home replacements, all slower than stock? - Nexus One Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Just wondering if all home replacements will be a bit slower than the standard launcher. Home++ is pretty minimal and snappy but I still see a very minor speed difference. Is this the program or will the structure of Android will always have replacements run slower?

When I used Home++, I found it faster than stock, actually. GDE and OpenHome sucked ginormous dongs, though, and PandaHome just looks horrible.

Huh. I've been using GDE for the past two weeks or so, and have found it to be basically the same speed as stock. Can't recall which others I tried, but some didn't support live wallpapers, some didn't have a dedicated phone button across all home screens, and some just seemed expensive (at least as far as themes were concerned).
I also dug that I could increase / reduce the amount of home screens. Since I don't need more than three (two devoted to widgets, one with several app docks), I set mine to four, one blank for live wallpaper enjoyment.
However, mileage apparently varies, given the comment above mine. Don't know why the same app would run at different speeds on the same machine...

I tried GDE a long time ago, so it was probably an earlier version. It laaaaagggged like anything, though I liked the 3D cubic thing.

Related

Some help deciding. PLEASE

Ok I have the hero, but I'm thinking about returning it to get the moment. What do you all think? I know the specs on both phones already, the only reason I would want the moment is because,
1. Hardware keyboard, I've always had one and I like them
2. The screen
3. The actual phone part of the phone isn't laggy.
4. Something new, I've always had HTC's.
now why I don't want to get rid of my hero,
1. I love xda-developers... People here are so nice and knowledgeable.
2. I love xda-developers... People here are so nice and knowledgeable.
3. I love xda-developers... People here are so nice and knowledgeable.
So, What percent of you think that xda will give the moment a part of the forum? and do you think i should stick with the hero, or move to the moment?
Hero to Moment back to hero
I bought the Hero when it came out Oct 11, I traded it for the Samsung Moment on Nov 1 as I was excited about the keyboard, processor, ans the idea of vanilla android (which is easy to dress up if you want to with home replacements) instead of HTC's usual memory hogging overlays.
I returned the moment yesterday.... Didn't even make it a day.
In spite of the faster processor and Advanced Task Killer, it was sluggish compared to the Hero. The cell reception and Internet connection was terrible!!!!! While the Hero was a major improvement over the Touch Pro. Also the browser was slower, and when I previewed a PDF file from gmail the pdf viewer in gmail was unbearably slow. (I realize eventually it will be rooted and things will change, but the hardware is cheap, keyboard is poor.
I found this phone to be more of a disappointment than the Mogul... and that says alot...
Now we need to root the hero.... LOL
Stick with your hero...
I've heard the same complaints as frazmanw about the moment, which is why I'm keeping my Hero. I've had a phone with a keyboard all the way back to the Cingular HTC Wizard and Treo 600. In fact, I don't think I've EVER had a smartphone that didn't have a hardware keyboard. I must say though that I'm getting used to the OSK on the Hero. This I thought was a dealbraker too, but have since lightened up on that.
Not only do folks say the phone is sluggish in general, but that the screen isn't as responsive as you would expect for a capacitive screen either, taking harder screen presses to make it function properly. The reviewer also said that there wasn't a way to calibrate it either, leaving you "stuck" with its performance.
In my opinion, the reason that the Hero can feel sluggish at times is due to the amount of processes running from the Sense UI, with widgets, open applications, etc. Those four extra screens of widgets and apps can mean a lot more memory usage indeed. If you turned off Sense UI and ran vanilla android, I bet its performance would dwarf the moment. Not to mention the Moment has 256 MB of RAM to the Hero's 288MB.
The moment is supposed to have a dedicated graphics rendering chip inside of it, and this made me think that it might possibly run like a striped ape, but it seems it falls short.
The optical mouse also got some poor marks, not sure how frazmanw felt about his when he had it.
Finally, phone build. The Hero is an exceptionally built phone as far as the feel of it. It's solid. I've had the Samsung in my hand, and while it wasn't mine, it didn't feel like a well built phone, either. It didn't even feel as well built as the Mogul, and I despise that phone to my very core.
Finally #2 - The Hero has been announced to receive the Android 2.0 upgrade, at least relatively soon. To my knowledge, other than the Verizon Droid shipping with it, is the only phone that will have 2.0 soon. I think the hardware is solid enough on the Hero that some of the bugs will get worked out as the OS matures.
For those of you that had the Mogul or the Touch Pro, how much better did your phone get after it was unlocked with custom ROMs? For me, EXPONENTIALLY better. Made it feel like a completely different phone. I think we can expect similar with the Hero.
In short, keep your Hero!!!!!!
(At least until Sprint has a snapdragon phone next year)
EDIT: Here's a review from PCWorld that points out the items frazmanw and I spoke about:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/324318/review/moment.html
Thanks
Well, I think you have me convinced then. I will stick with my hero... Thanks
my dad just bought a the moment nov 1, and although the screen is a lot more crisp. it stops there. htc has incorporated a lot of their own features into the hero, that the moment lacks. the contact card, widgets, and turning the phone over to silence a call( not a decision maker, but really nifty) the moment is a good phone, but its just too basic of an android phone for me.
Wow. I got the Moment on Nov 1 after trading in a really crappy HTC Touch Pro. It is undoubtedly the best phone I have ever had. All of the issues you three mentioned I have not experienced with this phone. Web browsing was much faster than what I got from the TP, no interface issues; all the screens moved fluidly, and even battery life was acceptable, especially for a phone with one of the fastest processors. Even more surprising is I read nothing but these same complaints about the Hero on other forums.
Needless to say I have no regrets about the Moment and hopefully will never have to hold another HTC product again - the TP was enough to convince me to stay away from anything HTC. Trading in a phone 3 times because of keyboard failures is enough to piss anyone off, and all that whiz bang interface overlaid onto MS Winblows just slowed down an already slow phone.
I thought I was going to get the Hero then trade for the Moment...But I am loving the Hero and just waiting patiently for people to mod the phone...Its only been out for about a month so lets just give it some time...
I bought the Moment November 1st and was amazed at how fast it was. The screens were fluid and it NEVER lagged except in my long contacts list and some web sites.
Battery life, microphone, gps, and signal problems made me return it for a replacement. They didn't have the Moment in stock so I decided to get a Hero temporarily.
As soon as I turned it on I noticed how laggy and slow the phone was. Camera quality is great, I love the Sense UI improvements, and it feels very polished but I just can't stand the sluggishness of EVERYTHING on the phone. Especially they keyboard. I text a lot and I can't stand pressing the OSK buttons 45 letters ahead of what shows up.
As soon as I get the time, I'll go back and get myself a Moment. It's too bad I might not get the 2.0 update, but what isn't in official updates will eventually come out from someone here hopefully.
arashed31 said:
I bought the Moment November 1st and was amazed at how fast it was. The screens were fluid and it NEVER lagged except in my long contacts list and some web sites.
Battery life, microphone, gps, and signal problems made me return it for a replacement. They didn't have the Moment in stock so I decided to get a Hero temporarily.
As soon as I turned it on I noticed how laggy and slow the phone was. Camera quality is great, I love the Sense UI improvements, and it feels very polished but I just can't stand the sluggishness of EVERYTHING on the phone. Especially they keyboard. I text a lot and I can't stand pressing the OSK buttons 45 letters ahead of what shows up.
As soon as I get the time, I'll go back and get myself a Moment. It's too bad I might not get the 2.0 update, but what isn't in official updates will eventually come out from someone here hopefully.
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Click to collapse
Well, for one thing, the phone is laggy at startup because Sense UI has TONS of apps that are starting up. The longer you leave it be, the smoother it becomes. If you're patient, you'll be surprised at how lag-free it really is.
Also, HTC doesn't recommend that you use any type of task killer that automatically kills processes. What will happen is an endless loop of apps restarting, and it will feel like a laggy phone.
Android has good memory management, and apps will auto-close after inactivity or if memory requests it. Just want to make sure you're not seeing the phone as "laggy" because apps are starting up. Just sayin.
I for one am very excited about this phone
2.0 soon, updated sense (hopefully) and the source code just released
I cant wait to see this thing after a few modifications like Apps2sd and linux-swap
wasupwithuman brings up an interesting question. Will the Samsung Moment have a seperate forum? And if not, does anybody know of a good forum like xda-developers for all Android phones?

