Related
This thread is for people like me, who don't know what ROM to choose from a list of many ROMs from many great chefs.
I am keeping my poll options empty for the time being as I have only played with a few ROMs without any guidance. I will begin to populate them as I start to see a few specific ROMs appearing consistantly.
I would like to ask the community of xda-developers to come by and help populate this thread with simple comments
and/or recommendations on what ROM(s if you have multiple devices) you use on your Rhodium/Touch Pro 2/Tilt 2 device.
Also, please also add what kind of user your are, or how/why you use your phone with 'said' ROM.
Additionally beneficial would be letting users know what ROM you recently used prior to your recommendation and the offsets you experience in general.
ie. ROM A is the one I recommend. However, ROM B does a few things a bit better, although ROM A is the one I would recommend to people who like smooth, quick eyecandy filled ROMs.
I also ask for intelligent, constructive critique on what you think about the ROM that you are commenting upon.
No one needs to know about what piece of profanity you would like to tack on 'user A' for saying '10101' about 'ROM B' or vice-versa.
This is meant to be a resource for new users to xda-developers, like I was, and to new owners of the HTC Touch Pro 2/Rhodium, Windows Mobile phone.
Candidly, I would like to have the moderator's support in keeping this a clean thread to have an easier (and more pleasant) navigation throughout the thread.
I would like to start off with creating a list of ROMs organized by chef name and OS/TouchFlo 3D version.
Underneath each ROM and their links (I will either find the ROM myself, or if you can be so helpful enough to link it onto your post
within this thread), I will be adding the pros and cons that are mentioned here, and that I have found as well.
To let you know a bit about my bias, I am looking for the following items;
-Speed
--Not only operating speed, going from interface to interface, but also how it handles multitasking.
--I usually do these three together; GPS, music, web browsing/text messaging
-User Friendliness
--From first stepping into the ROM, to using it for a couple of days and seeing it's inevitable and understandable flaws and offsets.
--Customizing settings on the ROM, and the ease to have certain things.
-Miscellaneous
--Other things such as the way the ROM will handle things such as the
unsightly error of TouchFlo 3D 2.5 and it's lack of Landscape viewing ability.
--These items will account for my general accountability on the topic of
"Would I (highly) recommend to my friend, who may be the same as, or a completely different user than, me."
My history with phones;
I have first used Motorola phones, starting with the t220 (apparently one of the first camera phones) moving to the RAZR V6 MAXX
(quite a glam, nice looking phone with great features, but poor connectivity issues with network and bluetooth) and a few years ago
Sony Ericsson phones such as the W810, K850 and the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1a.
Most recently;
I have late last year, used a BlackBerry BOLD 9000, and in the past 3 months, trialed the Sony Ericsson XPERIA.
Without much ROM customization, the stock ROM was fun to play with, but lacked the easy access and user interface speed that
I have become accustomed to with the BlackBerry BOLD 9000. However, in seeing the Touch Pro 2 and purchasing it, I can now fully indulge in customizing
it with ROMs to fit my needs, though I am still painfully without hardware keys to have quick access to my browser, music or GPS.
However, I suppose the full 5 row keyboard makes up for the lack of hardware buttons elsewhere on the body.
Currently, I am using my Touch Pro 2, mainly as a resource device. What do I mean by this? I am using it with a SIM Card that only has data services.
I have installed programs such as Japanese dictionaries, phrase banks and linguistic aids to help in my study of the Japanese language.
I also use this for school (I am currently in grade 11, high school) using this device as my quick access to the internet (even though I have my blackberry).
I suppose having new devices is an obsession for me, as with a few others on here.
I'm looking for ROMs that will allow me quick and easy access to the programs that I frequent the most such as my Japanese programs, GPS,
music, web browser, notes, M-Soft Word and also allow me to freely multitask with them.
I know that this is mainly hardware dependent, but I have learned that some ROMs take up less RAM space, as to free up some more coasting speed for programs to run on.
Posting Format
Please include the following;
Recommended ROM?
ROM used before recommended ROM?
Your network provider, phone (is it from/branded T-Mobile US, AT&T, Telstra, Sprint, TELUS)?
How/What do you use your phone? (Business, personal, school // As your main device, just as a (conference) phone, just as a mini internet tablet, etc...)
The pros & cons you noticed coming onto this ROM?
Who you think would benefit from using this ROM?
ADDITIONALLY;
I want to invite Chefs to either PM me, or post what (and who) they desire their ROM to be (for),
so that TP2/Rhodium users/owners can have a one-stop place to take a look at which ROM has what to offer (and to whom).
I will be adding the Chef's words beneath the ROM(s) they wish to comment upon.
The following post will before the ROM listings.
ROM Listings!
Chef NRGZ28
He builds his ROMs with four main goals.
* Eye candy
* Speed !!!
