Database Develop

WM6.1 vs WM6.5

I have tried many ROM's based on WM6.1 and 6.5 with my both my Blackstone and Kaiser.
For me, and this is my personal preference, I prefer WM6.1.
I am probably in the minority on this.
Everyone looks for something different in a ROM.
So, which is the best ROM depends on who you ask,
and how you use your phone.
For my Blackstone, I find L26_THDV3.55_Rhodium_WWE_Ultimate
is the best one for me.
For my Kaiser, HyperDragon_IV_IOLITE_WWE_20090204
Both are 6.1 ROM's.
We now have Hard-SPL. Thanks to all involved.
There are a couple of WM6.5 ROM's out, but posts show bugs,
which are being worked on by the chefs.
I am currently running the stock 6.1 on it, as most of us are
and it runs fine, but I am sure it could be better.
Is anyone going to be cooking a 6.1 ROM for the Rhodium?
​

Yeah, I prefer WM6.1 over WM6.5, too! And yes, I'm cooking with WM6.1 and Multilang!

so for a winmo newbie what is main benefits of running 6.5?

buttsbuttsbutts said:
so for a winmo newbie what is main benefits of running 6.5?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a decision you have to make.
Read through the posts on 6.5 ROM's and see if you prefer
the features and the user interface.
​

i'm loving the Tricolor [Albino] Red 6.1, that was my vision.......
i've had to go back to Leo's 3.55, so as i can start on the theme fixes tho,
this being so i don't need to flash each color, i can just install/uninstall each of the colors.....
but i'll be going back

I prefer 6.5, so I'm waiting for the first (mostly) bug-free 6.5 rom

I too am waiting for a solid 6.5, I like the finger friendliness of the 6.5.
But what is even better is TF 2.5 or 2.6, I have it on my HD and it is laid out so well that it doesn't matter if you have 6.1 or 6.5. you really don't need to leave touch flo.

I'm not seeing any benefits of 6.5 yet.
6.1 with Manila 2.5 (or 2.6 ) would be my preference for now, at least until 6.5 matures a bit.

Whew, thought I was the only one.
​

Mr.Clark said:
I'm not seeing any benefits of 6.5 yet.
6.1 with Manila 2.5 (or 2.6 ) would be my preference for now, at least until 6.5 matures a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed totally on this, 6.1 with manila 2.6 would be perfect

I did the 6.5 thing for almost a week and had to go back to 6.1. I don't know just something about it wasn't right.

Supertrooper said:
I did the 6.5 thing for almost a week and had to go back to 6.1. I don't know just something about it wasn't right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I just prefer 6.1. Tried 6.5 for about three days. Had to flash back (this was on Blackstone and Xperia)

I have been using 6.5 since today, and I have to say I like it. The menu fonts are larger and more finger-friendly. Today page and Start Menu are quite nice too, they just look better than the old ones. It runs very smooth, and especially wi-fi seems to connect quicker than the original ROM.
I'll be trying another 6.5 ROM with manilla 2.6 as soon as it comes out, can't wait!

The official 6.5 on this forum is significantly faster/more stable than the stock 6.1. I imagine these things have more to do with how well the ROM is cooked than 6.1/6.5 issues.

6.5 wins hands down. It has smoother finger scrolling, you can finger scroll within a drop-down list box and you can move sms messages from the threaded view into folders. These aren't possible in 6.1.
The Lock Screen is also excellent, and removes the need for S2U2.

I ran multiple 6.1 and 6.5 cooked roms on my excalibur. 6.5 is significantly faster, period. I am waiting a week or three until the TP2 builds becomes a little more stable before I flash off the stock rom but it will be to a 6.5.
I really hope there is a stable manilla 2.5 or 2.6 build soon... saw the vid of 2.6 on engadget and was blown away.

c.r.u.i.s.e released a 6.1 ROM, but it is Italian, so I haven't tried it.
Have tried the latest Energy ROM(August 21),
which is 6.5 and it is certainly fast.
Has a lot programs preloaded that I will never use.
At0mAng is releasing a 6.5 over the weekend.
She makes cleaner ROM's and I will certainly try it.​

this is my first true experience with wm6.1 .
before this i had a samsung blackjack =x that i flashed 6.1 onto.
i enjoyed it but it was slow and pales in comparison to the TP2 with 6.1 .
i cant wait to get a stable release to find all the marvels of 6.5 .​

Stock ROM is still fine for rhodium. Its the first time i like a stock rom on a WM device, and I am a real flashing freak on all my other devices.

forgive the newbie post but...
what is manila? and I can't find any zoom for IE in the 6.5 I downloaded. Is there a zoom on IE in the stock 6.1? I have a htc touch pro 2.

