[Q] To flash or not to flash (Stock ROM to CM7 alpha) - myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

For those who have tried, is the CM7 alpha worth replacing the stock Glacier ROM? What are the benefits over the current stock HTC Sense ROM? What's missing or not quite there?

Wrong Section, good question though
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

Cm7 nightlies - no longer CM7 alpha
It's true that this is probably the wrong section and I'm a noob too but before they bring in the new rules about minimum postings in the developer section, I'll throw in my ten cents.
Background:
US T-Mobile version of Mytouch4G and had no reason to be unhappy with the stock Rom but just love to scratch an itch and see what happens.
In the pursuit of seeing what happens I successfully rooted the phone to the point of permanent S=off (but not complete unlock as I have no need for that yet)
and over the course of the last few weeks systematically installed and tested three of the froyo builds/ports available on this forum.
Each have their strengths and weakness which are clearly listed so I wont catalogue the details I'll just say the following:
It's a lotta lotta fun! there was a geek in me waiting to get out and I finally see what the true potential is with this platform (android) - It's probably unlimited.
Aside from the philosophical point of wanting to have the freedom to do whatever with and put whatever you want on the device, that rooting facilitates (I’m a veteran of two generation of iphones), there is also that practical point that rooting does unlock the full potential of the device available right now which includes a host of apps already on the market only for rooted devices.
I don’t want to go into all those possibilities here because they are covered in detail in any google search but let’s just say that once you’re on the other side of the proverbial fence, the grass really is greener.
I know I’m being vague at this point, but let me continue a little longer.
Having also owned a number of windows based htc devices through 2005-2008 I’m no stranger to htc sense and some of the useful little gadgets that they seem to have evolved to a fairly decent level in android and I’ll say this:
Take away the surface veneer which is not as bad in the MT4G as in some others (bloatware) and you find that the meat and potatoes of the platform/operating system is all android.
And it runs MUCH better without the crap. – forget about overclocking (which helps and is fun) loose the veneer and the device flies.
And what you lose in the process – a couple of apps – you replace immediately with comparable ones for free down at the market.
So – phone runs better, can do more, has a host of better looking ui’s and themes that all the talented developers on this forum are constantly pushing out – then what about the risks?
I haven’t had a single hitch – not one.
I’m as impulsive as the next guy but I just took it steady with the information overload – carefully rooted the phone and from there, flashing one rom after another has become no more complicated than booting into recovery – case closed.
It’s become second nature.
And I’ve had to do a double take once or twice when something didn’t play out exactly as described but I’ve discovered that I had overlooked a detail here and there and it’s an easy fix.
Point being that there are constant warnings and disclaimers for obvious reasons, but my device at least has turned out to be very hardy – no scares here.
So finally, I’ve been eyeing developments in the gingerbread camp like everyone else and I’ve been wary of the alpha builds because my zero level of expertise keeps me from playing in that league and I see early this morning that an official CM7 release is out for my model the glacier.
At first I run I into problems flashing Clockworkmod to 3.0 and even try to flash the rom and boot from 2.5 with the predictable conclusion of a stuck boot loop all the while not really knowing what to expect from this ginger hype and whether it’s really worth the trouble of leaving my now very stable cooked froyo rom.
Someone then creates the thread a few lines up describing how to simply use rom manager to install the update for CWM 3.0 and at 2am I’m on my way.
I flash the rom and install the additional google apps and what do I find?
GINGERBREAD IS **** HOT!
Nuff said.
I won’t be overclocking it as a rule but I get 2805 on quadrant – previous high being in the 2500’s (each chip is actually different so I’ve heard that everyones score will vary)
The device has no lags, splutters, and runs quite literally incredibly.
and the look and feel of gingerbread? – I’ll add to what I said earlier – it’s amazing – it’s a moving graphical, visual feast.
It will seriously rain on apple’s parade when this thing hits the main stream and I think quite honestly that it’s the greatest mobile device operating system ever created.
I know I’m gushing but it really is that good and considerably more impressive than froyo while having the same core navigation and other functionality.
I won’t be going back.
I won’t endorse taking risks with your device but I’ll say it’s worth taking a look.
A few afterthoughts for those asking the questions:
There is a brand new version of the market packaged with the 20110115 version of the larger gapps file floating around on this forum – it also rocks!
Although most apps available on the market have not yet been updated for gb 2.3, they all work so far on my machine with one or two unimportant exeptions.
I’ve replaced all sense functionality with free apps off the market – no loss there.
The device runs smoothly and all functionality is tested and working in the latest release - great job guys doing the work here.
Long and the short of it being …it’s all good.
hope that helps.

Definitely worth a flash to try yourself. I mean it's CyanogenMod so how could it not be good?
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk

matkam said:
For those who have tried, is the CM7 alpha worth replacing the stock Glacier ROM? What are the benefits over the current stock HTC Sense ROM? What's missing or not quite there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would be very surprised at how extremely stable these roms are. I've been running them for a few weeks now and they're definitely stable enough to be your daily driver.
The main thing to consider is that Sense is a highly customized ROM while CyanogenMod is based on Pure Google with some additional configurations available.
Try it out, it's pretty easy to go back if you don't like it. For a while there I was nandroiding back and forth between Sense and CM6 about twice a week, lol.

CM7 some after thoughts
Continuing from my earlier post, I thought I would head off a few questions about observable differences in gingerbread - well the CM7 incarnation:
Android market loads and populates faster.
The wireless radio picks up signals/networks faster and connects gracefully and quickly.
All aspects of the functionality of the whole system and each individual app seems to be smoother and more efficient.
Youtube no longer has that annoying glitch coming out of landscape.
My new 16bg class 6 mini sdhc card finally works and no longer gives me the blank card or damaged card bull crap every time I unmount or remount from usb mode – didn’t expect that one and had resigned myself to going back to the stock 8gb card it shipped with.
The app drawer pops out at you in what seems like 3d while leaving the background wallpaper intact. – so the app drawer just floats while you scroll through it.
Every aspect of the device and systems are customizable – I mean everything – probably in part due to the efforts of the CM7 team.
The stock gingerbread phone dialer app is changed for the better and is obviously one of many enhancements including the ability to program your sip (voip) settings straight into the phone doing away with third party apps altogether to make or receive calls (if you’re into voip)
You’ll have to dig around to find the .apk for the stock car/navigation mode app and I solved that riddle by downloading the free android app(car home) from the market and also installing a third party app (car mode control) which is used to launch it – I’ve been lazy and haven’t investigated yet whether it’s actually necessary to have the go between, but it works.
and swype, if you want it, can be downloaded direct from the guys that developed it at the beta.swype page (wasn't allowed to post the link) - by simply registering to test the latest beta, which is better than in the stock MT4G rom.

Someone report the first post to have this moved.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Whosdaman said:
Someone report the first post to have this moved.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't realize it had to be reported. I always assumed that because you're a mod you can do whatever the hell you want.