* Smoothness, consistency and good aesthetics
* Stability through private beta testing before public release
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
★ EnergyROM "Leo" (Build 23016) [Updated Oct 7]
Runs Windows Mobile 6.5 WWE & TouchFlo 3D/Manila 2.5
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Comments;
-Stable
-Fast
-Good Looking
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Great for;
★ EnergyROM "Photon, formerly GENESIS" (BUILD?) [Updated Oct 7]
Runs Windows Mobile 6.5 WWE & TouchFlo 3D/Manila 2.1
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Comments;
-Bug-Free
-Great aesthetics
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great for;
Chef Monx
"ONLY THE BEST FOR ALL XDA-DEV MEMBERS"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROMeOS³ v1.20 (Build 23016)
Runs Windows Mobile 6.5 WWE & TouchFlo 3D/Manila 2.5 + HTC SENSE (beta)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments;
-Fun and easy to customize to personal tastes
-Works great "out of the box"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great for;
Chef b16b
AthineOS v2.0 OEM Style (Build 21054)
Runs Windows Mobile 6.1 & TouchFlo 3D/Manila 2.1
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Comments;
-Works great "out of the box"
-Very stock/OEM like ROM without all the carrier's unneccessary confectionery
-Easy to use, being that it is a simple ROM
-Quick and fast
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great for;
-Those who are looking to keep their stock ROM without carrier branding or excessive programs
-Great for business users to retain that 'corporate' look
[MORE COMING]
MISC 1 -----
MISC 2 -----------
im so glad you have this up. i also have a hard time choosing.
pretty useless comment lol
You might be wasting your time since a mod most likely will close this thread...
How come?
If I'm making a bit too bias (on what I'm looking for) then I won't include my own opinion. That's fine.
But I want to have something like what the Kovsky/Sony Ericsson XPERIA forum has.
A ROM index, but enhanced with things such as recommendations, and owner/users & chef comments.
SleepiTyme said:
How come?
If I'm making a bit too bias (on what I'm looking for) then I won't include my own opinion. That's fine.
But I want to have something like what the Kovsky/Sony Ericsson XPERIA forum has.
A ROM index, but enhanced with things such as recommendations, and owner/users & chef comments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure why, the last few times someone asked which ROM was best the mods closed the thread. They claim it cuases flame wars and such.
Personally, I dont mind, like the idea and I was just giving you a heads up. Maybe you should ask a mod before your proceed further.
I would say this poll would avoid other threads like "what do you think is the best rom" or "can you advise me some rom"
So thumbs up
the best way to keep one thread like this is :
take one benchmark.. and test all the rom.. and post all result here
like topaz one
otherwise will locked soon
Benchmark?
"How does Benchmark?"
I think.. by emulating the ROM's speed and multitasking capabilities and such?
I want to know, not by computer, but by people why 'said' ROM is great.
Honestly, this is my story here;
I heard that ROMeOS's ROM for the Rhodium was great, although I had first saw Athine OS (both the light and Titanium builds with 2.1 and 2.5 Manila, 6.1 and 6.5 WinMo) and saw the pictures of the interface were just completely amazing.
So I downloaded them, but saw that they ran.. just the same as my stock ROM (at quite the same speed), though it was much cleaner than my Telstra stock ROM which was confuddled with many apps and things that I didn't need. And the light blue theme just didn't do it for me.
So then I just recently (actually last night) installed the ROMeOS ROM on my TP2 and found it so fun to have so much control upon things such as background wallpaper (both for lock screen and home screen tab). Also things such as backlighting, edit tabs, set up bluetooth, set up data, ringtones, message notifications ALMOST EVERYTHING customizable (that you would usually have to go in and out of menus for on the stock WWE ROM, and sometimes the Athine ROM) was located in one simple tab. Neigh, a simple section within a tab that had even more customization for other things on the phone.
THAT! That was most likely made this ROM popular, and it really did get into my good books quickly... until I found out that Manila 2.5 doesn't support Landscape.
I feel like I should either.. move onto another ROM, or just live with it.
I'm using Gyrator 2 along with my ROM, and it DID have the event action NOT to have auto rotate in Manila.. even though.. I want it to...
This above.. I'm looking for comments such as this, except from other, MORE experienced users with better opinions. Who hopefully can dumb it down so that people like me and many others, still fairly new to Windows Mobile, xda-developers and the HTC Touch Pro 2/Rhodium alike, can understand.
I believe.. that this should be something like a collaborative blog.
Just reading back up on my post right now, it's almost as if I were reading someone's story.
Many users might not want to go through that, and others may just want to write something to have their experience heard.
What I want to do is sift through all of that, and just have the comments, positive or negative, tacked onto each ROM in a list.
My ROMs Listing post.
Right by each description from each Chef.
Maybe it'll be reason enough for mods to keep this alive, maybe it won't be.
But... saving the effort of going through each ROM (there are about... 6-10, give or take 5^x) in which said thread for said ROM has 10+ pages of posts, usually around the vicinity of 30-50.
That is A LOT OF READING.
useless information
personally, this is useless information and i don"t go by polls. The best information is based on users" signature. I also take time to read, instead of relying on polls.
SleepiTyme said:
Benchmark?
"How does Benchmark?"
I think.. by emulating the ROM's speed and multitasking capabilities and such?
I want to know, not by computer, but by people why 'said' ROM is great.
Honestly, this is my story here;
I heard that ROMeOS's ROM for the Rhodium was great, although I had first saw Athine OS (both the light and Titanium builds with 2.1 and 2.5 Manila, 6.1 and 6.5 WinMo) and saw the pictures of the interface were just completely amazing.
