It’s been about a month and a half since Cyanogen himself said work had begun on CM9 and to “check back in 2 months”. Since that date is quickly approaching, how close are we to having a functional CyanogenMod 9? Based on what I saw, we’re very close!

First off, the Galaxy Nexus (in either variety) isn’t an officially supported CM device — yet. I suspect it will be the launch device for CM9 when it’s finally released.

Next, there are no official builds of CM9 for the Galaxy Nexus — or any device for that matter. I was, however, able to get my hands on a custom compiled version of CM9 and load it up on my GSM Galaxy Nexus for you to see!

If you want to try this out, and are willing to assume the risks associated with it, you’ll need to OEM unlock and root your phone (which will wipe it completely), install Clockwork Mod Recovery, and flash the ROM and GAPPS packages.

ROM: fitsnugly.euroskank.com/skankwich

GAPPS: www.multiupload.com/DP9IS9NROU

This build is my current daily driver. Everything I tested works — and works well: GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, phone, and HSPA+ included. This build included the new Trebuchet launcher and CMSettings (though neither are 100% complete yet), but doesn’t include the new Music app that we told you about earlier.

All in all, I’m very impressed with the progress so far and can’t wait for the first official nightly build!