itching thumb for those that think web os is better than android

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USEUskdYcsI
this isnt the first ive seen like this but its probably the best looking.
I used it, very crashy. Needs stability, and ability to be launched by long press of search. Psuedo home replacements like this are annoying, as that seems to make your real launcher fully close, and have to be relaunched far more often.
There is another app in the market similar to this its called TaskOS. I tried it and didn't like it. It seemed to lag really bad even with Voodoo.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/taskos/com.profete162.TaskOS
This will be good once the bugs are worked out.
Sent from my Captivate

Do You Like Your HD7? (And should I get one?)

Hi guys, I currently own a G2 (That I love) and you can see my device history in my sig, which clearly states that I'm an android fan.
However, I always love to try new things, and I'm really liking the simplicity of WP7 as well as the Zune music player.
So I was thinking, the HD7 is damn cheap on eBay right now, why not get one?
Please leave below why I should or should not get an HD7 to use along side my G2 (not at the same time of course).
Thanks!
(this thread is meant to be a reference for future buyers as well, so be critical!)
I am a Android user since the G1 as well. Since 2008: G1, MT3G, iPhone, HD2, Nexus One, HD2 (again) running Android, BB9700, Vibrant, MT4G now a HD7. So you can see we have similar experience.
That being said the HD7 is far better than any Android in the refinement/smoothness/response of the OS. As soon as you leave the native OS however that goes away. I have not found one app from the market that performs like the rest of the phone does. The market apps are slow, gittery and at this point not the most rewarding experience.
I am confident issues like these will improve with time; I am sure you remember looking at a black screen on the G1 alot of the time.
WP7 is a breeze to use and I actually like it. The keyboard is the best I have used period. WP7 is missing alot of key features but for a brand new OS that has been out only a couple months it is pretty good, much better than Android was in Oct 2008, remember waiting for "Cupcake"?
WP7 is due for a couple updates in the first half of 2011, I anticipate some major improvements if Microsoft plans of capturing market share.
So to answer your question should you get one? I would, thats exactly what I did. The Zune integration is great and if you like games XBOX is all over this phone. WP7 is Microsoft's iOS, it has its own eco system which makes for a nice experience.
i really really want to buy hd7 but i really really want atleast the ability to transfer photos by bluetooth... rest of the cons can be neglected as far as i am concerned. but i will wait for new devices and updates to the software. currently it can be said that hd7 is not the very best of the lot. its better to wait. rest depends from person to person
Love my HD7 too. Though I must admit I also miss my HD2
Looks pretty positive. Polar opposites of what the reviewers said.
I think WP7 has potential. I remember on the G1 how ridiculously awful every application was.
It will be great with an update.
I have been with t mobile for years. I have used a iphone, a g1, nexus one, hd2, and now on the hd7. I miss some things like, copy and paste, custom ringtones, and tethering, but I like the user interface better than anything I have used so far. I think an update, which is rumored to be hitting next month (1/11), would hopefully bring some of these things to the software and that will really make this phone tops in its class.
hiddengopher said:
Hi guys, I currently own a G2 (That I love) and you can see my device history in my sig, which clearly states that I'm an android fan.
However, I always love to try new things, and I'm really liking the simplicity of WP7 as well as the Zune music player.
So I was thinking, the HD7 is damn cheap on eBay right now, why not get one?
Please leave below why I should or should not get an HD7 to use along side my G2 (not at the same time of course).
Thanks!
(this thread is meant to be a reference for future buyers as well, so be critical!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really like the phone. The OS makes it feel like an "adult" phone to me. I am coming from an iPhone 4 and Samsung Vibrant. I also like the aesthetics of the phone as well, although I am trying to see if I could ever get a peek at the Dell Venue Pro in person...
The only things I am missing are: Wifi calling and tethering.
Annoyances are: lack of skype, lack of twitter integration in the People hub, and inability to sync multiple Google Calendars.
However, I am more than happy to work around those things and I am enjoying the phone immensely. I am getting poor battery life, but I think that's because it's fresh eye candy and I'm playing with the phone alot.
Also, the Zune Pass saved me from buying two trashy albums already!!!
anyjah said:
I really like the phone. The OS makes it feel like an "adult" phone to me. I am coming from an iPhone 4 and Samsung Vibrant. I also like the aesthetics of the phone as well, although I am trying to see if I could ever get a peek at the Dell Venue Pro in person...
The only things I am missing are: Wifi calling and tethering.
Annoyances are: lack of skype, lack of twitter integration in the People hub, and inability to sync multiple Google Calendars.
However, I am more than happy to work around those things and I am enjoying the phone immensely. I am getting poor battery life, but I think that's because it's fresh eye candy and I'm playing with the phone alot.
Also, the Zune Pass saved me from buying two trashy albums already!!!
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Click to collapse
Wow, sounds awesome, as I don't use those things.
The Venue Pro is a POS by the way. I used one at my Microsoft store and it was just terrible. It really felt like plastic. I'm sure you know what I mean if you're coming from a vibrant.
The hinge was pretty bad too. And the keyboard wasn't very nice. Plus, it looks awkward as hell.
Similar thread with poll already exist
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9353155&postcount=1