So I downloaded them, but saw that they ran.. just the same as my stock ROM, though it was much cleaner than my Telstra stock ROM which was confuddled with many apps and things that I didn't need. And the light blue theme just didn't do it for me.
So then I just recently (actually last night) installed the ROMeOS ROM on my TP2 and found it so fun to have so much control upon things such as background wallpaper (both for lock screen and home screen tab). Also things such as backlighting, edit tabs, set up bluetooth, set up data, ringtones, message notifications ALMOST EVERYTHING customizable (that you would usually have to go in and out of menus for on the stock WWE ROM, and sometimes the Athine ROM) was located in one simple tab. Neigh, a simple section within a tab that had even more customization for other things on the phone.
THAT! That was most likely made this ROM popular, and it really did get into my good books quickly... until I found out that Manila 2.5 doesn't support Landscape.
I feel like I should either.. move onto another ROM, or just live with it.
I'm using Gyrator 2 along with my ROM, and it DID have the event action NOT to have auto rotate in Manila.. even though.. I want it to...
This above.. I'm looking for comments such as this, except from other, MORE experienced users with better opinions. Who hopefully can dumb it down so that people like me and many others, still fairly new to Windows Mobile, xda-developers and the HTC Touch Pro 2/Rhodium alike, can understand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does one know which is best if they do not try them all? You mentioned two ROMs but have not mentioned the others. Can you give valid opinion on which you think is best without trying them all? Everyone has different tastes.
Those are just some of the things the mods may say and have said.
Like what I said, I don't mind a thread like this and wish there was a way to do this in a way that was more subjective.
Maybe there needs to be an official ROM judge
Edit
Well that won't work either.
The only for you to know what ROM is best for you is to try them all until you find one that you like for yourself.
Ut0p1a said:
personally, this is useless information and i don"t go by polls. The best information is based on users" signature. I also take time to read, instead of relying on polls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then.. maybe not polls?
What other way would be the best to;
1) save you time from reading a couple dozen to a couple hundred posts everytime you got a new device (though we're only talking about the Rhodium, and if you've read all those posts, I suppose you're a lost cause that I want to avoid being like, and want to help others avoid being as such as well)
2) Get you the accurate information on what are the highlights of the ROMs
2b) Without all the different ways that each chef sets up their forum posts to explain what their ROM does
2c) And have it all in one common format
3) Not many people post their ROMs on their signatures. I just saw it around as a growing
@At0mAng
Thank you for your opinion at this time of night.
Yes, did only mention (actually it was) three roms.
However, that is just only my input.
I've yet to trial the Miri ROM(s) and the Energy ROMs, just to name a few.
But mainly, I want simple, quick or concise comments on which ROMs a good/great and for what reason. Is it some part of the ROM? Does it perform better in the way that you've explained that you are using your TP2? Etc?
Yes.. everyone has different tastes, but they can mention what they like about 'said' ROM and help people become objective by the comments made here, and the quick pros and cons that have been tabulated onto the second post of this forum for quick reference as to which ROM does what best, or includes which great feature.
Edit;
This thread isn't here to decide Which ROM is the NUMBER ONE (for YOU)?!
It's to help guide newcomers to xda-developers, the HTC Touch Pro 2/Rhodium and Windows Mobile (all together) choose which ROM to pick.
I mean.. for new people, they have probably heard of ROMs, but don't know what to do with it.
What the heck is a HardSPL and flashing it?
Or, naturally after coming from the HardSPL resource sticky, one does suddenly freeze up and get stuck before spending 3-5 hours reading posts and choosing which ROM to pick and install, only to find out it doesn't really meet their requirements and move on to another one with a HUGE amount of wasted effort.
This here is to help people like that make more objective decisions, much quicker with the pros and cons of each ROM outlined and defined.
ROM Review template?
At0mAng said:
I am not sure why, the last few times someone asked which ROM was best the mods closed the thread. They claim it cuases flame wars and such.
Personally, I dont mind, like the idea and I was just giving you a heads up. Maybe you should ask a mod before your proceed further.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely agree with At0mAng and I like this idea. I don't understand the fear of flame wars either. Just ban the people who start flaming and can't have a normal discussion.
As for this thread, maybe we could all post reviews of a ROM in a certain template. E.g. give grades for speed, apps, stability, eye candy, etc... Some people look for speed and clean ROMs, others just for the most fully apped ROMs. With a review template, you could have a quick overview of what a ROM performs best on and make your pick.
It's Right!
There is NO Best ROM !
Every Cooker has his "touch and taste" in his ROM...
I love to work with you all, guys...
All the cookers here are talented!
Work AS a TEAM get us a BETTER results!!
Continue all, in the great progress...
We will "knock out" HTC software at a glance...
TheAgent1982 said:
There is NO Best ROM !
Every Cooker has his "touch and taste" in his ROM...
I love to work with you all, guys...
All the cookers here are talented!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not the point of this thread to find THE best ROM, but to find the most suitable ROM that fits your needs, at a glance...
Normally these threads are just closed as At0mAng said, but that would be unfair to the OP who's invested a fair old bit of time in this. It isn't the usual format and could be beneficial.