Well in your case just pick current RC fork from repository and use it normally you don't have to wait for the SR fork. Unless you are dev I don't see why you would want to flash it every night unless you understand basic and even in that case weekly might be fine. I been there done that as flashing new rom everyday as it came down the pipe I tried few CM7A few times let the dev do more work as ill make that my rom when SR is out, ATM have IGv1.1.6 as I flashed it this afternoon.

matkam said:
For those who have tried, is the CM7 alpha worth replacing the stock Glacier ROM? What are the benefits over the current stock HTC Sense ROM? What's missing or not quite there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you thought your phone was fast out of the box, this is faster. If you thought it was a bit laggy (like me), it's like getting a brand new phone.
Also, having better experiences with CM7 GB on MT4G than I ever did on my Nexus S. This is saying a lot.

ZeroSX said:
Also, having better experiences with CM7 GB on MT4G than I ever did on my Nexus S. This is saying a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same for me. Such a smoother experience all around.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk

I just flashed & I must say it is a much smoother expericence. I love it & its not even a stable build.

matkam said:
For those who have tried, is the CM7 alpha worth replacing the stock Glacier ROM? What are the benefits over the current stock HTC Sense ROM? What's missing or not quite there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this your first Android phone? Have you ever played with a Pure Google Experience Android phone? If you're nervous about the CM7 builds, try CM6. Easier to flash since you don't need to manually flash the recovery and it will give you a feel for CyanogenMod and the Pure Android feel.
Think of the G2, that comes with plain Android right out of the box. Go to a T-mobile store and poke around with it to see if you like it.

I simply cannot stand the HTC Sense stuff... Personal preference.
I had CM6.1 for a couple weeks and I am VERY happy with it. I am waiting another week or so to start using the CM7 builds just because I have been too busy with other stuff.

neuralboy said:
It's true that this is probably the wrong section and I'm a noob too but before they bring in the new rules about minimum postings in the developer section, I'll throw in my ten cents.
Background:
US T-Mobile version of Mytouch4G and had no reason to be unhappy with the stock Rom but just love to scratch an itch and see what happens.
In the pursuit of seeing what happens I successfully rooted the phone to the point of permanent S=off (but not complete unlock as I have no need for that yet)
and over the course of the last few weeks systematically installed and tested three of the froyo builds/ports available on this forum.
Each have their strengths and weakness which are clearly listed so I wont catalogue the details I'll just say the following:
It's a lotta lotta fun! there was a geek in me waiting to get out and I finally see what the true potential is with this platform (android) - It's probably unlimited.
Aside from the philosophical point of wanting to have the freedom to do whatever with and put whatever you want on the device, that rooting facilitates (I’m a veteran of two generation of iphones), there is also that practical point that rooting does unlock the full potential of the device available right now which includes a host of apps already on the market only for rooted devices.
I don’t want to go into all those possibilities here because they are covered in detail in any google search but let’s just say that once you’re on the other side of the proverbial fence, the grass really is greener.
I know I’m being vague at this point, but let me continue a little longer.
Having also owned a number of windows based htc devices through 2005-2008 I’m no stranger to htc sense and some of the useful little gadgets that they seem to have evolved to a fairly decent level in android and I’ll say this:
Take away the surface veneer which is not as bad in the MT4G as in some others (bloatware) and you find that the meat and potatoes of the platform/operating system is all android.
And it runs MUCH better without the crap. – forget about overclocking (which helps and is fun) loose the veneer and the device flies.
And what you lose in the process – a couple of apps – you replace immediately with comparable ones for free down at the market.
So – phone runs better, can do more, has a host of better looking ui’s and themes that all the talented developers on this forum are constantly pushing out – then what about the risks?
I haven’t had a single hitch – not one.
I’m as impulsive as the next guy but I just took it steady with the information overload – carefully rooted the phone and from there, flashing one rom after another has become no more complicated than booting into recovery – case closed.
It’s become second nature.
And I’ve had to do a double take once or twice when something didn’t play out exactly as described but I’ve discovered that I had overlooked a detail here and there and it’s an easy fix.
Point being that there are constant warnings and disclaimers for obvious reasons, but my device at least has turned out to be very hardy – no scares here.
So finally, I’ve been eyeing developments in the gingerbread camp like everyone else and I’ve been wary of the alpha builds because my zero level of expertise keeps me from playing in that league and I see early this morning that an official CM7 release is out for my model the glacier.
At first I run I into problems flashing Clockworkmod to 3.0 and even try to flash the rom and boot from 2.5 with the predictable conclusion of a stuck boot loop all the while not really knowing what to expect from this ginger hype and whether it’s really worth the trouble of leaving my now very stable cooked froyo rom.
Someone then creates the thread a few lines up describing how to simply use rom manager to install the update for CWM 3.0 and at 2am I’m on my way.
I flash the rom and install the additional google apps and what do I find?
GINGERBREAD IS **** HOT!
Nuff said.
I won’t be overclocking it as a rule but I get 2805 on quadrant – previous high being in the 2500’s (each chip is actually different so I’ve heard that everyones score will vary)
The device has no lags, splutters, and runs quite literally incredibly.
and the look and feel of gingerbread? – I’ll add to what I said earlier – it’s amazing – it’s a moving graphical, visual feast.
It will seriously rain on apple’s parade when this thing hits the main stream and I think quite honestly that it’s the greatest mobile device operating system ever created.
I know I’m gushing but it really is that good and considerably more impressive than froyo while having the same core navigation and other functionality.
I won’t be going back.
I won’t endorse taking risks with your device but I’ll say it’s worth taking a look.
A few afterthoughts for those asking the questions:
There is a brand new version of the market packaged with the 20110115 version of the larger gapps file floating around on this forum – it also rocks!
Although most apps available on the market have not yet been updated for gb 2.3, they all work so far on my machine with one or two unimportant exeptions.
I’ve replaced all sense functionality with free apps off the market – no loss there.
The device runs smoothly and all functionality is tested and working in the latest release - great job guys doing the work here.
Long and the short of it being …it’s all good.
hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you see a link for an official CM7 release for this phone?!?!

Q.Entity said:
I simply cannot stand the HTC Sense stuff... Personal preference.
I had CM6.1 for a couple weeks and I am VERY happy with it. I am waiting another week or so to start using the CM7 builds just because I have been too busy with other stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know that's how I felt when I bought the phone. I kept thinking about returning it for a G2 just to get plain Android. Ironically, by the time I finally rooted my phone and flashed CM6, Sense had grown on me to the point that I kept nandroiding back and using it by choice. Ha!
Now I've been on cm7 for a few days and I'm pretty happy with it.

CM7 official nightlies
I can't post a link out but the link to the CM7 builds is usually towards the top of the mytouch 4G Android Developement forum page.
It's constantly being updated and it looks like the latest build takes care of a number of little issues including swype, google car home and maybe the apps pack too

To those voting not to flash, have you tried CM7? What's keeping you from being happy with it?
I just flashed it myself and am pretty happy with it. The experience is much more consistent than the stock Sense ROM, gingerbread is really fast/smooth, and CM7 adds a lot of options for customization. Wifi isn't working though.

matkam said:
To those voting not to flash, have you tried CM7? What's keeping you from being happy with it?
I just flashed it myself and am pretty happy with it. The experience is much more consistent than the stock Sense ROM, gingerbread is really fast/smooth, and CM7 adds a lot of options for customization. Wifi isn't working though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reboot for wifi to work.
BTW, CM7 is slick as an iced glacier.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

neuralboy said:
GINGERBREAD IS **** HOT!
Nuff said.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has got to be the biggest fanboism i've every heard on any forum. Gingerbread is not that different from FroYo. It looks the same it feels. it acts the same.
To the OP If you want to flash the most current baked variant of Android then by all means flash away. If not FroYo will serve your needs just fine.

