Google certifies CyanogenMod for Oppo N1

When Oppo unveiled the CyanogenMod version of its N1 phablet, the Chinese company did not provide any details as to whether the new model would receive Google's stamp of approval and, therefore, official access to the Play store. I was very skeptical that this would happen, seeing as CyanogenMod has never been certified for prime time use.

As some of you may know, in order for a device to officially receive Google Play access, it has to be certified by Google. This is one of the reasons why there are so many Android smartphones and tablets (mostly inexpensive ones) out in the wild that ship without any Google-branded apps and services. As it turns out, the N1 will not be part of the said bunch.

Oppo just took to Twitter to announce that its N1 is actually "the world's first Google CTS-Certified @CyanogenMod phone!", and that the phablet will be officially available to purchase on December 24.

There are no details concerning pricing but, if the N1 is of any indication, it is likely that the CyanogenMod version will cost €449 in Europe and $599 in US. The standard model runs Oppo's ColorOS.

Sadly, the version of CyanogenMod that was certified on the N1 is not the latest one available (CyanogenMod 11, based on Android 4.4 KitKat), as announced by Cyanogen developer Koushik Dutta, but CyanogenMod 10.2, which has Android 4.3 Jelly Bean underpinnings. And, as you might imagine, the software is not rooted -- this is the sole difference compared to the standard version.