I've said before, that there isn't a forum rules preventing these threads, they are just closed because most of the people who create them are lazy noobs. If this threads is successful, then it "should" lead to less new threads.
I'm now subscribed and will monitor it, if it does degrade in to pretty much a Chef A vs Chef B thread, then I'll close it.
Thanks
Dave
Hi,
I'd like to take the opportunity to try to find a ROM which fits my needs: is there any Rom out there with WM 6.5, quicker than the stock ROM (if one can compare), with as few bugs as possible, still keeping Manilla 2.1 ? By the way, I am not interested in aesthetics, nor in software when the cab is available to install by myself. I only tested EnergyROM Genesis up to now, which is excellent, bug free as far as I can tell, but with many applications, very good aesthetics, maybe speed could improve with lighter graphics... Is there any quicker ROM here ?
On a side note, I find that the virtual keyboard of the TP2 is slow, e.g. changing from alpha to numeric takes too much time (then the first digit you type is ignored), does any ROM (or cab) improve this ?
Recommended ROM
I agree with the moderator that this poll (purely on the basis of statistics) is an interesting experiment and should not be stopped. It is vital though that people who vote have tested a significant number of the roms available.
I tested all the roms available on the 20-25 Sep period (7-8 of them) and I ended up using NRGZ28's Leo Manila 2.5 ROM as the most stable, fast, good looking. Essentially I encounter no bugs in every day use and I would recommend this rom to any TP2 user.
What I miss at this forum, is a ROM with a honest, complete list of known bugs/non-working stuff.
Would like to see some quality-control, and know what I install - before I do.
Everybody is cooking ROM's (and that's nice) but there's no way to know how they will work before trying.
-its impossible to read thru >200 posts and figure out which of those are about the current version.
-recent posts are sometimes about earlier versions too...
Please: I hope some of you that des this nice job will focus on information about quality, and keep a "buglist" for each version..
AlCapone said:
What I miss at this forum, is a ROM with a honest, complete list of known bugs/non-working stuff.
Would like to see some quality-control, and know what I install - before I do.
Everybody is cooking ROM's (and that's nice) but there's no way to know how they will work before trying.
-its impossible to read thru >200 posts and figure out which of those are about the current version.
-recent posts are sometimes about earlier versions too...
Please: I hope some of you that des this nice job will focus on information about quality, and keep a "buglist" for each version..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 100% Buglists are a must. Roms shouldn't be released with alot of bugs unless stated by the op.
husker91 said:
I agree 100% Buglists are a must. Roms shouldn't be released with alot of bugs unless stated by the op.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the point you're missing is that the bugs only become apparent after others flash the ROMs and do some testing.....
cr1960 said:
apparent after others flash the ROMs and do some testing.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope - the author/or a helper is in the ultimate position to read the feedback, verify, and make a list in the first article containing these bugs.
i did not say that the cook should know about every bug before releasing.
maintain a list, and verify it against next version.
-the only way to have some quality control...
I agree with the sentiment - for those of us who only flash their phones maybe once a month, it would be nice to know a ROM is ultra stable and all known bugs / oddities have been sorted. (or if not, then a comprehensive list of things that are broken, with any workarounds etc) Reading through thousands of posts takes hours and not everybody has the time or inclination for that.
For instance both WM and Manila (and others) are under very active development, there are always new versions coming out. While it would be unreasonable to expect the beta WM builds (23xxx, 28xxx) to be 100% stable, it would be nice for a cook or two to say "right, this combination of components is stable, I'm going to stick with these for a while" instead of always following the very latest cutting edge "LOOK, SHINY TOYS!" at the risk of stability.
As for stability I am currently on JoshKoss's latest (1.7) and have yet to experience a single error, crash or hang. And Josh's seem to be the fastest ROMs, definitely of the ones I have experienced anyway. There are a few minor inconsistencies but these are in no way critical. If you want stable I would not even consider Manila 2.5 or any of the "start menu at the bottom" ROMs.
Have you tried AthineOS ROMS? Very fast, very stable. The current Leo 2.02 based ROM is the fastest Sense 2.5 ROM I've tried (and I've tried them all) and stable enough for hassle-free day to day use.
Guyz As far as my experience goes no cook likes to hide the bug list, rather they work to bring more in the light. Users like us are expected to give our submissions. Thats how it works. Things like quality control is not what we have seen here since its not GM factory but a place to share & experiment & success & failure is part of that place.
AlCapone said:
nope - the author/or a helper is in the ultimate position to read the feedback, verify, and make a list in the first article containing these bugs.
i did not say that the cook should know about every bug before releasing.
maintain a list, and verify it against next version.
-the only way to have some quality control...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely disagree. At the rate new builds are released, and with so many new tweaks and items going into ROMs, I think it would take forever for the chef and a select few beta testers to try and figure out all or most bugs in a ROM. I use Arrups ROMs, and he discloses everything that he can, but ultimately its not the chefs responsibility to create a "perfect" rom for Al Capone is it? Everyone uses different applications which can affect the stability of a ROM completely-for example Opera beta 10. I think its much more efficient to have them release the ROMs and let lots of people try and break them, then come back and fix it. And when bugs arise the are put on a "bug list" to be fixed.
