Android 4.4.4 Kernel Source Now Available for First Android One Phones

Google on Wednesday has released Android 4.4.4 KitKat kernel source code for the recently launched Android One smartphones in India, opening the way for developers to create custom kernels and ROMs.

The announcement was made by Bill Yi from Google, on Android Building group, saying, "Today we pushed the kernel source for the Android One device family. The kernel source can be found on the android-msm-sprout-3.4-kitkat-mr2 branch in the kernel/msm project. It's also tagged with 'android-4.4.4_r3'."

Google shortly after shifted the the kernel source code from the Kernel tree for Qualcomm chipsets, to what appears to be a newly-created Kernel tree for MediaTek with just one branch. Bill updated the Android Building group post, saying, "The kernel source can be found on the android-mediatek-sprout-3.4-kitkat-mr2 branch in the kernel/mediatek project."

The three Android One smartphones - Karbonn Sparkle V, Micromax Canvas A1, and Spice Dream Uno - come with near identical specifications and use the same Android builds. Android Police notes the release of the kernel source comes with a fix for a minor gyroscope bug.

Google has announced that the Android One smartphones will be among the first to get the much-awaited Android L update.

(Also see: Android One Is Late to the Party but It Can Still Be a Game-Changer)

Specifications of the Micromax Canvas A1, Karbonn Sparkle V, and Spice Dream Uno include a 4.5-inch (480x854 pixels) IPS FWVGA display; 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek processor; 1GB of RAM, 4GB of inbuilt storage; expandable storage support via microSD card (up to 32GB); a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash; a 2-megapixel front camera; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, and a 1700mAh battery.

(Also see: Android One Was Conceived With India in Mind, Says Google's Sundar Pichai)

The Karbonn Sparkle V is available in Magnum Blue, Mild Grey, Wild Red and Pearl White colour variants exclusively via Snapdeal at Rs. 6,399, and the Spice Dream Uno is available in Black and White colour variants exclusively via at Flipkart at Rs. 6,299. The Micromax Canvas A1 is available in Black and White colour variants exclusively via Amazon, priced at Rs. 6,499.