I really like my hd7 and windows phone 7 because it fits my needs and daily usage. I mean yeah, it lacks a few things such as copy and paste, tethering and multitasking but what a lot of people don't understand that this a fresh, brand new operating system still in its infancy and with Microsoft's big updates coming next month and etc, I think that wp7 will give Android and IOS a run for its money. As for my personal opinion, my hd7 is fast and I can't wait for the upcoming update. Plus everything works out of the box. The email syncing is great, Facebook integration is amazing and the marketplace is really evolving. I have all the apps I really need and they were free.
The hd7 itself feels really sturdy and has a great build quality to it. I don't really care for the camera because I have my canon 5d mark II for that.
hiddengopher said:
Wow, sounds awesome, as I don't use those things.
The Venue Pro is a POS by the way. I used one at my Microsoft store and it was just terrible. It really felt like plastic. I'm sure you know what I mean if you're coming from a vibrant.
The hinge was pretty bad too. And the keyboard wasn't very nice. Plus, it looks awkward as hell.
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Click to collapse
*lol* Thanks for the input... I've read differently in the reviews, but if it's anything close to the Vibrant, you're right, I want NO part of it... The RAM controversy with it is driving me away also... so we'll see.....
alesscam said:
Similar thread with poll already exist
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9353155&postcount=1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not similar at all. sorry.
i think the phone is worth it. I prefer it to android and ios simply because it is more visually elegant. the one thing that i really appreciate is the integration. All i did was log into gmail, facebook and live and the phone combined all my contacts correctly. there were a dozen names i had to manually set but that was due to them appearing as different contacts (i.e. different names and details).
There are a lot missing but what is there is delightful.
3rd party apps are hit and miss. Alot are not as elegant but some, like nyt app, are really elegant. my initial fear that most developers would not understand the design convention and principles seem to have been true; so far. Metro UI/design is much more abstract than the android/ios designs; which tend to be much more literal.
If you are into taking pictures with your phone, this phone is not the phone for you. If you can deal with blurry pictures it is a great phone
I miss Android only for it's amount of apps but this phone is the best to me on tmobile
What it lacks in functionality it makes up twice as more in User experience
and once it's functionality is onpar with Android, it will be even better
HTC HD7
hey guys just placed my order for it.. should be in my hands in a couple of days.. really excited cos its my first windows phone rather than the a wp7 for that matter. i have been using a galaxy s from the past 4 months and got fed up of delayed updates.. and the whole fragmented system.. The metro UI although new looks more mature and more like one piece. Was actually waiting for a UI overhaul in Gingerbread but seems like that will appear in honeycomb.. but that still is no match fr WP7.. Btw i know this is a bit off topic but have any off you guys have any problems with the touch sensitivity of the screen of the HD7?
spankyu said:
hey guys just placed my order for it.. should be in my hands in a couple of days.. really excited cos its my first windows phone rather than the a wp7 for that matter. i have been using a galaxy s from the past 4 months and got fed up of delayed updates.. and the whole fragmented system.. The metro UI although new looks more mature and more like one piece. Was actually waiting for a UI overhaul in Gingerbread but seems like that will appear in honeycomb.. but that still is no match fr WP7.. Btw i know this is a bit off topic but have any off you guys have any problems with the touch sensitivity of the screen of the HD7?
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I have a problem with the program 'moBudget' in which there is a tiny 8pt font link that I have trouble getting to... But other than that, I haven't noticed many problems; although, I am certain I've had to double tap somethings since I have had the phone. Overall, probably 8/10...
anyjah said:
I have a problem with the program 'moBudget' in which there is a tiny 8pt font link that I have trouble getting to... But other than that, I haven't noticed many problems; although, I am certain I've had to double tap somethings since I have had the phone. Overall, probably 8/10...
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Click to collapse
Cool thanks. hope all goes good with piece that i ordered
I posted this on another board a few days ago... Comparing a Desire HD to a HD7
Bought a Desire HD yesterday (£240 brand new from CEX - traded some stuff in) seems pretty nice, seems like an improvement over the Desire - some nice little tweaks across the whole Sense experiance.
Strangely my problem is not with the Desire HD itself, its with Andriod. Last month I had a WP7 - HD7 land in my lap. They are pretty much the same unit (except for the camera) same form factor with some different button placement. In recent months i've been taking a step back from my whole "Smartphone" experinence. Re evaluating what i use it for and how i use it.
Essentials:
PIM functions (calendar, mail etc)
A bit of Gaming
Access to the news (tech, local, National, International, Gaming, entertainment etc)
Music & Media
As long as i have those i'm happy. Its all well and good having 1,000,000 apps but if you only use 5 its pretty pointless. So what you need to know is do they have the ones you want?
My first impression of the DHD was what the hell did HTC do with the cover at the back? It doesn't fit properly. Its not flush at the sides - the Engadget review mentions it too so its not just my example. Seems a shame that after designing a beautiful flagship device you let it down with something so minor. Other than that though its pretty nice.
