Cyanogen has been on a roll these past few months, throwing punches at industry giants like Google and Samsung with claims that it’s going to wrestle Android way from Google and that Samsung is going to be killed off by smartphone startups. While all of this has drawn plenty of attention to the startup and certainly helped it secure its recent $80 million in funding, could this end up doing more harm than good to Cyanogen?
Normally, one would try to avoid a headline like this. It draws too many conclusions, angers too many readers and frustrates a number of others. However, under the circumstances, not only does the headline seem appropriate, but it also does offer somewhat of a valid argument. Are Cyanogen’s Kirt McMaster’s comments damaging Cyanogen? There is no doubt that from a commercial viewpoint, Cyanogen CEO, McMaster has helped to build Cyanogen. Note, that is Cyanogen, not CyanogenMod. McMaster has had very little to do with the actual technical operating system, which was the brainchild of Steve Kondik, who now operates as CTO of Cyanogen. However, what McMaster has done, is bring the company to the limelight, pushing forward their vision of a more open android and helped to establish and secure $80 million in their latest round of funding.