Related

General rant

I'm an intermediate (Windows) PC user and slightly more technically inclined than most of my friends and family. I bought the Dream because of it's tight integration with GMail and the promise of untold useful apps. I have some awesome apps such as 4 Timers, My Tracks, Wireless Tether, which are useful in my everyday life, and they were all free (although I donate to developers when i think its justified).
My Dream is a vastly better phone in many ways than my last (Nokia N85) and at first I enjoyed flashing new roms and the ability to change my phone in different ways.
I'm currently running Cyanogen 4.0.2 which is a great rom, but to get the most out of it and actually have a sweet running phone it seems almost required to keep up with the changes on the Dream Dev forum, read hundreds of posts, learn how to install scripts and tweek settings, add ext partitions on your sdcard for swap files, know what compcache is, etc etc.
I realise that the devs are doing everything they can to give us the best performance from our phones, and i am very grateful and applaud it. I just wish it was a little easier to keep my phone being the best it can be.
What I am really getting at is that the Dream has its obvious hardware limitations (lack of RAM and rubbish battery life being the most obvious) and I'm kind of getting to the point where I want a new phone that doesn't require so much work.
None of the recent Android phones that I have heard about offer a full 5 row qwerty keyboard. That's what i want, along with perhaps a flash on the camera and a battery that lasts a couple of days with moderate use.
I will not jump ship and go elsewhere, as I love Android, but i think a manufacturer would clean up if they released a phone with the above specs and perhaps 512mb RAM - I know i would buy it in a second, and at any price within reason.
Anyone else feel this way?
setspeed said:
I'm an intermediate (Windows) PC user and slightly more technically inclined than most of my friends and family. I bought the Dream because of it's tight integration with GMail and the promise of untold useful apps. I have some awesome apps such as 4 Timers, My Tracks, Wireless Tether, which are useful in my everyday life, and they were all free (although I donate to developers when i think its justified).
My Dream is a vastly better phone in many ways than my last (Nokia N85) and at first I enjoyed flashing new roms and the ability to change my phone in different ways.
I'm currently running Cyanogen 4.0.2 which is a great rom, but to get the most out of it and actually have a sweet running phone it seems almost required to keep up with the changes on the Dream Dev forum, read hundreds of posts, learn how to install scripts and tweek settings, add ext partitions on your sdcard for swap files, know what compcache is, etc etc.
I realise that the devs are doing everything they can to give us the best performance from our phones, and i am very grateful and applaud it. I just wish it was a little easier to keep my phone being the best it can be.
What I am really getting at is that the Dream has its obvious hardware limitations (lack of RAM and rubbish battery life being the most obvious) and I'm kind of getting to the point where I want a new phone that doesn't require so much work.
None of the recent Android phones that I have heard about offer a full 5 row qwerty keyboard. That's what i want, along with perhaps a flash on the camera and a battery that lasts a couple of days with moderate use.
I will not jump ship and go elsewhere, as I love Android, but i think a manufacturer would clean up if they released a phone with the above specs and perhaps 512mb RAM - I know i would buy it in a second, and at any price within reason.
Anyone else feel this way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always just load a rom that is stable and one you like and leave it. Your not forced to always update. If you always want the newest and greatest then you have to update, we all knew that when we started doing this.
The unfortunate thing is that ALL roms i've tried have problems with them - things that dont work, bugs introduced when things are changed. And the devs fix some of the probs in the next release, but then new bugs become apparent.
I know this is the nature of development, and I understand this is only way devs can work to push things forward. But it means living with bugs or upgrading the rom to the next version.
I've not found a rom that has the stabililty/simplicity i really want to just use the phone, and not have to mess around with it all the time, or get annoyed because it wont keep programs like the browser running when you change to do something else, or put up with not being able to rely on the phone for its core function of making and receiving calls and lagging left right & centre.
I think that Android's true requirements are beyond the Dream's hardware - and much as devs try, they will never get past that fact, they will just find progressively better workarounds which "sort of" do the job.
If I were you I would go with an older build instead of a newer one that still has bugs. I'm still on Cyanogens 3.9.5 and have no problems with it at all, no bugs or nothing and happy with it. There is also old dude's builds that I use to be on a long time ago that was stable with no bugs also. But of course since those are older builds it might be hard to find, but if your wanting to take a step back and go to something stable and no bugs let me know I still got all roms on my pc at home.
I am running cyan 4.02 and have no problems whatsoever from it, you really don't have to stay on top off it at all times since you are more technical than most as you say, you can turn around and read the first post and the change log and have a good idea of what is going on. You might have a problem with the costant devolpment but I find it great that people are taking the time to get the android platform better than it was in the beginning, don't be suprised if people from google are on here taking ideas and hard work to make the general source better. The better android gets will only get better with more devolpment, remember the magic and hero just came out still basiclly running the same base as we are. Oh and some of us just got into new contracts and just got their phones and don't want to run out and buy a new phone just cause it has better specs, I want my phone to live up to it's upmost performance possibe by these work arounds so that the next android phone that I get will be 100 times better and more efficent on that hardware
supremeteam:
I think you're right - I've just restored my cyanogen 3.6.5 backup and I forgot how decent it is, using swapper it does respond quite well. To be fair, the only reason i upgraded past 3.6.5 was because I was always having a problem with the HTC_IME - it would never stay on "phone keypad" rather than "qwerty", and it also interfered with my physical keyboard by turning on the "enable prediction for qwerty keyboard" option. Other than that I never had any problems with it. This problem is a BIG annoyance though...
Oh - and the fact that the phone rings (silently) about 3 times before anything is shown on the screen or a ringtone is heard. Forgot about that one...
Also, I'd just like to add that I am in no way bashing cyanogen - i have found his roms to be the best/fastest/most stable out all i have tried, hence why i am using them. I have used a few other roms that were just a joke, with force closes all over the place, and much more serious bugs/errors than i have mentioned here.
Overall, for me, i think cyanogen is the best dev out there, consistently pushing the boundaries of performance, and regularly updating his rom. That much is obvious from the popularity of his roms' threads.
update withdraw
I agree with you that cyanogen is a great devolper but so are jac and drizzy and those other guys that are putting a ton of work into hero, maybe soon we will have a good working rosie but in the mean time I could rant how those are buggy and lag a lot, but even with a cupcake rom you have to break a few eggs to make an olmet and that are the bugs that we are gonna have to live with, truthfully I am addicted like a drug addict to all the constant update from cyan to see what is next to come, just the fact the I have been on 4.02 for a couple days is making me go through update withdraw, I flash a hero rom just for the hell of it just to see the progress, it was on my phone for maybe a whole 10 minutes before I booted my nandroid backup of 4.02
gridlock32404 said:
I am running cyan 4.02 and have no problems whatsoever from it, you really don't have to stay on top off it at all times since you are more technical than most as you say, you can turn around and read the first post and the change log and have a good idea of what is going on. You might have a problem with the costant devolpment but I find it great that people are taking the time to get the android platform better than it was in the beginning, don't be suprised if people from google are on here taking ideas and hard work to make the general source better. The better android gets will only get better with more devolpment, remember the magic and hero just came out still basiclly running the same base as we are. Oh and some of us just got into new contracts and just got their phones and don't want to run out and buy a new phone just cause it has better specs, I want my phone to live up to it's upmost performance possibe by these work arounds so that the next android phone that I get will be 100 times better and more efficent on that hardware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do appreciate what you're saying - that i want to have my cake and eat it! I suppose that's true in some respects. I can honestly say that my Dream is the best phone I've ever had, and the efforts the devs make to push the envelope are just amazing! Their knowledge and skills are something special - and to do it all for the love of it (and of course the respect of the community!) is definitely to be applauded.
I do also hope that google devs do read these forums, and incorporate the work into the official roms! I think they should pay the devs on xda, as they clearly do a lot of work that google ought to have done!
I hope that google does donate to these devs because they have done an amazing job with what they have to work with, I just wish I understood programming better and had the patience for it, I think my phone is better than my computer now, wait anything is better the my computer right now since I burned out my power supply. By far this is the best phone I have ever owned and now I am a android lifer because of the devs. When I first got my phone, it was worthless to me before I rooted it, good thing I found xda back when I had my wing so I knew right where to go and by the end of the first day I had it, it was already rooted
If google pays the devs or give them jobs then we will have to wait long time for our update and cool stuff, they need to just donate lots of money to them so they keep hooking us up first at xda and not the general masses all at once, I don't think they could handle the general awesomeness
setspeed said:
I'm an intermediate (Windows) PC user and slightly more technically inclined than most of my friends and family. I bought the Dream because of it's tight integration with GMail and the promise of untold useful apps. I have some awesome apps such as 4 Timers, My Tracks, Wireless Tether, which are useful in my everyday life, and they were all free (although I donate to developers when i think its justified).
My Dream is a vastly better phone in many ways than my last (Nokia N85) and at first I enjoyed flashing new roms and the ability to change my phone in different ways.
I'm currently running Cyanogen 4.0.2 which is a great rom, but to get the most out of it and actually have a sweet running phone it seems almost required to keep up with the changes on the Dream Dev forum, read hundreds of posts, learn how to install scripts and tweek settings, add ext partitions on your sdcard for swap files, know what compcache is, etc etc.
I realise that the devs are doing everything they can to give us the best performance from our phones, and i am very grateful and applaud it. I just wish it was a little easier to keep my phone being the best it can be.
What I am really getting at is that the Dream has its obvious hardware limitations (lack of RAM and rubbish battery life being the most obvious) and I'm kind of getting to the point where I want a new phone that doesn't require so much work.
None of the recent Android phones that I have heard about offer a full 5 row qwerty keyboard. That's what i want, along with perhaps a flash on the camera and a battery that lasts a couple of days with moderate use.
I will not jump ship and go elsewhere, as I love Android, but i think a manufacturer would clean up if they released a phone with the above specs and perhaps 512mb RAM - I know i would buy it in a second, and at any price within reason.
Anyone else feel this way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its like you read my mind