Once i turned it on i was impressed by the speed - how quick does this baby boot!! However, after that my problems returned. Problems might be the wrong word here, what struck me was the complexity of the Robot after a almost a month with WP7. Andriod feels bloated and fat and the handset can be a little sluggish at times which concidering the speed of the CPU is a disappointment. It took me a while to get it setup as i like it, so its now almost a a carbon copy of my old Desire (only its not rooted yet). WP7 "Metro UI" is like a breath of fresh air compared to Andriod. After all Andriod is pretty much iOS (minus the widgets) 4x4 icons across several screens with app icons to press. Granted the intergation of the OS is much more pronounced than iOS which is just an app launcher at the end day and works in Andriods favour, however it can make it an unweldy beast to setup. Metro works on an almost 3D layed effect using different images that scroll at different speeds. Its hard to explain you have ot se it. the IMDb app is beautiful to look at and looks better than any other version odf it i've seen. There is a lot of potential in "Metro". I will offer a word of caution though. It can have the habit of chopping of the end of words in some menus, your eiher going to like this or hate it.
WP7 is a breeze to setup but thats because there isn't much to setup. Instead of the usual "4x4" arrangment and screens that move left to right (or vice versa) WP7 opts for a vertical menu that is as long as you want it to be. instead of icons they arte callled "tiles" and some of them are "live tiles". This means that they constntly update with info. For example, if you place a contact tile on ou homescreen it will show a picture of them and their latest facebook update. You can add tiles for apps, contacts, albums, artists. Its a very nice way of doing things slightly differently from iOS and Andriod.
The one thing that Andriod does very badly is Music, yes it has lots of good music players but syncing music/podcasts etc is a pain compered to the iPhone. WP7 doesn't have this problem as it uses "Zune" and the streaming music service and it is lovely, very easy to use and very fast and is present across my whole network. The intergration with my PC, existing music collection and my Xbox 360 is pretty seemless. Andriod cant compete with that i'm afriad. I'd even go as far to say that anyone using a Windows PC would benefit from this over using iTunes and an iPhone 4. iTunes was always a dog on a PC. Zune is a very competent peice of software. It's fast and very easy to use, is fully featured and easily ass good at iTunes in terms of functionality.
It would be unfair not to mention "GAMING". The "Xbox Live" brand will have this one nailed in a very short space of time. The games i have so far are excellent, yes some of them have cost me money but hey you get what you pay for. Its been a buzz to get "Achievements" on the train on the way to work. Andriod is hampered by the broad tech base of the handsets - different resolutions etc.
So App stores? the Andriod market is dauting place i think most of us would agree it has a lot of diamonds in the rough and a lot of rubbish apps but i guess thats the nature of "open source". But it has most of the things you want. The WP7 "marketplace" is growing at around 150 apps a day and i have to say some of them are pretty impressive. Because M$ have choosen to follow apple with the walled garden approach the quality of the apps is very good. Its still got a very long way to go but what i've seen so far the quality will be threre
WP7 has a number of week spots mostly around calendars and PIM fuctions that are not good as Andriod, but that said i am a "Google" user I was disappointed to find out that the calendar cant handle multiple calendars (i had 11 different ones covering different aspects of my life) I'm sure they will fix this an fure updates as "outlook" calendars already work. I'm not sure if i will keep the DHD at this stage as i'm missing the simplicity of WP7 and its intergration with my home network/PC and xbox live. Its a very nice device but im not sure, i think M$ may have just won me back.
Before it came out i was very dismissive of WP7 "why are M$ bothering" "it will be rubbish". I was wrong, very wrong. Botton line, this is the best OS first release of an OS I've seen. It feels far more complete than either early Andriod or iPhone releases. Its an excellent effort. However, it still go some way to go before it catches up with iOS or the Robot. It will be one to watch in the coming years, be real interesting to see what its like in a couple of years.
I think discusing the hardware is a bit of moot point but if i had to pick, i'd like WP7 on the DHD hardware - the DHD is without doubt one of the finest peices of hardware i've ever used, its beautiful, i can see why DHD owners are so happy with it.
I predicted sometime ago that Andriod WILL be the dominant phone OS and see no reason to change that prediction. Wheather WP7 can catch up to iOS is hugely debatable going forward but this is a very solid start and i am totally smitten with it, there is a lot to love and even more to like. It nice to know that i will never have to install iTunes again as i have TWO solid choices for smartphone OS other than the dreaded fruit mobile and the guy with only one set of clothes.
I dont think its the finished article by a long way. But it really does show great promise. Indeed, right now i have HD7 and DHD on my desk and my chosen daily phone is the WP7 device. In many areas nowhere near as good as Andriod but I can overlook them because i just love how it works, it feels light and nimble to use. I dont want anyone to think i have a downer on the DHD or Andriod I love them both. But right now its WP7 thats floating my boat. Its going to be interesting to watch it develop in the coming years.
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Click to collapse
Im in the same boat. Im a big Android guy but I love the look and feel of WP7. Every time i pass by the tmobile store i stop in and play with the HD7. Just saw one on craigslist for a good price, think i might finally dive in.
MvP77 said:
Im in the same boat. Im a big Android guy but I love the look and feel of WP7. Every time i pass by the tmobile store i stop in and play with the HD7. Just saw one on craigslist for a good price, think i might finally dive in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same...my G2 is great but WP7 is so sexy