We would never see new ROM releases for months if we waited for chefs to perfect stuff. So the people who just flash and leach ROMs cant help out a little?
Since you are so anxious about having a perfect ROM, why dont you have a go at it? Or is *****ing easier?
MadBeef said:
As for stability I am currently on JoshKoss's latest (1.7) and have yet to experience a single error, crash or hang. And Josh's seem to be the fastest ROMs, definitely of the ones I have experienced anyway. There are a few minor inconsistencies but these are in no way critical. If you want stable I would not even consider Manila 2.5 or any of the "start menu at the bottom" ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
X2, This is a very stable ROM. I have been running it close to 2 weeks with no real issues & haven't had to soft reset because of a glitch or hang up.
I have to chime in here and agree with the sentiment of this thread. The application of it is much more difficult that it seems. I have been down this road before, trying to get the chefs to post a comprehensive bug list for their ROMs and while they are willing to do it, it is VERY difficult to tell what is a real bug and what is OE (operator error), confusion caused by loading some application, etc that really isn't a bug or a real bug.
For example, I have been running Sergio76's EVO 3 ROM for sometime now, and have absolutely nothing bad to say about it. Stable as hell, fast, good memory, good battery etc. But some of the other users of the same ROM find 'bugs' mostly caused by putting different shells on, or trying to icon sets.
So, my point is BRAVO! this needs to be done, but let's have a good discussion of how to categorize what is a bug, what is an incompatibility, etc. Because, if we simply list all these things as bugs then we run the risk of scaring folks off of flashing a potentially GREAT ROM all because one or two guys muck it up by hacking the registry and it gets put on a bug list.
I would also like to see a 'standard' way all the chefs list bugs, etc.
Russ
iceman4357 said:
why dont you have a go at it? Or is *****ing easier?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bit harsh tbh
MadBeef said:
bit harsh tbh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was actually holding back a lot. Unfortunately 90% of people on here dont contribute anything and just expect stuff to happen perfectly. If its so easy, then instead of creating an entire thread to talk about problems, why not make a "perfect" Rom and contribute.
iceman4357 said:
Since you are so anxious about having a perfect ROM, why dont you have a go at it? Or is *****ing easier?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your own *****ing certainly does not help.
read my lips:
-I do NOT ask for a "perfect" ROM
-I just ask for the cook/helper to browse thru the reply-posts, and add known bugs they can confirm, to the first post - the one that contains the ROM
-So any ROM can have a list of known errors, (the the author confirms)
AlCapone said:
your own *****ing certainly does not help.
read my lips:
-I do NOT ask for a "perfect" ROM
-I just ask for the cook/helper to browse thru the reply-posts, and add known bugs they can confirm, to the first post - the one that contains the ROM
-So any ROM can have a list of known errors, (the the author confirms)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the chef should worry about reading the 200 posts that you were worried about reading instead of working on ROMs? I am sure that chef mailboxes are full of people reporting bugs on a daily basis.
There are people other than the chefs that have a good deal of experience that help within the thread posts, that free up the chef to continue experimenting and cooking ROMs.
A lot of "common" bugs are specific to builds, such as the landscape issues vs touchflow(sense), or GPS lag which take a lot of time and programming to figure out. These are commonly known across ROMs and builds.
A lot of smaller bugs are from individual customization errors like with S2U2, Opera Beta, lack of knowledge, or custom tweaking.
Chefs, in my opinion, are here to provide a decent platform ROM for us to costimize individually; not to help each individual person with each custom problem they have.
x2
Montea said:
X2, This is a very stable ROM. I have been running it close to 2 weeks with no real issues & haven't had to soft reset because of a glitch or hang up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can u link me up with the x2 rom u speak about?thanks
oyebee said:
can u link me up with the x2 rom u speak about?thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=572938
We were on about JoshKoss's ROMs.
I've said this for years, something like bugzilla would be good. Not that I have ever used it but something with a bit of structure you know? Flag bugs by component (ie. Manila footprints tab, lock screen, or whatever) then by ROM so the system will know already if it is ROM specific or not. But it still relies on people adding good data, as the saying goes, "Garbage In Garbage Out". An automated config dump tool would be a good step towards that. (an end-to-end "report bug" app would be awesome) After all I don't know what point release of Manila I'm running (1921? 1922??) because I don't really care unless it breaks, or a newer version has more shiny.
Anyway I said this a while ago and we are still "*****ing" about ROMs at a fairly disorganised level, and yet the cooks continue to work their magic, so it can't be all that bad
From another guy who comes on here with not very much to offer yet continues to leech a new ROM once a month or so
Stop the Madness...
Oh Geez....
Yes, I am one of the lurkers here at XDA, having been flashing my phones for years and not really contributing much to the community.
I have made a New Year's resolution to change that, so I am posting more now.
But look at some of the most popular ROMS....
Within hours of a Chef releasing a new version, there are hundreds of posts about it.
From what I gather, 95% if not more of these guys/gals cook up these ROMs in their spare time. They do it because they like to do it. I don't think anyone here is getting rich cooking up a ROM for my TP2. They all have lives and when there can be 40+ pages of posts within a couple days after they release a new version, I don't expect them to read every single one. Especially where a vast majority are people asking how to flash the ROM, how to change the theme or other posts that a simple search would provide the answer.