The state of Android homebrew.

When the G1 came out it was the only Android powered device so modding it worked for everybody. And it was just one brand, HTC, so this forum was a one stop destination for modding our phone.
However, things have changed, now there are multiple phone with incompatible hardware from different manufacturers. Now a custom rom made for the G1, won't work on a DROID for example and vise versa. This complicates things quite a bit.
Right now Cyanogen mods are the best thing for our G1 and maybe the best thing for Android as a whole. I'm used to the build in tether capability and apps to SD and compcace and the other perks of a modded rom. But if I wanted to upgrade my phone, I would lose it all.
There are no Cyanogen mod for anything other than G1 and myTouch phones as far as I know and if I were to upgrade to DROID, I would lose root, lose tether, lose apps to SD, lose everything about my phone that makes it my phone.
Everything I wrote may not be facts, I don't really know what goes on at other forums, but I know that we don't have roms build to run on the DROID and we don't have them built to run on the HERO hardware, it's all for G1 and myTouch, and it seems to me that if I don't ha.ve on of those phones, I lose everything.
I do understand that this forum is for HTC devices which DROID and a few other's are not which is why I don't see homebrew for them. Is there a another website similar to this that supports all Android hardware?
These are thoughts that have been running through my head lately. If I am totally wrong here, please let me know.
I would say check out websites such as androidcommunity.com, androidandme.com, phandroid.com. The developers might not be on there but you can probably find links to where there are custom roms for the phones.
And you are right about different phones having different development oppurtunities. I thought about this today and realized that the next android phone I get not only has to be what I want but also be a popular phone that will attract developers such as cyan, maxisma, jac, manup and everyone else. My best guess and hope is that it will be a snapdragon android handset, hopefully for T-Mobile USA.
What we'll end up having to do is pick our phones based on it's community support and what kind of home brew is available for it.
The reason I love the G1 is the fact that it's rooted and has a large community. This phone is the best on the market, all things considered, because the rooted OS allows so much.
If and when the Droid is rooted, when a GSM version is released, and when it has T-Mo's 3G bands, I will move to it. But all those may not happen for another year or more. If you haven't played with a Droid yet, do so. Incredible speed and the best screen I have ever seen on a phone. Till then, G1 all the way.
The man is right, we have a problem on the dev side.
I think though, once 2.0 gets standard, we'll only need root for a few things like tethering and setting the CPU clock. Really cyanogen's only advantage is optimization, but once 2.0 and snapdragon rolls around, who cares? We'll always want to tinker, but it won't eclipse getting the phone you want.
The big problems right now are that the market isn't getting what it needs. Nothing compares to the HTC widgets, yet instead of cloning them on the market, we try and run a ROM that doesn't even work on our phones! We still don't have BT in Hero and it may just never happen.
2.0 will be what we need as a base, but the market needs our help now.
I'd contest the cyanogen are the best rom's.. maybe for someoen who wants to flash an upgrade every 3 days.. but for the majority of users.. Dwang is the way to go. Lengthy discussion about this, is over here..
alec.baldwin said:
I'd contest the cyanogen are the best rom's.. maybe for someoen who wants to flash an upgrade every 3 days.. but for the majority of users.. Dwang is the way to go. Lengthy discussion about this, is over here..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but this thread is not about who has the best rom.
The point is, when you get a new Android phone, your rom of choice won't be available for it. So what do you do?
alec.baldwin said:
I'd contest the cyanogen are the best rom's.. maybe for someoen who wants to flash an upgrade every 3 days.. but for the majority of users.. Dwang is the way to go. Lengthy discussion about this, is over here..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we all get it already, YOU are dwang's biggest fan
But, to stay on topic. My G1 is the first HTC device I've ever owned and I've only discovered XDA since I've had it, and I think that because of the community involvement here and the custom roms that have come out, I will definitely lean towards another HTC phone when I look for my next upgrade, and it will definately be an android phone.
Also another thing to look at is the availability of the phones that are out to actual dev's. Unless people are donating phones, I doubt everyone can just run out and pick up all the latest devices, and network restrictions/preferences that come along with them.
I think the easiest solution is as follows:
1. Find the dev you like best.
2. Find the phone you like best.
3. Buy phone you like best.
4. Buy/Create a donate link to get said dev the same phone.
Assuming said dev doesnt turn around and craigslist the phone you bought him/her, you have (hopefully) ensured said dev will migrate and develop on your favorite hardware.
Not the best solution but probably the most reliable.
alec.baldwin said:
I'd contest the cyanogen are the best rom's.. maybe for someoen who wants to flash an upgrade every 3 days.. but for the majority of users.. Dwang is the way to go. Lengthy discussion about this, is over here..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seriously dude, are you going to diss me in every thread? What do you even contribute to this community? I've not received any patches or even logs of the "problems" you claim.
cyanogen said:
Seriously dude, are you going to diss me in every thread? What do you even contribute to this community? I've not received any patches or even logs of the "problems" you claim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For real.
Alec, you're like the little annoying brother that no one wants to be around.
Grow up, let your balls drop, and enjoy your phone, your life, and whatever rom you want.
But, you don't have to go around dissing well-respected devs.
The Droid hasn't been out long enough for a community to gather around it. Many of the Android big names are waiting to get GSM versions before tinkering.
Also, remember that the HTC Dream was in circulation well before it launched last year. The Android development phone is identical to the Dream, with the only difference being some swish art on the back cover. The hardware and software were free-flowing long before it landed in our hands. In contrast, the Droid was a much more secretive launch; we've only just got Eclair source code, and the SDK was kept under wraps by a non-disclosure agreement (probably to conceal the nuclear bomb that is Google Maps Navigation).
I find the cracking of the Droid to be inevitable. The poor thing is going to be broken just as much as our Dreams were. Just give it time.
As for ROMs being available over a span of phones, I'm not sure that's even a good idea. Android variants like XROM, cyanogenmod, The Dude's ROM, yadda yadda... they're all about maximising the capabilities of the Dream. Not the Droid, the Dream. Adding in features that the hardware can support, changing CPU frequencies, Apps2SD, all that jazz. Droid ROMs will be built around adding in core features, like Apps2SD, and whatever else the Droid has tucked away. Likewise, speed optimisations may not be portable between phones, as what gives the Dream a boost may hinder the Droid.
For me, features of a ROM are not the best part of homebrew Android builds. The best part is being able to upgrade your phone outside of the carrier's say-so. If T-mobile have no plans to push Eclair to Dreams, I will install it myself. I am not tied down by the say-so of a room full of suits three thousand miles away. If T-mobile don't include an app that I like, such as the IM app or the Amazon MP3 store (which T-mobile UK don't), I can get ROMs with them myself. If a carrier would rather I didn't tether without paying for my bandwidth twice, I can do it anyway, so long as I'm not an idiot.