[Q] Who came from Android and why?

Ive been seriously looking at the WP7 series and I'm curious to hear from real-world users who have been in the same boat as me. I've been an Android person for the past year now and as much as I like Android, I like to keep my options open too!
So tell me - why did YOU switch from Android to WP7 and would you do it again if you had the chance ?
I've been playing with WP7, mostly to see what "the other side" has been up to. I've had WinCE devices going back to the 1.x days, and always loved it, but trying to cram a desktop OS into a hand-held device always seemed awkward.
I got an iPhone and loved it for a couple of years, but got handed a G1 and fell in love with the potential that Android represented. It wasn't quite "there" yet, so I switched back and forth from Android to iOS and back for a good year before settling full-time with Android on my Nexus One.
Now I've got a Nexus-S and I love it, but I was able to play with a WP7 device in the form of the HD7, and I really like it, however...
Coming from Android, Google's services, search, GMail, and Maps, are so much better in ability than Bing, Hotmail, and Bing Maps that I missed my Nexus S. I love the user-interface of WP7, and hope that it evolves a bit more.
WP7's approach to real-time usability is great. Apps are smooth and clean, and much less jerky than Android apps seem to be at times. The OS seems well suited to doing one thing at a time, really well. I wish Android was better at maintaining higher priority for foreground apps, instead of making things choppy with garbage-collection.
If you have a chance to wait until the January (now February) update happens, I would. Things could get much better for WP7 very soon, but who knows? I'm keeping my options open.
the biggest disappointment is in Bing and Zune services. Since their not available in Ireland. The prolonged wait for update kinda adds up too
Though otherwise than that its all ok
I had a HD2 with Android and reason why i sold it because once i played with WP7 i felt that Androids UI was so boring.
Games on WP7 are much better too than Android. Alot of devs from iPhone have hopped aboard.
Anyone else? This is good stuff! Keep it coming!
I still use my android from day to day. They se the best overall in terms of a combination of things such as features and useability. Tho WP7 has a slick UI its missing things like the gmail intergration and Google maps, but it has a music client that's not as good as iTunes. Then there is iOS, its great, easy to use, simple, and reliable, at the end of the day that's what makes IOS sell, just like variety is what makes android sell. For WP7 to catch up they need to release a groundbreaker, something that blows the competition away spec wise. I played with a Samsung WP7 At att the other day while stopping in to see an old friend, windows on a phone has came a long way since WinMo6.5. I will say that. It just depends on what u want at the end of the day
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
I think you should check this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=900747
i move to wp7, because i simple hates its lag and UI..
I've been an Android user since the G1 days and this may sound stupid, but the main reasons i switched is because Android is FAR too customizable. To some, that can be a bad thing. I found myself changing themes, layouts, icon sets, etc.. way more than i should, which took up far too much time in my day. I never really had a feeling of satisfaction with Android. Thats the first thing. The second thing is the force closures and the occasional lag (I came from a G2 so it definitely wasn't my device) Android is an awesome platform, however, I still feel like its something Google just slapped together, even if thats not the case. the third thing is its lack of consistency. like i said earlier, i customized my ROMs a lot. My home screens, icon sets, fonts, and launcher theme all were consistent. Then when you open an app (the dialer for example) its a whole different look. This may not bother some people but it bothered me quite a bit and im sure im not the only one. Im not saying WP7 is perfect because its far from that. BUT i love the consistency throughout the platform, even when you download apps from the market, most of them seem to follow that metro UI interface. the fact that its customization is limited to tile placement and color gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing that there is no other way you could have it, which means less time trying to get it the way you want it. I also love the smoothness as well. the fact that it does not support multi tasking has yet to bother me as I never really do more than one thing on my phone anyway. I am, however, frustrated with the lack of copy/paste (which will be fixed soon) and lets not forget the dreadful marketplace which locks up randomly causing users to reboot. I also am disappointed in Bing maps. i would much rather prefer to use Google maps. its just easier. The only thing i can truly say i miss from Android is the WIFI calling. I spend most of my time in my basement. I hardly get signal except for one corner. at the end of the day, i am happier with WP7 because of its simplicity, performance, and ease of use as well as its "polished" feel.
Nissan350 said:
I've been an Android user since the G1 days and this may sound stupid, but the main reasons i switched is because Android is FAR too customizable. To some, that can be a bad thing. I found myself changing themes, layouts, icon sets, etc.. way more than i should, which took up far too much time in my day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad I am not the only one who actually finds that Android is TOO customizable. I find myself spending hours each day fiddling with it!
JWhipple said:
I'm glad I am not the only one who actually finds that Android is TOO customizable. I find myself spending hours each day fiddling with it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, I'm glad you can see where I'm coming from
irispen said:
I think you should check this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=900747
i move to wp7, because i simple hates its lag and UI..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me same like u.been use nexus one for a year.tired about android.but maybe will switch back to android again who know..
Nissan350 said:
...the third thing is its lack of consistency. like i said earlier, i customized my ROMs a lot. My home screens, icon sets, fonts, and launcher theme all were consistent. Then when you open an app (the dialer for example) its a whole different look. This may not bother some people but it bothered me quite a bit and im sure im not the only one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, this is not directed toward you at all, but all of this sounds very familiar and it kinda explains a lot about what people's issues MIGHT be with WP7.
Everything you said is Windows Mobile all over again, and that is not a bad thing at all. I loved WM, and it's versatility IMO were what made it so great. So much about Android screams WM to me.
I come to these forums and I see people crying like little girls over and over about what WP7 doesn't do, have, etc and it just makes me feel like they want a super updated WM device. They want the absolute best of the best that WM has to offer... but they want it out of WP7. I see their issues, but this is a completely different device all together, and to ask it to be WM is kinda ignorant. So to those people I think they should run to Android and call it a day.