[ROM Request!] WinMo 6.1 with Manila 2.5 Cooked by experienced chef!

I know this has been going around for a while. The whole WinMo 6.1 with Manila 2.5 issue. And I know a lot of people have said it doesn't work. But it does. There have been some concept ROMs made, that use 6.1 with 2.5.
Would it be possible, for one of the more experienced chefs, to try and cook up a ROM that had these two together. While 6.5 is very good now, and it has grown on me a lot, WinMo 6.1 with Manila 2.5, is actually an excellent combination.
I tried outies ROM with this mix, and it was very fast. The only problems, were small bugs that needed someone experienced to fix.
We all know 6.5 is good now. Much better than it was before. But 6.1 is also still excellent. Combined with Manila 2.5, it could be an excellent mix. HTC Sense and 6.1. A great combination. Please think about it chefs. I bet you would be surprised by how many people want to use it.

*sign* i search also a 6.1 with 2.5 manila...

amen to that, I agree completely !

I second this from here to infinity.....but I doubt any chef will take the challenge

Outie's kitchen
Hi,
Outie actually posted the whole kitchen with his ROM, so I am trying to tweak it a bit, something like Mikedomain's ROM. I have got PC2USB popup and Smaberg's action screen working properly, but still struggling with some other issues. If I get it tweaked nicely I will post it and maybe the whole kitchen if people want to play with customising. I won't be able to offer support, however, although I will try. There's a good chance I can't improve it much, because I am completely new to cooking, but it's worth a try.
I won't post anything if I can't make it as good as mikedomain's.
For now I suggest trying his ROM and messing with outie's kitchen if you are brave.
-Oobly

I would only be curious to hear the answer of some serious chef....
Like y ?? .....they waste hours and hours of work on 6.5 roms that will never by any means be as good as 6.1 roms....and for what, a horrible start menu and some kinetic scrolling....if you ask me not worth it...best roms ever are pctech4u, jackx 3.x and touch x by mr.rusch if those had 2.5 on top....that would be....HOT !

darkhalf520 said:
I would only be curious to hear the answer of some serious chef....
Like y ?? .....they waste hours and hours of work on 6.5 roms that will never by any means be as good as 6.1 roms....and for what, a horrible start menu and some kinetic scrolling....if you ask me not worth it...best roms ever are pctech4u, jackx 3.x and touch x by mr.rusch if those had 2.5 on top....that would be....HOT !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
amen

i just cooked a wm6.1-rom with manila 2.5 (german) just to get the experience. I can't really understand why you guys want the old wm back...
the experience was horrible compared to all the wm6.5 roms out there. the only thing i really like in wm6.1 is the drop-down-startmenu. but.....
it is possible to modify the wm6.5 startmenu to show up in list-view (not exactly but nearly 6.1 experience).
What's the real reason you like 6.1 more than 6.5?????
I really can't get it.... ugly themes... scrolling in settings/programs without scrollbar-use etc.......
6.5 is the logical evolution of wm6.1... flashing back now from this horrible 6.1 experience to wm6.5......... never again turning back.......

second to that! there is nothing I like in 6.1, sorry ...wont ever look back

the only reason that i want 6.1 (and use it actually with manila 2.1) ist stability. i have tryed a lot of 6.5 roms and all make me crazy. freezes every day (especelly in standby and charging).

Tastenchef said:
the only reason that i want 6.1 (and use it actually with manila 2.1) ist stability. i have tryed a lot of 6.5 roms and all make me crazy. freezes every day (especelly in standby and charging).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said in that thread, I never experience standby freeze in 6.5. 6.1 is more responsive but 6.5 has better memory management IMHO.