You may have guessed that I have a very dim view of cell carriers.
With root, we are free to do as we like. This is the real killer feature of homebrew, and the Droid will benefit from it too.
Anyway...
dwang said:
I want to acknowledge cyanogen, daproy, cyrowski, loccy, and alla for their contributions to the android community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems dwang himself has a much higher opinion of the man than a certain other someone.
AthlonBoy said:
The Droid hasn't been out long enough for a community to gather around it. Many of the Android big names are waiting to get GSM versions before tinkering.
Also, remember that the HTC Dream was in circulation well before it launched last year. The Android development phone is identical to the Dream, with the only difference being some swish art on the back cover. The hardware and software were free-flowing long before it landed in our hands. In contrast, the Droid was a much more secretive launch; we've only just got Eclair source code, and the SDK was kept under wraps by a non-disclosure agreement (probably to conceal the nuclear bomb that is Google Maps Navigation).
I find the cracking of the Droid to be inevitable. The poor thing is going to be broken just as much as our Dreams were. Just give it time.
As for ROMs being available over a span of phones, I'm not sure that's even a good idea. Android variants like XROM, cyanogenmod, The Dude's ROM, yadda yadda... they're all about maximising the capabilities of the Dream. Not the Droid, the Dream. Adding in features that the hardware can support, changing CPU frequencies, Apps2SD, all that jazz. Droid ROMs will be built around adding in core features, like Apps2SD, and whatever else the Droid has tucked away. Likewise, speed optimisations may not be portable between phones, as what gives the Dream a boost may hinder the Droid.
For me, features of a ROM are not the best part of homebrew Android builds. The best part is being able to upgrade your phone outside of the carrier's say-so. If T-mobile have no plans to push Eclair to Dreams, I will install it myself. I am not tied down by the say-so of a room full of suits three thousand miles away. If T-mobile don't include an app that I like, such as the IM app or the Amazon MP3 store (which T-mobile UK don't), I can get ROMs with them myself. If a carrier would rather I didn't tether without paying for my bandwidth twice, I can do it anyway, so long as I'm not an idiot.
You may have guessed that I have a very dim view of cell carriers.
With root, we are free to do as we like. This is the real killer feature of homebrew, and the Droid will benefit from it too.
Anyway...
It seems dwang himself has a much higher opinion of the man than a certain other someone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You seem to have almost got my point but not quite. Of coarse DOID doesn't need Cyanogen MOD specifically. But would you buy an Android phone if there weren't a mod that lets it do the things that we are used to and have only become available by modding? Apps to SD, tethering, themeing?
Sure DROID might get all these things though a custom rom but we won't see it on this website. The problem is that things will get too spread out and hard to find with all these new hardware options.
What would be nice is a rom that works on nearly every Android device that just adds root access to the phone and some basic universal packages like A2SD and tethering etc. That way you can buy any Android device you want and still have these basic privileges.
Do you think something like that would be possible?
Pinesal said:
You seem to have almost got my point but not quite. Of coarse DOID doesn't need Cyanogen MOD specifically. But would you buy an Android phone if there weren't a mod that lets it do the things that we are used to and have only become available by modding? Apps to SD, tethering, themeing?
Sure DROID might get all these things though a custom rom but we won't see it on this website. The problem is that things will get too spread out and hard to find with all these new hardware options.
What would be nice is a rom that works on nearly every Android device that just adds root access to the phone and some basic universal packages like A2SD and tethering etc. That way you can buy any Android device you want and still have these basic privileges.
Do you think something like that would be possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beats me, man. I'm not a developer. But I think it's unlikely.
For the DROID (and other/future android phones) is Apps2SD really necessary? The only reason why we need it on our phones is because of the pathetic amount of internal space the G1 has, the same goes for Swap Partitions etc.
As long as people buy the phone there is always going to be someone who is smart enough to work on rooting it IMO. And even without root what do you really lose? The only things I think I would really miss are Wireless Tether and Bluetooth File Transfer (Which I THINK is in 2.0 anyway).
I'm not buying a new phone until it's rooted and Cyanogen has it too.
My biggest requirement for any android phone..and any cell phone in general is the keyboard. I bought the G1 because of the keyboard and lucked out with the high number of developers available for it. I didn't find this place for several months during the time when the grandfather of the G1 mod program was still active =) JF!. I enjoyed all the modding and updating because I personally feel that the phone is, well mine. And I should be able to do what ever I want with it. I had picked up the V3C Razer because it could play MP3's. I get it home and then discover that the Verizon Nazi's completely locked down that feature so you where forced to use their service at an additional cost. Of course the motorola dev/repair/store software allowed us to get in a enable the various features that Verizon required to be locked. I also love the Aps2sd. No matter what phone you have, the internal memory will never be enough. And with the Cliq supporting 32gig sd cards, a full keyboard, and NOT verizon was enough for me. I'm patient and confident it will be rooted eventually. If not, I still have my G1 and I still do Cyanogen updates and play around with it. And when my contract is up with Tmob(renewed for the Cliq), I'll see who has the next most popular rooted phone with a keyboard and switch over. I just really hate people telling me how to use a device I own. Its like going to McDonalds and having them dictate what condiments to put on my BigMac and Fries, and then telling me I can only eat it a certain way and which hand to use. If Cyanogen was down with the Cliq, or interested in it. I may be willing to ship him my phone to see what he can come up with.
As far as a universal O/S for all phones, isn't that just the core Android software with specific drivers provided by each manufacturer and custom UI? There should be a way to make 1 O/S for all android phones, then have update packs with the drivers and UI enhancements and add-ons for each android phone released? Not sure of the SPL locks though. Thats a bit beyond me. But i wouldn't think it would be to hard to run Cyanogen on the Cliq or droid provided the correct drivers and such where bundled with it. Kind of like slipstreaming a service pack into a bootleg Windows OS . Each phone eventually has to release the source code which contains the drivers for that phone. Thats how we get the Cliq's OS onto the G1, should work the other way around too. Sounds easy, but Cyanogen's Rom should run on my Cliq, provided the drivers are slipstreamed into it for the Cliq...right? Only problem is root.. :/ hehehe
and there he flames again...alec.baldwin, no one has the problems you have with cyanogen's latest. actually, lets delve into this...what exactly are your "problems" with 4.2.5? PLEASE, answer this question so cyanogen can dutifully fix the "problems" you are having.
You might check out some of the Q/A threads to first learn how to properly flash cyanogen's ROM. It is slightly different than Dwang's because Cyanogen uses the legal method. In fact, check out www.cyanogenmod.com and you might find a ton of useful info on getting cm to work on your phone.
Best of Luck,
njuncos
P.S. Cyanogen, mad props on once again reaching over a million thread views on your latest. Now you own 3 of the top 4 most viewed threads of all time in Dream Android Development!