While I'm on this rant (and hella off-topic) I see a lot of short term memories when people start to cying about WP. It doesn't have this, and that like Android and ios. Wait a minute... everything you want, and they FINALLY have has been in WM for YEARS. None of this started with the new-booty competition. If MS didn't let me down with WM I doubt I'll be let down by WP7.. and so far I'm about as happy as I can be with a mobile device.
Once again, not directed toward you specifically, but you brought up some things that I've been thinking about.
Truer Words.
Sean D. said:
Okay, this is not directed toward you at all, but all of this sounds very familiar and it kinda explains a lot about what people's issues MIGHT be with WP7.
Everything you said is Windows Mobile all over again, and that is not a bad thing at all. I loved WM, and it's versatility IMO were what made it so great. So much about Android screams WM to me.
I come to these forums and I see people crying like little girls over and over about what WP7 doesn't do, have, etc and it just makes me feel like they want a super updated WM device. They want the absolute best of the best that WM has to offer... but they want it out of WP7. I see their issues, but this is a completely different device all together, and to ask it to be WM is kinda ignorant. So to those people I think they should run to Android and call it a day.
While I'm on this rant (and hella off-topic) I see a lot of short term memories when people start to cying about WP. It doesn't have this, and that like Android and ios. Wait a minute... everything you want, and they FINALLY have has been in WM for YEARS. None of this started with the new-booty competition. If MS didn't let me down with WM I doubt I'll be let down by WP7.. and so far I'm about as happy as I can be with a mobile device.
Once again, not directed toward you specifically, but you brought up some things that I've been thinking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good points. I'm very happy with WP7 and it feels great to be off Android. The platform is still in its infancy and there is not a doubt in my mind that it will evolve and become even better than it already is. Of course, the evolution would just be added pluses.
Nissan350 said:
I've been an Android user since the G1 days and this may sound stupid, but the main reasons i switched is because Android is FAR too customizable. To some, that can be a bad thing. I found myself changing themes, layouts, icon sets, etc.. way more than i should, which took up far too much time in my day. I never really had a feeling of satisfaction with Android. Thats the first thing. The second thing is the force closures and the occasional lag (I came from a G2 so it definitely wasn't my device) Android is an awesome platform, however, I still feel like its something Google just slapped together, even if thats not the case. the third thing is its lack of consistency. like i said earlier, i customized my ROMs a lot. My home screens, icon sets, fonts, and launcher theme all were consistent. Then when you open an app (the dialer for example) its a whole different look. This may not bother some people but it bothered me quite a bit and im sure im not the only one. Im not saying WP7 is perfect because its far from that. BUT i love the consistency throughout the platform, even when you download apps from the market, most of them seem to follow that metro UI interface. the fact that its customization is limited to tile placement and color gives me a sense of satisfaction knowing that there is no other way you could have it, which means less time trying to get it the way you want it. I also love the smoothness as well. the fact that it does not support multi tasking has yet to bother me as I never really do more than one thing on my phone anyway. I am, however, frustrated with the lack of copy/paste (which will be fixed soon) and lets not forget the dreadful marketplace which locks up randomly causing users to reboot. I also am disappointed in Bing maps. i would much rather prefer to use Google maps. its just easier. The only thing i can truly say i miss from Android is the WIFI calling. I spend most of my time in my basement. I hardly get signal except for one corner. at the end of the day, i am happier with WP7 because of its simplicity, performance, and ease of use as well as its "polished" feel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
couldnt have said it better myself
what ticked me off about android was the overall inconsistancy in both looks and performance, and until now that i own a wp7 device, i never understood by what ios and webos users said when they called it "clunky". now if i see what i saw in the honeycomb demo come in some way or form to smartphones (awesome graphical interface, ease of multitasking, and overall polish and consistantcy) i will come back in no time. but untill then, thanks to the mess that is software updates for android. the only one i would consider is a nexus device, and i dont plan on jumping through hoops to get one till i see the update and basic overhaul it needs. im perfectly happy with my hd7
JWhipple said:
Ive been seriously looking at the WP7 series and I'm curious to hear from real-world users who have been in the same boat as me. I've been an Android person for the past year now and as much as I like Android, I like to keep my options open too!
So tell me - why did YOU switch from Android to WP7 and would you do it again if you had the chance ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been using Android for almost a year now..through work I'm getting newer Android and newer WP7 devices. It started with the Desire Z (G2) and the LG Optimus Quantum.
I don't care how pretty your OS is, there's no love for that phone. It's a piece of crap regular phone loaded with a smartphone OS. Absolute trash, my SIM sat in it for a day, and sadly because of the lack of usability on the device (size, build, LG..) I couldn't give WP7 a fair chance.
However, recently got the HD7 and a certain dual core device, and I can't make a decision. I personally love customization, so Android is literally endless and fresh to me. However, I'm a huge Hotmail supporter (GMail isn't that great, there's a reason Hotmail is still number 1 webmail worldwide..) and firmly believe the Email application built into WP7 (the Hotmail one) looks better, works better, and - for me - is better than the GMail app ever will be. It looks slick, it works well, it's pretty, etc.
With the HD7, it's actually a device that can showboat the features of the OS - however, there's only like..two. Office, and these boring tiles. Yes, it's simple, yes, it's easy, if I wanted that, I'd use a laptop and a normal phone. I want complicated, I want to be able to do everything, which is why I still use Android. At the same time, there's something refreshing about WP7 and the simplicity, but I find entirely too often I go to do something, grab the HD7, find it's not available or built in, sigh, and pull out my Android device.
Another huge slam on WP7 is this micro SD bull****. I can drag and drop anything on any Android device, you're telling me it's that hard to let people use external storage?
No, because I use a Macbook (primary booting OS X) with W7, I'm forced to use W7 because there's one incredibly ****ty option for Mac syncing. I'd rather have a cluttered ass SD card with dragged files than EVER use WMP as my "media hub" or whatever. I don't use iPhoto. I use iTunes for organization, but that's it. However, if I want ANYTHING on my WP7 device, I'm forced to use these stupid Apple applications (and a beta app from Microsoft) I deleted because of massive bloat just to transfer stuff? Ridiculous. Build a frigging mount into it or let us use SD cards.
Sorry. That's a massive, massive frustration for me.