Well, whatever the reason, people seem to want a 6.1 ROM with manila 2.5 cooked by someone with enough experience to iron out the kinks, me included. In fact I want it so badly I am trying to cook one myself (making some progress, too).
IMHO, 6.5 is slower, less responsive, and has retarded volume key and close app functionality. Some of the latest builds of 6.5 are closing the gap performance-wise and some features are better, but the app closing and volkey functionality are enough to keep me away.
Each to their own, but if all the cooks are cooking 6.5, people who want 6.1 ROMs are left unsatisfied. On that note, there are some chefs cooking 6.1 ROMs, but they all seem to be using manila 2.1. Touch X is a good example of a 6.1 ROM. Fast, stable, looks nice. And it is very popular..... If only Smaberg would come back and cook us a Leo ROM... (sigh).

Exactly as Oobly said !!
How come you guys can't see a reason why we wish for 6.1 with 2.5 manila guys ..... Seems like responsiveness and stability and SPEED are pretty neglected these days....bfff makes me angry

Hello to you all, it can be done, but the time it takes to modify some files to get it to work as it should ain't worth it. And after using 6.1 with 2.5 after a day makes memory go heywire... therefor 6.5 is better, the original ROM for touch pro 2 is the most stable sys build for the x1 but with 2.5 its somewhat slow, but the leo sys build on x1 works better, but with more bugs, so combination is hard, but i recomend the TP2 sys build, with latest LEO xip.
And back to 6.1, as i wrote it can be done quite easy, but you'll need anyone with experience to edit dll files cause it referes to some files that aint in 6.1, all this info came from a source in HTC, so i can't confirm it myself though.
wish you all the luck on this one, i would be glad to help, but without a X1 it would be to hard.

Smaberg its a pity u can't do this.....could you put a nice word for us with MrRusch ??

Oobly said:
IMHO, 6.5 is slower, less responsive, and has retarded volume key and close app functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you are describing is 6.5.1 (not 6.5)
HTC volume and close button work the same as 6.1 on 6.5 (just take a look to the official 6.5 rom on Rhodium, or Topaz.

Thanks for your input, Smaberg and Jack!
I know at least HTCScroll_2 isn't compatible with 6.1 and this causes problems in the album and I am sure I will find more. In this case we can use an older version of album, but then you can't save pictures as footprints. It's a long road, but worth a try. I am certainly gaining respect for the experienced chefs!
Maybe official 6.5 is good enough, but I have already started down this road and I believe the performance will be better on 6.1 still. Will have to see.
[EDIT]
ROM seems to be usable now.. some small issues, but nothing huge so far (no hangs / manila restarts, etc.) Maybe I will post what I have done so far this evening or tomorrow if I can get it uploaded somewhere. I need to do some tweaks still....
[/EDIT]

Oobly said:
Thanks for your input, Smaberg and Jack!
I know at least HTCScroll_2 isn't compatible with 6.1 and this causes problems in the album and I am sure I will find more. In this case we can use an older version of album, but then you can't save pictures as footprints. It's a long road, but worth a try. I am certainly gaining respect for the experienced chefs!
Maybe official 6.5 is good enough, but I have already started down this road and I believe the performance will be better on 6.1 still. Will have to see.
[EDIT]
ROM seems to be usable now.. some small issues, but nothing huge so far (no hangs / manila restarts, etc.) Maybe I will post what I have done so far this evening or tomorrow if I can get it uploaded somewhere. I need to do some tweaks still....
[/EDIT]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
keep us updated.....ur our hero !!

I just dont get it really guys ...even you can make wm6.1 working with the latest goodies (can't imagine how hard that would be), but in the end where do you guys go from there? wm6.1 is ended, and is no longer developed.
wm6.5 is still under development, but there are choices coming from certain branches that did prove stability and speed (build 21874 is the latest i tested of this kind). And yet it is still developing and sometimes newer build just failed.
wm6.5.1 is new gui with start button at the bottom part of the screen so this is another challenge. Kinetic scrolling is gone for whatever reason, but you can slide left and right at status bar at the top part of the screen.
I'm not a cooker and yet about to dig in some into more depth. Read a lot, pick the rom you want to flash and pm the chef what official rom he started before the work. You can always predict the result by doing the same routines - flash official rom, hard reset, flash custom rom, hard reset and always follow direction given by the chef carefully, and follow what other flasher find and tweaking bugs. This is how we develop i believe.
but still i do appreciate that some ppl still opted wm6.1, it is just the way it is i guess

Phoenix ROM
Hi all,
My 6.1Leo ROM is now up! Get it here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=4956394#post4956394
And please read all of the first 4 posts.
-Oobly
P.S. @deepthroat, I have yet to see a 6.5 ROM that gives the same benchmark scores for graphics as a good WM6.1 ROM. Usually at least 20% less speed. I don't think our X1 devices can handle 6.5 AND manila 2.5 nicely..... yet. Maybe 6.5 will improve to the same point soon.