New G1: My Wife's Phone: ROM Options?

I'm sure you can tell by my post count i'm fairly new to this G1/Android craze.
Actually, I don't even have one, yet. But my wife wants to move from nokia to G1.
I currently have an iPhone, and, after jailbreaking, is an excellent phone.
But it has it's problems. For example, no Linux support (at least not officially, and not good enough).
And why is Linux important? My wife has a Linux laptop (work laptop).
Anyway. I have read and have seen there is a thread telling not to ask for "best ROM", so i read some more, and there are a lot of links, but i can not seem to find one that can help me.
I went to the Androidspin database, and for G1 alone, there are 120 ROMs!!!!!
So, what are the ROMS that more closely fit this "requirements"?:
1) Stability. My wife is not very technical, so i want this to be smooth.
2) Speed. I love visuals, but i rather have a responsive phone.
3) Usability. The most feature rich gadget is useless if i have to take a course in physics to use it.
4) Internet. Browsing, MS Messenger, etc.
5) Applications. Access to the Android market is very much welcome.
6) Google. Synchronization with google apps in general, gmail, docs, etc, is very much welcome.
7) Skype. This would be a very "nice to have".
Lets just finish by saying that my wife would be using it unlocked on Argentina, not T-Mobile, so i think no 3G, but only wi-fi, because of bands compatibility.
So, which 5-10 ROMs should i try?
Thanks, for any help.
well if you want stable rom. you gotta go with cyanogen. his latest stable is 4.2.15.1. but you hav to have the phone rooted.
SuperD is the fastest and most responsive, and in my experience, is also more stable than Cyanogen.
Thanks. I know i have to root them, yes.
What about OpenEclair?
If you want a stable 2.1 ROM, cyanogen's 5.0.7-test1 is fast and responsive. I've only used it for a few days, but stability seems good.
I have been rooting and hacking since the phone first came out in Oct 2008. I love everything android, Cyanogen, google, HTC, modding etc etc. I know I am going to take a lot of crap for this from my fellow hackers, flashers, and modders, but your first requirement:
1) Stability. My wife is not very technical, so i want this to be smooth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
made me think of only one option for you (and her)....stay with stock roms that are officially supported and receive OTA updates.
I know that you would probably be doing all of the modding of her phone since she is not technical but you will not always be with her and altered ROMs can act up despite the best efforts of all the great developers that contribute to Android. Stay with stock and I have a feeling you will thank me later.
~DM
It depends on what you are doing. You need a “recovery image” which, as I get it, is just like a back up of your O.S. You have your choice of many here and elsewhere.
I think if you go over to the unlockr.com it’s pretty well spelled out. Figure out where you’re at and where you want to be, and proceed accordingly.
(It’s all here to but a little confusing to me)
Regards, PK
Thanks for responses.
In your experience, what are the most common crazy things a ROM does, when not the stock one, besides maybe hunging?
I would go with Cyanogen's last "stable" release. Judging from my fiance's response to my phone, I think she would be happier with it rooted to just have a speed boost available. The stock G1 is incredibly slow compared to a Cyanogen build mainly because it runs below the processor's capability until you root it and change the setting. Also, there is very little onboard memory and Apps2SD is a life saver for the G1. Basically it allows you to save your applications on the SD card but then your phones relies on the speed of the SD card. Even then, the G1 has a lot of hang ups that an impatient person may have issues with.
I think another android phone may be better for you if it is in your price range. The G1 has really turned in to a gadget to tinker with due to its lackluster hardware. I love my G1 because it is the ultimate gadget that I can recreate on a monthly basis but my fiance HATES it for that same reason.
Judging from Cyanogen's latest experimental build I may have to eat my words. It runs incredibly smooth but still has some bugs to work out.
Cyanogen seems to have some of the more stable roms but i'd definitely search the forums a little more
Super D...
cyanogen use to do a half boot sounds weird but it would go to the animated bootscreen. load. and then go right back into the app i was running . i think it may have something to do with my phone itself
but
most feature full= cyanogen
fastest most stabel= super d
i switch between the two often enough to recommend both
I would then be trying both, SuperD and Cyanogen.
Thanks.
They’re all a little screwy and it varies from phone to phone. I just swapped from super D to Cyanogen 5.07. Neither works my camera (Cyanogen admits to not havening zoom features). (In my case, I probably have a hardware prob.).
Read the associated threads to see what you can live with.
PK
I the G1 gets Android 2.1 or 2.2, i would probably leave it like that for my wife.
The problem is that it is at 1.6 only.
cyanogen 5 is running 2.1 although its still in it's experimental stage (give it a week or so).
but seriously just get amon ra's recovery running and teach her to flash roms....... it's quite an addiction (as long as she can follow instructions she will be fine)
how about "TheOfficial Donut"
it's in here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=538456
It's fast, very stable and feels genuine
I recommend flashing the addons
According to the ROMs thread, the best one is SuperFast 1.3.3 RHJ.
All is 5 (excellent)
I have tried many different roms but SuperFast 1.3.3 RHJ is my daily use rom. I have not had any issue with it. It looks awesome. Has the new anderwebs launcher. The only issue that you might run into is that it uses ramhack which might slow down gaming.
Definitely recommend it. It gets 3.6 avg in linpack!
I want to try SuperFast 1.3.3 RHJ now, and probably later on, SuperD and Cyanogen.
I have so far downgraded the G1, and was able to activate it without a data plan.
Now, i have not installed anything.
I was going to install the recovery image, and was wondering if i should install the Cyanogen one, or the Death one (or something scary like that).
Also, i don't know if i have to upgrade other parts of the phone first, like the RADIO, etc.
This is how it is today:
PVT 32B
HBOOT-0.95.0000
CPLD-4
RADIO-1.22.12.29
Model Number T-Mobile G1
Firmware 1.0
Baseband 62.33.20.08H_1.22.12.29
Kernel 2.6.26-01843-gfea26b0
Build kila-user 1.0 TC4-RC29 115247
Comments?
EDIT: so far, with the stock firmware, my wife is pretty happy (but i want SuperFast at least )