Anyways, that's my take. Android and WP7 are not on the same level. I see WP7 as a high end regular phone, and Android as an actual smartphone. I'm sure this opinion could change depending on the expansion of the OS and the Marketplace, but right now, the OS is way too young and has a serious "polished, but unfinished" feel to it. WP7 could be good and I could use it regularly..in a few years. Not now. I'm going to continue giving WP7 a try, as there are things that are impressing me.
For example, Bing Maps is definitely not as feature rich as Google Maps, but holy hell does it lock well. GMaps is only good if you can get a damn GPS lock, and people can say "oh, it's usually fine" but after a year I have to yet to see the GPS work nearly as well in any ROM or OS on Android compared to WP7, so props to them for getting that right. The Email is really nice (as a consistent Hotmail user) texting is pretty bland, the Contacts or People or whatever is totally convoluted and unnecessary, I don't know how they managed to complicate something so simple. If I wanted to see facebook, I'd open it. I just want my damn contact list. Android has perfected this as far as I'm concerned, as it's "Person --- Phone button to call" and that's all there needs to be. You can click their contact card to get more information if need be.
The marketplace needs some work, definitely needs more sections like the Android Market (Communications - Free / Paid, Whatever - Free / Paid) as opposed to just Free EVERYTHING, or mixed paid / free in sections. I definitely don't think the Android Market is perfect, but it's definitely more usable than the Windows Marketplace.
Hmm.. Internet Explorer is really nice, it works surprisingly well for a browser I haven't even looked at in almost 10 years. I was pleasantly surprised, I was dreading that I couldn't use anything else, but Microsoft did a great job. It looks nice, it's not exactly feature rich, but it's snappy, clean, and responsive.
The music / videos app is alright, nothing special but not definitely usable and looks good.
The fact that MSN Messenger was NOT included in the OS completely deadpanned me, how the hell do you forget what was at one point your bread and butter? It would literally be like Google forgetting GTalk, it wouldn't happen. I don't like the MSN application that is available has to resume every time the phone sleeps, waste of a good 10 seconds. Facebook works fine.. Phone is fine, the simplicity gets in the way of speakerphone and stuff if you forget what little tab they're under, but whatever, it works.
Calendar is GREAT, I love the way it's set up, it looks really good.
Microsoft Office is amazing...works really well.
I think I covered everything? I know I kind of went off in some areas, but just my opinions..
Oh, I miss having an actual wallpaper. I don't care if I couldn't see 90% of it, better than just black. Maybe I have a special someone I'd like to see as my wallpaper for more than the half a second it takes me to unlock my phone. Oh well.
GlitchZero said:
No, because I use a Macbook (primary booting OS X) with W7, I'm forced to use W7 because there's one incredibly ****ty option for Mac syncing. I'd rather have a cluttered ass SD card with dragged files than EVER use WMP as my "media hub" or whatever. I don't use iPhoto. I use iTunes for organization, but that's it. However, if I want ANYTHING on my WP7 device, I'm forced to use these stupid Apple applications (and a beta app from Microsoft) I deleted because of massive bloat just to transfer stuff? Ridiculous. Build a frigging mount into it or let us use SD cards.
Sorry. That's a massive, massive frustration for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Zune works well for media once you get the hang of it, and since you like your Live account so much, utilize the SkyDrive feature for cloud storage of documents. This second comment on this thread is a great idea for how to quickly access it...
http://social.answers.microsoft.com...7/thread/56adcec6-08ce-4d86-aa67-27dda1433fa0
Yes, access to the SD card would be nice. I suppose they're looking to cut down on support calls?
Android is not a phone; its a geeky toy
I bought an HTC Desire in August 2009. My HTC TyTN had just died and I couldn't wait for the late release of WP7. Android was such a disappointment. Market was unavailable in Sweden (it is open now), the UI looked disgustingly ugly and the whole experience was so much lower than descent. The only thing I really loved about Android was the notification system. I also have an iPhone so Android's notification system seemed totally like a blessing. Nevertheless Android just felt like another Google experiment. A geeky toy for Google lovers. I'm not a Google lover. Not because their products are so bad; They are bad, but I could forgive that. What I can't stand in Google is their daily bragging about their coolness all over the web while their products are actually years behind what they could really be had they cared about anything else than selling ads and hooking people onto their so called platform(s). So if I am to make a compromise on a product I am really more willing to compromise for Microsoft. Unlike newcomers like Google, Microsoft has proven over the years that they do have a vision about software and they do work on it. Google has no vision about the web other than dominance. They have a vision about advertising. My "vision" about advertising is that it is an old solution to an old problem which I'm not so sure will even exist for long in the so called "new economy". So I just sold my HTC Desire and bought an HTC HD7. I know that I will miss the WiFi tethering of my HTC Desire. Hopefully not for long. Like I said I can make a compromise for Microsoft but find it pointless to make a compromise for Google.
Android just felt cluttered to me. Yes, you can customize it as much as you want but personally I dislike the mess of widgets and icons. I was never happy with my home pages.
My phone doubles as my MP3 player and the WP7 audio playback is much better because of the HD7's sound enhancer. The sound equalizer I had on Android would only work on MP3s, not on other file types.
Pinch to zoom to WP7 is really really really good. Also the GPS on my HD7 finds my position significantly faster than my Android phone (would take several minutes to lock on). Bing maps really isn't bad so I don't know what the fuss is about. Sure there's no voice navigation, but I never used it when I had Android anyway.
Anyway my main reason for switching was that I hated being left behind while new phones are released with updates. Literally the way to upgrade with Android is to buy a new phone or root the phone. Problem with rooting is that each ROM has it's own little quirks and I didn't want to sacrifice functionality just to see a higher build number. IMO if you have to root in order to have the phone "work" then you're doing it wrong.
I do miss some things like the control panel and swype, but that's about it. So far so good.
I think from most of the posts above we can agree that WP7 is a clean functional minimal UI. And once the update comes in it will be one to brag about
ex-android user
I love android, and I still own several Android Devices, and I've been using android since the G1. Android (like many have said before me) reminds me a lot of Windows Mobile (and I loved windows mobile).
Why I made the switch:
Well, not to offend anyone, but WP7 seems to be a more mature OS, not in terms of functionality, but in terms of it's minimalist approach.
It's like comparing:
A tricked out Honda: http://www.remarkablecars.com/main/honda/tricked-out-honda.jpg
and a Cadillac CTS-V Coupe: http://photos.leftlanenews.com/phot...mbnailsnew/me-cadillac-cts-v-coupe-09_620.jpg
It's probably faster, and more elegant, but less flashy, and less customizable.
Ultimately it's a matter of preference, personally I'd chose the Caddy

