The CyanogenMod developers have announced that nightly builds of CyanogenMod 9 (CM9) are now available for several devices. After losing access to a large cluster of servers, the project to create free and open versions of Android for numerous phones and tablets put out an appeal in February for help. That appeal was so successful that by April the project had got its new build servers and now, with the appearance of nightly builds for CM9, the first fruits of the work in creating the new build system are being harvested.

CyanogenMod 9 will be based on Android 4.x, code-named "Ice Cream Sandwich". The developers have not yet announced when the first beta version of CM9 will be released, but with the appearance of the nightly builds, users can at least start to test the ROMs with less effort.

The new nightly images of CM9 are available for several devices including the Nexus S, the Galaxy Nexus and various Samsung-made phones. Images for the Galaxy Tab and Asus Transformer tablets can also be downloaded from the project's download page. The easiest way to install CyanogenMod nightly ROMs is via the ROM Manager application. Full installation instructions for each of the supported devices are available on the CyanogenMod wiki.

The H reminds users that, as with all custom firmware, and especially with experimental nightly builds, inexperienced users are not advised to flash their devices as they could unintentionally "brick" them, resulting in a complete loss of functionality.

The latest stable version of CyanogenMod is version 7.1 based on Android 2.3 "Gingerbread".

See also:

CyanogenMod 9 to ship without default root access, a report from The H.



(fab)