Customizing vs. N1

So I may jump ship from the N1 to the Vibrant. On the N1, in less than ten minutes I can run a nandroid backup, flash a new kernel, new radio and a new rom. In another 3-4 minutes, I can switch back. I've literally switched kernels >3 times/day before. How much different will things be on the Vibrant? Is it harder to do these things? Is there as much risk?
Thanks
right now no one knows, there is no custom kernels, custom recovery, custom roms, etc
There are custom roms and you can easily root the device...but it will obviously take some time to reach N1's customization...
I've had my G1(I know, not the N1) since day 1, and I've been flashing roms since day one. The only reason I flashed roms was because I felt the G1 was lacking in a lot of things. Now that I have the Vibrant, I feel like there's no need to flash a different rom. It's already pretty fast, and I actually like the touchwiz UI. The UI doesnt completely take over the Android interface, it's more like adding extra little features.
ultra spikey said:
I've had my G1(I know, not the N1) since day 1, and I've been flashing roms since day one. The only reason I flashed roms was because I felt the G1 was lacking in a lot of things. Now that I have the Vibrant, I feel like there's no need to flash a different rom. It's already pretty fast, and I actually like the touchwiz UI. The UI doesnt completely take over the Android interface, it's more like adding extra little features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, plus the Black/Blue color scheme is far better looking to me over stock Android. TouchWiz is not like Sense or previous generations of the skin and that's a good thing.
Ill second that. I am really enjoying my touch wiz interface and I didn't think I would. That being said I miss my app drawer that slid up from the bottom.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I don't know much about flashing to different ROMs yet, but I can give you an overview of the TouchWiz experience from my viewpoint.
Coming from an iPhone, I really like TouchWiz 3.0. And believe me when I tell you: that was their goal with the UI. It screams Apple, in layout and function. But of course, it ultimately feels a bit like an imitation in some areas. I feel like they rushed TouchWiz 3.0 out of the door.
The Clocks and Alarms app is much better than the iPhone's, which is something I was not at all expecting. It's really quite nice. The calendar app is about on par, in terms of layout. The upper hand is that this syncs OTA with Google's cloud services. The music player is very 'iPod-like', but is ultimately a rush job (embedded album art does not work very often and so forth).
All things considered, it's a really nice UI for Android.
That said, there are some really basic functions which did not make the transition from stock Android. For example: you cannot fully edit contacts in the 'Contacts' app. You cannot delete them, you cannot add custom ringtones. Coming from the iPhone, where I had meticulously completed the profiles of every contact with an obscene amount of info and custom ringtones, this is annoying.
There are a few 'little things' like that, which really matter to me. And this has kind of soured the experience for me, making me second-guess my decision. To be honest, I'm still sort of on the fence over this of the N1 as my iPhone replacement.
The grey area for me is in Android 3.0's release. Google has stated that they're going to overhaul the UI. The idea is that they want to make it more user-friendly, to make the use of custom skins less prevalent. Well, I'm all for this. Trouble is: will these handset manufacturers adopt it, considering their vested interests in their custom experiences?
Samsung's UI is definitely my favorite out of Sense, MotoBlur and the lot. But I'd be lying if I said that I didn't wish for a Nexus One for the security of owning the only unlocked stock device.
Hope that helps...
Give it some time and stock Android will be on the Vibrant. Thats the great thing about Android and Xda.
Yeah, I really love the idea of xda and the amount of support that all of these devices receive from the community. Of course, the trouble is: if you root for a custom rom - even if it's stock Android - the N1 is the only solution for getting OTA updates regularly. With stock Android on the Galaxy S, you're going to have to re-flash every time the ROM is updated. Not the end of the world, but definitely irritating.
Running a JB/Unlocked iPhone, I'm used to dealing with work-arounds, and waiting for hacks. That's the price I paid for using a non-carrier phone. I couldn't accept the automatic updates from Apple, and this became a mild annoyance (reinstalling everything and so forth). But when you decide to 'play nice' and own a carrier-specific phone, you kind of want the experience of timely OTA, non-hacking-related updates that simply update your device, without first wiping it clean.
Know what I mean?
I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep my Galaxy S, or buy an N1 while there's still time (the 'rumors'? of the N1's touchscreen issues are really all that held me back). But either way, I hope that all devices have some way to experience the latest and greatest from Google.
The touchscreen is bad on that phone especially when it comes to multitouch. I'm sure you've already seen the videos comparing the two touchpads and the Vibrant's touchscreen is SO accurate... multitouch included.
Jon C said:
Yeah, I really love the idea of xda and the amount of support that all of these devices receive from the community. Of course, the trouble is: if you root for a custom rom - even if it's stock Android - the N1 is the only solution for getting OTA updates regularly. With stock Android on the Galaxy S, you're going to have to re-flash every time the ROM is updated. Not the end of the world, but definitely irritating.
Running a JB/Unlocked iPhone, I'm used to dealing with work-arounds, and waiting for hacks. That's the price I paid for using a non-carrier phone. I couldn't accept the automatic updates from Apple, and this became a mild annoyance (reinstalling everything and so forth). But when you decide to 'play nice' and own a carrier-specific phone, you kind of want the experience of timely OTA, non-hacking-related updates that simply update your device, without first wiping it clean.
Know what I mean?
I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep my Galaxy S, or buy an N1 while there's still time (the 'rumors'? of the N1's touchscreen issues are really all that held me back). But either way, I hope that all devices have some way to experience the latest and greatest from Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While its a little early to be 100% yet but Android hacking is a lot different than iphone hacking. The iphone is a closed system and you have to wait till its broken open to update. Android is already open when its released. As for OTAs if Cyanogen supports the Vibrant then there is an app to download and install new updates. Typically if you stay with the same developer, like Cyanogen, then you don't have to wipe when there are updates.
After froyo 2.2 all my touch screen problems was gone.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
So untrue after froyo 2.2 those problems was fix the nexus one is a awsome phone.and I believe the same for the vibrant.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Can you do me the world's biggest favor?
Would you make some YouTube videos, showing the multitouch tests of your N1? I so, so, so, would love to own one, but I have zero tolerance for faulty hardware. I've been researching this stuff since the N1 launch, and it's the only thing holding me back from purchasing that device.
'Multitouch Vis Test' is probably the easiest way, but if you can think of others to test with, that would be great.
Jon C said:
The music player is very 'iPod-like', but is ultimately a rush job (embedded album art does not work very often and so forth).
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't used my iPod Nano 4th Gen in some time, I find that the N1 is handling my music needs just fine. But if I had a nickel for every time album art was hosed on my iPod Nano I would not have a mortgage anymore...
hah2110 said:
So I may jump ship from the N1 to the Vibrant. On the N1, in less than ten minutes I can run a nandroid backup, flash a new kernel, new radio and a new rom. In another 3-4 minutes, I can switch back. I've literally switched kernels >3 times/day before. How much different will things be on the Vibrant? Is it harder to do these things? Is there as much risk?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First you must know that the process is completely different. For right now most roms are installed through the Odin process. This process completely wipes all of the information on the phone (including apps and settings) and then installs the new rom. So you will have to backup your apps and settings every time you change roms (Titanium backup would work but it's not always fool proof). Second all roms are going to be based off of Samsung code. That means no Sense roms, no stock roms (well you can get the stock launcher but your dialer and notification bar will always be touchwized), and no froyo until Samsung releases there own version. This has been true so far with all previous Samsung phones and looking at the development with the I9000 it seems to hold true for the Galaxy S. All this does put you at less risk of bricking your phone but it does mean you also have less chance of serious customization. Also with limited source code for the I9000 (there are some drivers that are not source code but actually compiled) it's very difficult to just plop roms on from other sources.
psychoace said:
First you must know that the process is completely different. For right now most roms are installed through the Odin process. This process completely wipes all of the information on the phone (including apps and settings) and then installs the new rom. So you will have to backup your apps and settings every time you change roms (Titanium backup would work but it's not always fool proof). Second all roms are going to be based off of Samsung code. That means no Sense roms, no stock roms (well you can get the stock launcher but your dialer and notification bar will always be touchwized), and no froyo until Samsung releases there own version. This has been true so far with all previous Samsung phones and looking at the development with the I9000 it seems to hold true for the Galaxy S. All this does put you at less risk of bricking your phone but it does mean you also have less chance of serious customization. Also with limited source code for the I9000 (there are some drivers that are not source code but actually compiled) it's very difficult to just plop roms on from other sources.
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Why can't CM do his thing?
cm is trying to port cyanogen to the vibrant. in fact ive read that the vibrant and the droid x are his 2 top priorities so it will come soon enough. and once he gets it done we will probibly see a bunch of roms based of cyanogen
blazewit said:
cm is trying to port cyanogen to the vibrant. in fact ive read that the vibrant and the droid x are his 2 top priorities so it will come soon enough. and once he gets it done we will probibly see a bunch of roms based of cyanogen
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I have yet to see any information confirming any of that. First on his twitter he only seems to be working on the Evo right now. Second I doubt he would work on the Droid x until it's rooted (which most likely will be never). Last I have seen only a small pattern of talk about someone in conversation with Cyanogen about allowing a Galaxy branch of the CM code for use with the Galaxy S. Problem is this doesn't solve the issue of not having source code for a few drivers. This does not even attack the issue of getting the rom onto the phone. So don't hold your breath for any of that.
yea your right it was just one site claiming that cm is working on the vibrant,from what i can tell gothdroid and a bunch of other g1/dream devs are working right now for custom recovery and porting cm6 and froyo asop