Any cooked ROM WITHOUT Manila?

Sorry for this, but I dont seem to find any lately cooked ROM with just plain titanium, no Manila bloat, but with the latest wm6.5 load, with start button in the down side of the screen. Honestly I got tired of Manila, actually I got tired of all these HTC applications that are trying to substitute wm6.5. They dont work flawless and dont give that much advantage over wm6.5 in my opinion.
thanks,
ionutz6
edit: it seems miri has 3 versions without manila, i missed those ones, but dont think they have the latest wm6.5 load. I know energy roms used to be like that in the past as well, but not anymore. On the other hand, are we all so desperate about Manila? just curious... how many of you would prefer a ROM without manila?

Lost In Asia rom, without manila: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=504151
Miri has no less than 3 versions (4 if you count the test version!) without manila: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=493911

xmsnx said:
Lost In Asia rom, without manila: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=504151
Miri has no less than 3 versions (4 if you count the test version!) without manila: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=493911
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the quick reply, i edited later my post. i meant without manila, but with the latest wm6.5 load, the ones with start button down...

Try Miri's test version, http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=941
The standard version is without manila
Been using the same but with 2.1 manila for a few days.

great, ill try this one...

to my shame, after asking this question, i found the wiki link which explains it all:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Blackstone_cookedroms#Latest65
always the classical rule: RTFM!

Answered your own question before I could post it. RTFM
Thread closed

Stable ROM with Win 6.5.1 and Manila 2.5

So....
I have a TP2 ( RHO100 ) and I have the stock WWE rom from HTC with WM6.5 installed but now the the HD2 is out I've seen videos of it with the new Manila 2.5.
And I have fallen in love with the wdiget home screen and new fully screen weather animations. I am also very interested in the ability to have threaded SMS.
I have tried doing some searches for ROMs that contain the new manila 2.5 but I am not sure which one would be best. A lot of them seem to make their own preferential upgrades, or they removed parts to make them faster, but I am a little wary they may cut out things that I want.
Can anyone recommend a ROM that is as close to the stock as possible, whilst just upgrading to WM6.5.1 and Manila 2.5, with all the original stuff. I'd like to customise my taskbar etc myself rather than have it chosen for me...
What can you guys recommend?

That's a good question. I don't know if a total stock ROM exist with 6.5.1/3 and Manila 2.5.

Give it a try
geejayoh said:
So....
I have a TP2 ( RHO100 ) and I have the stock WWE rom from HTC with WM6.5 installed but now the the HD2 is out I've seen videos of it with the new Manila 2.5.
And I have fallen in love with the wdiget home screen and new fully screen weather animations. I am also very interested in the ability to have threaded SMS.
I have tried doing some searches for ROMs that contain the new manila 2.5 but I am not sure which one would be best. A lot of them seem to make their own preferential upgrades, or they removed parts to make them faster, but I am a little wary they may cut out things that I want.
Can anyone recommend a ROM that is as close to the stock as possible, whilst just upgrading to WM6.5.1 and Manila 2.5, with all the original stuff. I'd like to customise my taskbar etc myself rather than have it chosen for me...
What can you guys recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im using |STABLE-FAST|ROM|Josh's New Perfect Black, Links UP!|11-13|Sense 2.1| the title say it all. his rom are amazing there fast, stable, and he would try to add anything on that you like! his v1.6 is coming out. Atm v1.5 out and a beta of v1.6 is out. What you're looking for is a rare find but if anything check out his rom im sure you would like it

geejayoh said:
So....
I have a TP2 ( RHO100 ) and I have the stock WWE rom from HTC with WM6.5 installed but now the the HD2 is out I've seen videos of it with the new Manila 2.5.
And I have fallen in love with the wdiget home screen and new fully screen weather animations. I am also very interested in the ability to have threaded SMS.
I have tried doing some searches for ROMs that contain the new manila 2.5 but I am not sure which one would be best. A lot of them seem to make their own preferential upgrades, or they removed parts to make them faster, but I am a little wary they may cut out things that I want.
Can anyone recommend a ROM that is as close to the stock as possible, whilst just upgrading to WM6.5.1 and Manila 2.5, with all the original stuff. I'd like to customise my taskbar etc myself rather than have it chosen for me...
What can you guys recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I also back this question, that is exactly what I am looking for.