Most Chefs do post what was fixed, what was improved and a lot of them post issues in their ROMS.
I have spent hours reading page after page trying to figure out an answer to a issue I have had...knowing I was probably not the only one having it.
Do some Chef's not post as much info as I would like? Yes.
Am I going to berate those Chefs for not doing so? No.
Some of the responsibility has to be on the users. Period.
For example, I was and am a fan of the Energy ROMs. But I SMS an insane amount and the newest Leo interface with the HTC messaging client sucked, period. Not to say NRGZ28's ROMs sucked, quite the contrary, they are great. But did those ROMs fill every need that I specifically had? No.
So, I did some research, and I found in a thread where Agent_47 suggested his ROM because he didn't even cook in the HTC SMS messaging client. So, I looked at his thread, flashed the ROM, and realized that I have had no issues with it and am very happy. Stable, works and I don't have to wait 7 minutes sometimes to send a text to someone!
We are all very lucky to have XDA. We are all very lucky to have the Chefs that spend their own time, and a lot of it, to cook up these excellent ROMs for us to flash.
Instead of complaining about the lack of 'bug lists'...perhaps you could create a tool or set something up to help the Chefs better manage those said lists?
That is the spirit that has and continues to make XDA great, if there is something you want, something that you see lacking, then create a tool to fill that void.
If you don't want to do that, then I suggest getting an iPhone, where you are locked into your OS and a slave to Apple and their constant updates and static interface. Cool device, granted, but I prefer the freedom of flashing, the excitement of trying new interfaces, experimenting with new features and lastly, the great folks here at XDA.
\.end rant
Spankmeister said:
I suggest getting an iPhone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's not get silly
In the Super D thread, somebody suggested a 'ROM Hall of Fame.' I've decided to do something similar. This thread is about the ROMs that I recommend for different uses. It's difficult to explain, but you'll understand soon enough. Anyway, let's get on with it.
For Newbies/Inexperienced Users
For people who are just getting started with rooted Android, there's only really one recommendation that I can make, and that is, of course, the ever-popular CyanogenMod. This is an Android 1.6 build, and it's probably the most famous of all custom Android builds. Originally built upon JF's build of Android, CyanogenMod has now become a build in its own right. It's incredibly stable, it's fast, and it's really all that you'd ever need for your phone. If you want something that's simple, but still really good, CyanogenMod is the way to go.
For More Advanced Users
There are two builds that I can whole-heartedly recommend for the more advanced Android user. In the same way that CyanogenMod started as a modification of JF's build, these two builds are heavily based upon other popular builds of Android.
The first of these is WG-Build, a modification of CyanogenMod. This is my current everyday ROM, and I really like it. For more information on the exact changes, check out the thread, but the main difference between WG-Build and CyanogenMod is the kernel. Wes has been working hard on his custom WG-Kernel, which is the driving force behind the speed of his build. It comes in several different varieties depending on what you want. I use the CFS with RAM Hack, because CFS is more stable than the faster BFS, and the RAM hack is of great use too. WG-Build is one of the fastest builds you'll find, and it is my personal recommendation.
However, you may prefer Super D. This ROM is essentially a modification of a ROM by Dwang, although it has come a long way since then. This ROM is thought by many to be the fastest available, although from personal experience, there is little difference between Super D and WG-Build. This is more of a personal choice as to which build you prefer, so try them both. I prefer WG-Build, but you may prefer Super D. It is your choice.
Eclair ROMs
TO COME.
Hero/Sense ROMs
Again, TO COME.
Guys, is this a good idea? If you think it is, let me know, but if you think it's a waste of time, then I'll drop the idea.
Yeah man keep it up, im on cyan but if your saying the other roms are quicker ima give it a go!!
Might I add, try and link to as many pages as you can!!!
In my opinion this idea is good. There are many roms for the g1 available atm...
But i would modify it a bit:
I would prefer a kind of table or database with a quick overview about the current ROMs.
Having this, u can still make recommondations.
Example:
ROM: Eclair_2.1-v1.5 G1
dev: manup456
base: 2.1
devices: MT3G 32B
Features: Camera, LWP [...]
Issues: FC latin_ime [...]
.
.
.
In addition, we could maybe collect ratings (poll?) on facts like speed, look, stability... so that everybody can pick his rom according to his personal criterias...
Che123 said:
In my opinion this idea is good. There are many roms for the g1 available atm...
But i would modify it a bit:
I would prefer a kind of table or database with a quick overview about the current ROMs.
Having this, u can still make recommondations.
Example:
ROM: Eclair_2.1-v1.5 G1
dev: manup456
base: 2.1
devices: MT3G 32B
Features: Camera, LWP [...]
Issues: FC latin_ime [...]
.
.
.