CYANOGEN MOD, reinventing the wheel?

Hi, at the risk of starting a massive flame war, please dont, I'm just after information...
Being that the S2 stock ROM is already pretty good and we already have a number of decent ROM alternatives I am wonder what else CYANOGEN is going to bring to the party.
I have read all the spiel so I am not looking for the usual answers, what advantages exactly does it have, will it have, say over COGNITION when COGNITION Is fully working with video, games etc etc and has decent battery life. Doesn't have the CM7 messaging but I prefer K9 stock anyway.
I am also surprised that people are already using CM7 looking at the amount of DEV that still needs done.
I tried a CYANOGEN port on my old HD2 and I was left thinking what all the fuss was about, i'm probably missing something huge here, or CYANOGEN is really for advanced users or something.
Again, please keep this thread clean and calm
Please just go through the threads and read. It's all there. I won't rewrite the book. In short though, think a year from now. Cognition is based on stuff samsung released. What happens when samsung moves on? Cm7 will still be pushing the latest goodies.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
I'm not going to lie I never understood the hype of cyanogen rom. I have also tried with an hd2 and wasn't blew away and didn't see anything special. I think cyanogen mod is for people looking for aosp.
I have much respect for that team though because as far as I know there roms are built from ground up. Unlike most custom roms sgs2 have are really just themed stock roms with a couple tweaks.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
you should probably stop wasting space here and go to cyanogen's site and read what it is about. if it doesnt interest you after that you dont have to think about it ever again. no need for threads like this, it just makes you look bad because you obviously have not spent any time researching and educating yourself before asking this question.
Isn't Android reinventing the wheel? iPhone was here first, and Android is just duplicating iPhone functionality. Google should shut down the Android project immediately.
da.trute said:
i'm probably missing something huge here, or CYANOGEN is really for advanced users or something.
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Bingo!!! Some of us don't want to use crapware installed by the manufacturer who is really not a software expert, just a hardware expert, and want to come as close to the stock Android experience as possible. For me personally, things like hold volume button to skip to next song, switch between percentage battery and analog battery anytime you want, a very advanced OS theming engine which doesn't require you to flash anything to change the theme, always being on the bleeding edge of new Android releases/bugfixes etc. is the icing on top of the cake.
However, it's really about the excitement of checking the commit logs of the nightlies everyday to see what's new.
Yeah I never understood what the hype was all about either, don't get me wrong its a great aosp Rom and I give the devs a world of credit, but it feels like a number of things are just incomplete.
It has a few features that aren't found on most roms and runs quick as Hell, but if your looking for an in depth user friendly experience I would not say that this is the best for that as it lacks a lot of simple things you might be used to if your coming from a sense or some other kind of based rom
All I can really say is back yourself up and give it a try for a day or two and if you don't like it then just go back.
CM has only just come out, and is far from stable, and only really should be used if you are willing to help debug or want to live on the bleeding edge
We want CM for when samsung have abandoned us.
Its always good to have options!
Each rom,whether its a "themed" stock rom, or a ground up one like CM7 offers something different.
The obvious advantage has already been mentioned - once SGS2 goes EOL for Samsung, CM7 will continue to support newer versions of Android till as long as the (very) capable phone hardware can handle it.
There are improvements... for some... e.g. the native Samsung bluetooth stack doesn't work with Wiimotes... for instance... i believe CM7 and know MIUI does...
Its really a case of... pick and choose... no1 charges for these... try...as many... if you like one... say thanks to the Rom maker... and possibly a small donation!!!... and stick with it...
Thanks everyone, thats pretty much what I thought, nothing special compared to a good feature packed cooked ROM but very useful in the future when sammy stop updating, I just thought I was missing something huge the way people get excited about it.
Will stick with COG for now until CM7 is looking fairly complete and then give it s roll.
yeah its all about when samsung abandons the device. in addition, it also is about running a fully open source ROM on your phone. once the cyan rom gets stable, each night it will be updated with a change log, so gives you the ability to constantly be seeing the fixes to the software actually running on your phone. something you dont like? commit to the code, and it may get merged into the repo. its about having total control over the device you are using, seeing every little feature, the code for it, how it works, and ability to modify it if you want.
of course it also has some good features too. but the above is what i think the point of cyan is.

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