Hi,
My experience...
I have tried many roms (energy, athineos, josh's, fusion...) and first, I think, you have to decide if you want:
- windows mobile 6.1(very old), 6.5, 6.5.1 or 6.5.3. There are separates into 2 categories (6.1 and 6.5 / 6.5.1 and 6.5.3). The most difference I have noticed is that the button "Start" is on the top left corner or at the bottom of the screen.
- manila 2.1 or 2.5. The version 2.5 is most recent but there are many bugs for the landscape mode. It doesn't work for many tabs. But it is the best of both version. The version 2.1 is working fine.
After, for all roms I have tried, every times I have some bugs. Often there are very very minor problems (example: bugs with the lock screen, freeze, slow performance...) and to solve them I just have to soft reset the phone. I think it depend of your provider, rom radio, utilization of your phone: bluetooth with headset, software you use...
You must also choose the design you prefer.
Testing is the best way to find your best rom.
Very big thinks to all chief who work hardto create these roms.
I hope it can help you and you can read my bad english;-).
Bye.

vinsyl said:
Hi,
My experience...
I have tried many roms (energy, athineos, josh's, fusion...) and first, I think, you have to decide if you want:
- windows mobile 6.1(very old), 6.5, 6.5.1 or 6.5.3. There are separates into 2 categories (6.1 and 6.5 / 6.5.1 and 6.5.3). The most difference I have noticed is that the button "Start" is on the top left corner or at the bottom of the screen.
- manila 2.1 or 2.5. The version 2.5 is most recent but there are many bugs for the landscape mode. It doesn't work for many tabs. But it is the best of both version. The version 2.1 is working fine.
After, for all roms I have tried, every times I have some bugs. Often there are very very minor problems (example: bugs with the lock screen, freeze, slow performance...) and to solve them I just have to soft reset the phone. I think it depend of your provider, rom radio, utilization of your phone: bluetooth with headset, software you use...
You must also choose the design you prefer.
Testing is the best way to find your best rom.
Very big thinks to all chief who work hardto create these roms.
I hope it can help you and you can read my bad english;-).
Bye.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Vinsyl,
Thanks for your detailed answer, you make a lot of good points.
I think I need to stop being lazy and just get on with trying them all I think !
Thanks again, and your English is great.

The best ROM ! Stable for daily use...
As my try outs, and i have tried most of the ROMs here...
You "must" try this BEST ARK AF_Rhodium ROM.
It is the best stable daily use that i am using for couple days.
The ROM kink to forum origin...
Enjoy your Rhodium Phone!

BeEazy10 said:
Im using |STABLE-FAST|ROM|Josh's New Perfect Black, Links UP!|11-13|Sense 2.1| the title say it all. his rom are amazing there fast, stable, and he would try to add anything on that you like! his v1.6 is coming out. Atm v1.5 out and a beta of v1.6 is out. What you're looking for is a rare find but if anything check out his rom im sure you would like it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man, but I guess I'm more into Manila 2.5 than any other customisations.

elab said:
vinsyl said:
Originally Posted by vinsyl View Post
Hi,
My experience...
I have tried many roms (energy, athineos, josh's, fusion...) and first, I think, you have to decide if you want:
- windows mobile 6.1(very old), 6.5, 6.5.1 or 6.5.3. There are separates into 2 categories (6.1 and 6.5 / 6.5.1 and 6.5.3). The most difference I have noticed is that the button "Start" is on the top left corner or at the bottom of the screen.
- manila 2.1 or 2.5. The version 2.5 is most recent but there are many bugs for the landscape mode. It doesn't work for many tabs. But it is the best of both version. The version 2.1 is working fine.
After, for all roms I have tried, every times I have some bugs. Often there are very very minor problems (example: bugs with the lock screen, freeze, slow performance...) and to solve them I just have to soft reset the phone. I think it depend of your provider, rom radio, utilization of your phone: bluetooth with headset, software you use...
You must also choose the design you prefer.
Testing is the best way to find your best rom.
Very big thinks to all chief who work hardto create these roms.
I hope it can help you and you can read my bad english;-).
Bye.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Vinsyl,
Thanks for your detailed answer, you make a lot of good points.
I think I need to stop being lazy and just get on with trying them all I think !
Thanks again, and your English is great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vinsyl, thanks very much yes, elab is right, you make some good points.
However, may I digress...
I have already done a lot of investigating into the differences between the builds....
- I mentioned that I want to see 6.5.1 because it's more stable and more importantly has threaded SMS, which is what I'm after more than anything.
- It's only 6.5.3 from what I can tell which has moved the start menu to those silly blobs at the bottom.
- After research I also came to the conclusion that it Manila 2.5 was heavily buggy in pre-release, especially in landscape mode..... however, having now seen a full release on the HD2 and I'm guessing working in full landscape mode with all it's own apps, I was guessing that one of the CHEF's will have had a chance to rip Manila 2.5 out of the HD2 and whack it in a TP2 rom.
So Remember, I'm not looking for a STOCK rom, that comes from HTC. I'm looking for a Stock ROM base, cooked up to WM 6.5.1 with a seasoning of Manila 2.5 and no further additives. Is there a chef willing to try something so CRAZY?!