[Q] Nook for the in-laws: Nookie it?

I have a nook that I auto-nootered for my wife.
Now the in-laws want one and they want me to set it up. They also have an iPad, so that's what they're used to.
Of the current ROM/autonooter options, what is going to give them the best user experience (for market apps, eReader) and will minimize my having to provide tech support.
With my auto-nootered nook (with ADW) I find the user interface a rough ride.
What are the differences between the various ROM options?
Suggestions?
Thanks!
Just my opinion, but a modded Nook is not a good choice for non-tech people. I remember trying to explain all the features my CM7 Nook has to my fatherm, and I realized that he would be totally lost if I just handed it to him. For a mainstream user, I think the stock UI is good enough. A bit laggy, but it's pretty intuitive and user friendly. At most, I'd say a rooted version of the stock ROM, but even then that could bring some issues they may not know how to deal with.
Artood2s said:
Just my opinion, but a modded Nook is not a good choice for non-tech people. I remember trying to explain all the features my CM7 Nook has to my fatherm, and I realized that he would be totally lost if I just handed it to him. For a mainstream user, I think the stock UI is good enough. A bit laggy, but it's pretty intuitive and user friendly. At most, I'd say a rooted version of the stock ROM, but even then that could bring some issues they may not know how to deal with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree. I find the stock experience to be quite confusing with multiple docks and the difference between the stock apps and market apps. Plus, I found the stock experience to be an exercise in frustration. It's laggy and very quirky.
I'd throw CM7 with mad murdock's tab mods, plus Dalingrin's OC kernel on there. Then I'd build a custom homescreen experience using apps organizer, desktop visualizer and a custom homescreen launcher like Launcher Pro to categorize essential apps. Reduce the number of homescreens and pre-select apps that they are likely to enjoy.
Here's a neat example of what can be done using those apps to customize.
Show them the basics of how to use the market and avoid getting into any customization details until they ask.
so about 6 months ago my girlfriend got an ipad. We were at her parents house and her father stole it from her and loved it. he loved it. He is not super techy but he embraces the technology and works to figure things out. He really was interested in something like the ipad, but without the cost associated. So i told him about android tablets, but we all knew they were just not "there yet" for a good product. Fast forward a bit, after playing with a friends autonootered nook, i decided to get one. I autonooterd it with 2.12.25(the best at the time) I brought it over to his house and he fell in love with it. 2 days later he had one, and was calling me up to come root it. He never puts the thing down. He really likes the nook app(only available on stock atm.) he uses the web and kindle apps too, thats about it. now that cm7 is out and really stable i would like to upgrade him, but hes really happy with what he has, i dont want to mess with that.
I suggest showing them what you have, and seeing if they like it. you dont need to be as techy as you think to use it. I know people like us like to play and tweak and mess with stuff, but putting the most recent build of cm7 over clocked, and keys mod is a big plus. Give them a quick over view on how to use it. and they are off.
Just like lyam23 with desktop visualizer and some neat icons you could really dumb down, but your adding a layer of complexity that could break and cause experience issues for them. I suggest you set it up as stock as possible put a few icons on the desktop, and say if you want to read a book use this, if you want to go to the web use this. and go from there. really depends on the user tho.
If they are not techy, or at-least embracing technology, you might as well not waste your time.
To be honest, both CM7 and less so nookie froyo, are for power users. It may be easy to install, but maintaining and upgrading can be a hassel for people who don't keep up to date with this forum, or android central. However much of a clusterf*ck the stock rom is, atleast there is no maintaining it; if you can use an android phone the stock rom is manageable. Plus if it ever messes up it just reverts back to stock, and can just be re-rooted. If you do go with rooted-stock, remember to install CWM, as to block OTA updates. We still don't know how the two will interact.
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk
woot1524 said:
but maintaining and upgrading can be a hassel for people who don't keep up to date with this forum
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that the stock rooted is a good way to go. but cm7 is stable enough for a standard user i dont think you have to worry about updating it constantly. And if you have to update it, its really quick. If you already have a nook, and your giving it to the inlaws, as long as you see them once and a while, you can quick update it when your there, takes less then 5 min.
in the end no matter which way you go theres shortcomings. it really depends on the user.
Here is rundown for Nooks with normal people:
Stock Rooted
+Can use real Nook software
+Has less rough edges
-No Flash
-Is kinda laggy compared to others
Froyo
-No real plusses over CM7
CM7 + Tablet Tweaks
+Most usable version for normals
+Most responsive version
-Requires your extensive setup
-Lower battery life than stock
-No native Nook app if they care
lyam23 said:
I'd throw CM7 with mad murdock's tab mods, plus Dalingrin's OC kernel on there. Then I'd build a custom homescreen experience using apps organizer, desktop visualizer and a custom homescreen launcher like Launcher Pro to categorize essential apps. Reduce the number of homescreens and pre-select apps that they are likely to enjoy.
Here's a neat example of what can be done using those apps to customize.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And what happens when the widgets all of the sudden don't want to load? I've had this happen at least 4-5 times. Since I set them up, I can get my folder links, etc. back up in no time. Minor inconvinience. But to the layman, it's a showstopper. Plus, when you customize something for a friend/relative YOU become the IT support. I believe I'm a pretty nice guy, but I can't say I enjoy troubleshooting on the phone with someone who has limited knowledge in computers/Android. So my advice is save yourself the trouble and leave it stock (maybe rooted).
If they want an android tablet then I would suggest that you place Cynomod 7 Release Candidate 1 on the tablet and leave it at that until Release Candidate 2 or later is available. It is a very stable version, equal or better than most of the android releases out there on commercial releases on other tablets (Visio, Xoom, etc).
You can set up the main screen with shortcuts to those programs he wants to utilize, and show him how to add more (lock the screen for him in the meantime).
If they only want an ereader and care not for the android functionality, then simply leave it stock.
Simple.
I personally would think... given their experience... definately root it... or better yet CM7 it (you'll have to update it frequently right now)... not sure of the feasibility of that for you right now... can update to that down the road when it is "officially released"
HOWEVER... if you decide to go nootered stock... remember that when B&N forces updates it will have to be done again... I would block OTA updates... then after the new OS is nootered or rootable update their nook...
just my opinion... nothing more.
Artood2s said:
And what happens when the widgets all of the sudden don't want to load? I've had this happen at least 4-5 times. Since I set them up, I can get my folder links, etc. back up in no time. Minor inconvinience. But to the layman, it's a showstopper. Plus, when you customize something for a friend/relative YOU become the IT support. I believe I'm a pretty nice guy, but I can't say I enjoy troubleshooting on the phone with someone who has limited knowledge in computers/Android. So my advice is save yourself the trouble and leave it stock (maybe rooted).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only problem with leaving it stock, is that you have the difficult prospect of explaining what that toolbar at the bottom is. And why are some apps there, and some in extras? And if you install a home replacement to ease things, well then, why are there two places for apps? Which is the right one? How do I make these toolbars disappear? How come I can't read some text next to checkboxes? Why do some of these settings not work? etc...
My point is, no matter what you do, unless you don't do a thing to their NC, you will be tech support. Might as well make it easy with a decent , stable, and simple user interface.
IMO, this can be accomplished better in CM7 with tab tweaks than any other ROM.

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