google Play Store on my Fire tablet.
Like most of us, I am hoping that someone devises a way to run Google Play Store apps on my WP phone.
Strangely, though, there are those who don't want this. Some people around here are crazy.
This was coming definitely...if they could put it on Samsung phones then cyanogen wasn't far away...and with all the hatred cyanogen has towards Google I see this will be a long term deal...so wherever you go MS apps will follow you...now just waiting for Windows 10 to bring the same quality...and please MS try and update the Windows apps at the same time if not earlier
Finally a good company with hatred towards Google. 't was about time that companies like Samsung and Cyanogen were going to fight back against all that bullshit Google has introduced in the past few years
I don't think Windows Central reported on it, but it seems like the "Microsoft apps pre-installed on Samsung devices" thing has hit a snag in the U.S., with Verizon and AT&T blocking many of the apps from being pre-installed.
Oh. That's good. Well I thought they're gonna bring over more apps to Windows... Actually the other way round :S
Never heard cyanogen OS before, is there for PC too?
I don't think so.
Don't think so. I heard of it when the launch of OnePlus. I think they're already doing a newer version of Cyanogen if I'm not wrong
My understanding is that they are dropping Cyanogen for the upcoming OnePlus 2.
No cyanogen OS is a fork of Android so basically runs on phones only
lol no this is a custom ROM for Android devices. Basically a stripped down version of Android without all the Google apps and all that horrible bloatware (except for Play Store and a few other things).
Cyanogen does not have a Google play store!
No, but you can install Google Play on a phone running Cyanogen....
Since Cyanogenmod is anti-google ,they will likely have amazon play store. Heres what I see at this point, Either Microsoft/ Cyanogenmod makes a deal with Amazon to make a huge push on their play store and give incentives for developers to publish it in amazon play store.
What If we have the amazon store on windows10 devices...it will be really helpful in decreasing the app gap
Its not a stripped down version. Rather is upgraded version with lots of options not availalble in the original android.
Also there is google play store in CM11. I have been using a YU Yureka mobile and it was preinstalled.
The Play Store is NOT pre installed with CM11 and never has been. If the manufacturer of the handset used CM11 and chose to preload the store then that's the reason why it's there.
A fast and smooth non-stock OS for slow and crappy Android devices.
Cyanogen OS is an android ROM. You can download it and install it on most android phones if you unlock their boot loader and root them.
Why do so many people go through the effort to do that?
Because alot of Android phones are shipped with crapware installed and the only way to remove it is by flashing a clean version of Android on it.
Also custom roms like cyanogen offer more features than the stock version of Android.
Better customizations and speed.
There's not much effort required now, since Cyanogen mod got funded and built themselves an installer. Easy now!
It's one of the many custom ROMs available for Android and its the best of that bunch.
Yeah but limited devices.. Many other custom roms like mokee uses cyanogen roms and speed up the creation of stable roms for most of the devices. I am using mokee rom(which had all features of cm plus lot more) on my redmi 1s.. I use windows phone in my daily though...
Man. U are awesome.. U might be living un 1970's
Knew this was coming...:) glad MS did this...hopefully cyanogen eats into a good amount of android's market...along with WP ofc...
Dunno, if you look at the commentary on the same article for the android side of this site it's all cries of "bloatware" and "WTF!?" Frankly, I'm on the "bloatware" side. Give us a clean phone and we install what we want to.
Yeah I can see bloatware, but you realize this helps the android market to push out more phone, not sure if your a windows guy but in the long run this helps MS as a whole.
They are basically replacing the Google apps with Microsoft apps. Don't the standard Android build come with all the Google apps? Would you consider those bloatware on Android?
Yes, it's bloatware. I'm not a Android/Apple/Microsoft person. I have a bit of everything. I'm a solutions person. Whatever it takes to do what I want to do.
Amen to that! I like my Windows, dont get me wrong. But sometimes competitors have better options.
Of course it's bloat. There's an expectation when you purchase an Android phone that you get basic Google apps (even the extraneous Google apps like 'Earth' are bloat as far as I am concerned). Samsung has an alternative app for almost every Google App available but Android users still consider it bloat. You can't honestly say that if you bought a Microsoft phone and all the MS apps were replaced by comparable Android or iOS apps that you wouldn't call foul? It doesn't matter if it offers the same functionailty. If all MS phones came with Google Drive and Docs in place of MS Office and One Drive, the outcry would be deafening.
but this is why I choose windows phone, I can go and uninstall every single app that comes pre loaded on this phone. I think that's what people are arguing over at android central the other day, that Google does not let you uninstall their loaded apps. Disabling them still takes up memory allocated in the ROM.
I do believe the essential apps should be locked up though like (in the case of google) gmail, maps, music+video, and drive. Just as it is on WP, but when you load up google+ you lost me there lol my 925 came with so much crap the moment I turned it on I went to storage drive, selected all apps and hit uninstalled lol
Good joke
Can you tell me how do I uninstalled Xbox music and videos etc
I mentioned how the essential apps have to be locked up, such as music and video. Doesn't matter how much they may suck, they are the essential media players that have to be present in an OS.
Regular users that dont even visit the store and just insert an SD card with music expect a basic music player to be installed already.
I call foul if anything beyond the OS is preinstalled be it MS, Google, or Apple. It's Bloatware. If I wanted it on my device, I'd have installed it myself. I paid for the phone, it's mine now. Get your sh*t off of it.
This isn't a standard android build but a whole new os that can run Google Apps
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
It's not a whole new OS, it's a fork of the AOSP project that Google actively updates once or twice a year, make no mistake, Cyanogen OS(and Cyanogenmod) are based off of whatever latest Android build is out there, it's not a completely new operating system.
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
Cyanogenmod already takes a huge portion in India and China. This is only a start and it will continue to prevail. The one problem i forsee is that , they need to have roms available for devices that are already available in the market. This gives consumers a choice to either choose googles stock rom or other stock roms.
Micromax,Karbonn, and several other chinese manufacturers (inc. Xiaomi) ships their phone with cyanogenmod stock rom.
I just hope Verizon doesn't remove the Microsoft apps like the did with the Samsung Galaxy S 6.
I could be wrong, but I don't think that the Cyanogen Operating System comes pre-installed on any Android phone, at least not in the US? This would be installed by the consumer and replace the Android build the phone came with.
Cyanogen mod is installed on the fantastic One Plus One and devices from OPPO. They both make good handsets. Just look at the spec sheet on the One Plus One!
Uh. Nice :)
Now that's interesting
"competitor platforms, namely Android and ios" just made me giggle. Any competitors left are fairly insignificant.
Mac OS :P
Blackberry :P
Chromebook :P
Oh! You missed TIZEN OS :D
What about Sailfish? That has a pretty formidable market share as well, we shouldn't rule them out XD
The jolla salfish phone is ugliest flagship i had ever seen
how can you guys just forget firefox os
And we have the newcomer...ubuntu touch... With a massive 15apps in its store :P
Crmbk is a piece of cake
Sandeep Sunny Does 'Crmbk' stand for 'Crumb-book'?
Kinda sounds like shenanigans..anyone? :{B
What about gingerbread os
You forget Soon OS