In addition, we could maybe collect ratings (poll?) on facts like speed, look, stability... so that everybody can pick his rom according to his personal criterias...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, this is exactly what I'm aiming for. It's sorta similar to the ROM Database at AndroidSpin.com, but it's a different idea. I might actually ask Simon if he can help me with it.
bolmedias said:
Yeah, this is exactly what I'm aiming for. It's sorta similar to the ROM Database at AndroidSpin.com, but it's a different idea. I might actually ask Simon if he can help me with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But at androidspin there are too many details and no userrating. And it's not up2date
ATM there are daily new roms or updates, and the only way to make rom-overview useful is to keep it updated
Sounds very good and if it's kept simple and informative this will be very usefull - not only for newbies
I will keep an eye on that
Che123 said:
But at androidspin there are too many details and no userrating. And it's not up2date
ATM there are daily new roms or updates, and the only way to make rom-overview useful is to keep it updated
Sounds very good and if it's kept simple and informative this will be very usefull - not only for newbies
I will keep an eye on that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm gonna ask Simon if he's interested by this idea, just to see if he is or not. But I will try and maintain this myself, for sure.
The idea is good, but, how do you decide which way is more informative? If you settle on a "feature's list" like Che123 suggested, then you take out the actual experiences of people who've used the roms out. On the other hand, if you approach it like you first did, stating your opinion on which roms are best suited for what, then the information is narrow (limited only to the roms YOU've tried), subjective, and (some might argue) possibly skewed. A combination of both, I'm afraid, would ultimately pick up more of the flaws of either method than the benefits.
I personally believe the problem lies in the solution not being so clear-cut. There's just too many roms for all of them to be drastically different, and most often the difference between them is the availability of feature(a) against feature(b). In some cases, the only difference is the developer, or the name of the rom! (but just a few cases.)
I think an approach that might work, maybe, would be to make a list with:
ROM Name:
Feature 1: [X]
Feature 2: [X]
Feature 3: [X]
Feature .: [X]
Feature .: [X]
Feature .: [X]
Feature n: [X]
Highlights:
Opinions:
Features 1-n would be what we consider standard on roms (a2sd, compcache, swap, etc). We'd list highlights with things that actually make the rom different from others, for example, WG's kernel against CM's kernel, or X's themed rom as opposed to Y's un-themed rom, etc.
Opinions is where the meat would be. User experiences would be listed so that we know to expect force-closes, or slowdowns, reboots, or maybe just a smooth-sailing all around. Might even be a long comment section for different users and with an option to separate good opinions from bad opinions from neutral opinions so that we can read all the bad or all the good in one fell swoop rather than have to follow through the usual ranting and fighting that goes on at the forum already.
Anyway, I'm rooting for this, I just wish it were easier.
And to further add to what you suggested in your original post; another field that describes "Target Audience:" (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Multimedia, Professional, Linux Power-User, etc.).
Fount this over in the Sapphire section
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=618220
It looks nice so far but is still short of data...
Maybe you're interestet in collaborating with him?
jubeh said:
The idea is good, but, how do you decide which way is more informative? If you settle on a "feature's list" like Che123 suggested, then you take out the actual experiences of people who've used the roms out. On the other hand, if you approach it like you first did, stating your opinion on which roms are best suited for what, then the information is narrow (limited only to the roms YOU've tried), subjective, and (some might argue) possibly skewed. A combination of both, I'm afraid, would ultimately pick up more of the flaws of either method than the benefits.
I personally believe the problem lies in the solution not being so clear-cut. There's just too many roms for all of them to be drastically different, and most often the difference between them is the availability of feature(a) against feature(b). In some cases, the only difference is the developer, or the name of the rom! (but just a few cases.)
I think an approach that might work, maybe, would be to make a list with:
ROM Name:
Feature 1: [X]
Feature 2: [X]
Feature 3: [X]
Feature .: [X]
Feature .: [X]
Feature .: [X]
Feature n: [X]
Highlights:
Opinions:
Features 1-n would be what we consider standard on roms (a2sd, compcache, swap, etc). We'd list highlights with things that actually make the rom different from others, for example, WG's kernel against CM's kernel, or X's themed rom as opposed to Y's un-themed rom, etc.
Opinions is where the meat would be. User experiences would be listed so that we know to expect force-closes, or slowdowns, reboots, or maybe just a smooth-sailing all around. Might even be a long comment section for different users and with an option to separate good opinions from bad opinions from neutral opinions so that we can read all the bad or all the good in one fell swoop rather than have to follow through the usual ranting and fighting that goes on at the forum already.
Anyway, I'm rooting for this, I just wish it were easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the soloution is a mix of everything: Facts, general user rating and your recommondation.
A featurelist for the common features, like you mentioned above are a good idea too...
If we got all the features-data in a database we could also build a automatic rom-chooser
i would add following things to the list:
Base: (there are currently 1.6, 2.0, 2.01, 2.1)
Supported Devices: (there are always people flashing a wrong rom and wondering why it's not working )
and a link to the thread of course.
domenukk said:
Fount this over in the Sapphire section
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=618220
It looks nice so far but is still short of data...
Maybe you're interestet in collaborating with him?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't really intent on doing a piece of software, and besides, it misses the point.
Jubeh, I think that you've hit the nail on the head there. What I'm thinking of with this thread was to eliminate the need for people to read through each individual ROM's thread in order to find out if there are any problems, how fast it is, basically exactly what you've suggested. It's about user experiences.
