You knew this was coming, but admit it: it’s nice to see anyway. The broohaha around the upcoming CyanogenMod 9, built from Ice Cream Sandwich’s source code and then tweaked like a five-year-old with an unlimited supply of Legos and no instructions, is reaching a fever pitch. Dozens of supported devices are getting early alpha and beta ports, but perhaps none are so welcome as HTC’s Nexus One, the original Google Phone.

There’s still a lot of folks who’re rocking the old N1 happy as you please – after all, those who bought it in January of 2010 aren’t even done with their two-year contracts, if they signed up for one. And of course the first Nexus One Ice Cream Sandwich ROM can be found on the XDA Developers forum. But sending ICS that far back into the past (Almost 23 months! An eternity in phone years!) isn’t without its problems: so far, the trackball, camera, USB mass storage and a few other small parts aren’t working.

Naturally this won’t deter Nexus owners, at least not for long. You can see a video demonstration of the new software below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOmc4YH9iYE

Note that this is a different beast than the rather flaky SDK port – it’s a full, native version of Android running on the hardware. I’m fully confident that most if not all of the issues in place currently will be ironed out before CyanogenMod 9’s final release early next year. And while the media may be smitten with the Galaxy Nexus and whatever shows up at CES and Mobile World Congress, there’s still room in the Android world for the humble Nexus One. Remember, alpha testers: always keep a Nandroid backup handy.

For a look at another high-profile CM9 alpha, check out our own hands-on of the Nexus S version.

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6 COMMENTS

  1. The vid on this page is an other version than the one mentioned on the title, the one mentioned in the title works just as fast as any other finished rom.

  2. I’m not giving up my Nexus One! Got that T Mobile. You want me to select a phone that you can monitor and manipulate. Like AT&T and Verizon you now want to nickel and dime everyone. That’s why you, AT&T and Google will not pursue a Nexus Two after the Nexus One. Its always the margin that is your bottom line.

  3. The nexus one will be and always be my favorite phone. I will never ever buy a iPhony. You would have to pay ME to own one. There has never been a phone like the N1. And all of the new phones out made by HTC are plastic pieces of crap with no trackballs. THEY HAVE NO BALLS! lol  AT&T made a big mistake betting on the iPh0000ny. So long AT&T and T-Mobile carriers! Wifi/WiMax for me until you get your acts together !

    • to be fair, you have to acknowledge that the g2/desire z DOES have a trackball. besides, i honestly don’t think you need one anymore. third party apps aren’t compatable with it, and larger screens/capacitive touchscreens make scrolling/navigating not a problem

  4. Amazing how well the Nexus One’s design has dated, I thought it was the most beautiful phone when it was released and I still think it’s the most beautiful today, even compared to the Galaxy Nexus.

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