geejayoh said:
- I mentioned that I want to see 6.5.1 because it's more stable and more importantly has threaded SMS, which is what I'm after more than anything.
- It's only 6.5.3 from what I can tell which has moved the start menu to those silly blobs at the bottom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
6.5 does threaded SMS. (it's the first thing I turn off though, I hate it) You will need a tweak program to enable / disable, sometimes the cook will provide something built in. (sometimes in Start -> Settings -> System menu there is a "Threaded SMS" icon, otherwise use Rhodium Tweak Tool or HD Tweak one of those will do it)
And 6.5.1 has the "silly blobs at the bottom" same as 6.5.3
If you want start menu at the top you want 6.5 (or 6.1 I suppose). Also if you are looking for STABLE you want 6.5.
6.5.1 / 6.5.3 are from leaked Microsoft BETA code and therefore aren't really designed to be stable, of course you may find they are stable for you, I used to run a 23064 (one of last 23xxx builds with start menu at top) EnergyROM and it was awesome. Also with the build numbers, a general rule is 21xxx is 6.5, 23xxx is 6.5.1 and 28xxx is 6.5.3. But there is a better post you may want to search for regarding this, goes into more detail if you are interested.
Good luck in your quest

MadBeef said:
I used to run a 23064 (one of last 23xxx builds with start menu at top) EnergyROM and it was awesome. Also with the build numbers, a general rule is 21xxx is 6.5, 23xxx is 6.5.1 and 28xxx is 6.5.3. But there is a better post you may want to search for regarding this, goes into more detail if you are interested.
Good luck in your quest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
question why did you stop using it? I am thinking of picking up EnergyROM_23081

Suggest a ROM for my X1 ! Please!!

Okay, I have spent the past 2 months evaluating user feedback about the various wonderful and sekcy ROMs the wonderful chefs here have cooked for us - but being a n00b in this field I am totally CONFUSED!
I need help from you guys to suggest a custom ROM which should have the following features:
WM 6.5
MaxManila 2.6
X2: Dialer, Panel Manager etc. etc.
Facebook App
Should be stable, speedy and bug-free
ActiveSync should work
Can anyone suggest which ROMs to try out?

If you are a noob I would probably recommend you stay away from 6.5 builds and manila 2.5 type ROMS.
They are still pretty buggy and error prone. I have recently tried some, Untamed (manila 2.1) and EnergyROM( both manila 2.1 and 2.5 versions), but have reverted back to TouchX 10.1 because it is fast, stable, and compatible with X2 add-ons (except Myriad Java didn't seem to play nice).
If you want to give them a shot I think EnergyROM is the flashiest, and if you get the LEO version with the 28XXX core it will look fabulous. I flashed my girlfriends HTC Pure with EnergyROM and she likes it a lot, but it is much more stable on HTC Pure than on Xperia.
I'll say, though, that if functionality is more important than looks, get TouchX (or one of it's variants, there is an X2 one available). It is WM 6.1 (which is admittedly a little ugly) and it is not going to be 2.5, but that means it will work well in landscape, and be super-stable.
BTW, ActiveSync always works. And facebook app works on everything, just install it.
Hope this helps.

Thanks Hannigan! I think I'll have to do quite a few experiments before I get the ROM I like. I'll try out both EnergyROM and TouchX versions and finally stick with the one I like.