Actually doing this as a forum thread will be quite difficult, though. Any ideas on how we could do it?
which are the differences between cfs wg build and bfs wg build?
marcocrash said:
which are the differences between cfs wg build and bfs wg build?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stability and Speed. BFS makes for a faster ROM, but Wes himself has said that there is an issue with memory leakage. CFS is not as quick, but it's far more stable.
This is the exact sort of question that I want this thread to answer about each ROM.
i don't really like the idea of an desktop app either.
I would like to see something web-based. But as you said: This won't be very good as forum thread. Maybe you could ask someone from xda, if they are willing to give you same webspace for this project. Maybe in cooperation with other users you could build a database for all kind of devices
Somebody could develop an app thats based on the database of the software maybe?
for afaik his software uses some sort oft sql. maybe eaven mysql. have a look web developers
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=618220
Stability and Speed. BFS makes for a faster ROM, but Wes himself has said that there is an issue with memory leakage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wes himself uses BFS+Ramhack, according to his signature
OpenVPN
Please add that OpenVPN works out of the box in Cyanogen ROM, just install Tunneldroid or openvpnGUI.
In Dwang, it could support it, but you need to overwrite some libraries and add openssl and crypto libraries, thou Dwang rom has TUN built into the kernel.
I have not tried OpenVPN on super-D or WG.
Hi,
I Have searched this forum and saw that there are plenty of rom's made by different people. There are too many to choose from, i wanted to be suggested some nice stable rom's..other than the ones made by CyanogenMod.
Thanks.
Well you're right there are definitely a lot of ROMs especially for the nexus one cyanogen is definitely the most popular but another one that I like is miui you can also check out ROMs made by micromod for example desire port super hybrid but the best way to chose would be to just read around and find a good one you like.
masantula said:
Hi,
I Have searched this forum and saw that there are plenty of rom's made by different people. There are too many to choose from, i wanted to be suggested some nice stable rom's..other than the ones made by CyanogenMod.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The beauty of of having a rooted phone is trying out all the ROMs. With Amon or Clockwork, it's easy to backup your phone and then switch to a different ROM and see how you like it. If the new one doesn't suit your needs, you can restore back to the previous one and then start looking into trying out another ROM.
Here are my quick reviews on all the ROM's I've tried out so far.
Cyanogen: Most stable of any ROM I've ever tested, even the nightlies are stable. Not as visually appealing as others, but lots's of under the hood tweaking. You can always make it look pretty with other apps and add-ons.
Any of the Sense ROMs: Nice looking, some cool widgets that give you access to things like Facebook, twitter, SMS/MMS, email and scroll able contacts list right on the main screen. These ROMs are large though, they will eat up a lot of storage memory just being installed, and that's before you've installed any of your own apps. None have been as stable as Cyanogen for me yet though.
Any MIUI: If you've ever used an iOS device and noticed how smooth the screens scroll and transition from one to the other, MIUI come close to that smoothness, but so far for me, even less stable than Sense. Lot's of customization options available though.
For me, after having tested out all the ROM's that I have, I always end up going back to Cyanogen. Sure it's not as visually appealing as Sense or MIUI, but it's stability and frequency of updates (if you use the nightlies) more than makes up for that, IMHO. One thing about the Android platform that is great, is than you can always add more visual flare to a boring interface using market app and apps that you'll find here on XDA. My best advice though is test them all out yourself, not everyone likes the same things, and you have to test them for yourself to see what works for you.
garfnodie said:
The beauty of of having a rooted phone is trying out all the ROMs. With Amon or Clockwork, it's easy to backup your phone and then switch to a different ROM and see how you like it. If the new one doesn't suit your needs, you can restore back to the previous one and then start looking into trying out another ROM.
Here are my quick reviews on all the ROM's I've tried out so far.
Cyanogen: Most stable of any ROM I've ever tested, even the nightlies are stable. Not as visually appealing as others, but lots's of under the hood tweaking. You can always make it look pretty with other apps and add-ons.
Any of the Sense ROMs: Nice looking, some cool widgets that give you access to things like Facebook, twitter, SMS/MMS, email and scroll able contacts list right on the main screen. These ROMs are large though, they will eat up a lot of storage memory just being installed, and that's before you've installed any of your own apps. None have been as stable as Cyanogen for me yet though.
Any MIUI: If you've ever used an iOS device and noticed how smooth the screens scroll and transition from one to the other, MIUI come close to that smoothness, but so far for me, even less stable than Sense. Lot's of customization options available though.
For me, after having tested out all the ROM's that I have, I always end up going back to Cyanogen. Sure it's not as visually appealing as Sense or MIUI, but it's stability and frequency of updates (if you use the nightlies) more than makes up for that, IMHO. One thing about the Android platform that is great, is than you can always add more visual flare to a boring interface using market app and apps that you'll find here on XDA. My best advice though is test them all out yourself, not everyone likes the same things, and you have to test them for yourself to see what works for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks you so much for the great advice, i now have the confidence to try other roms and see what best suites me.
Thanks for all the input from everybody else
I figured since people ask a lot about which ROMs are better than others, this could help them figure out which ROMs have what they want. Not all of these are offered on our matrix HDs, but it's still pretty interesting.
Compliments to user nimrodity (and others who put info in it) for this giant database of the most popular ROMs and their features compared side by side. Database 2.0