Database Develop

dont quite understand.

I am a semi noob at this. I have been following and flashing since the g1 came out, but there are a few things I never quite understood.
First. When going from 1.5 to 1.6 or to 2.0 what is it that I'm updating exactually? Is it just another rom or is ther more to it?
Second, what makes roms "slow"? I know most of the hardware is the same from one phone to another, or at least in terms of speed. But even the fastist hero rom is still slugish compaired to roms like xRom. So far the new 1.6 rom is the fastist my phone has been since root.
I'm not trying to discredit the devs, cuz I love what they are doing for android. I just want to be able to better understand the why,. Thank you
Please no flaming, simple answers (cuz its made for a diffrent phone), and last please break it down barney style.

sw20matt said:
I am a semi noob at this. I have been following and flashing since the g1 came out, but there are a few things I never quite understood.
First. When going from 1.5 to 1.6 or to 2.0 what is it that I'm updating exactually? Is it just another rom or is ther more to it?
Second, what makes roms "slow"? I know most of the hardware is the same from one phone to another, or at least in terms of speed. But even the fastist hero rom is still slugish compaired to roms like xRom. So far the new 1.6 rom is the fastist my phone has been since root.
I'm not trying to discredit the devs, cuz I love what they are doing for android. I just want to be able to better understand the why,. Thank you
Please no flaming, simple answers (cuz its made for a diffrent phone), and last please break it down barney style.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you hit the nail on the head talking about the UI being made for a different device. Sense UI is not designed for the dream, therefore you are running a "ported" version of the UI. This will of course make things slower than if it was running on the intended device.
As far as hardware goes, the hardware is extremely different in many phones that are out. That will cause the phone to operate differently and reaction times will be based on the RAM and available internal memory, as well as the processor (the same way it would be in a computer).
As far as the different versions of android. It's just like going from windows xp to vista to windows 7, or from Mac OSX to snow leaopard. It's the same principal. The OS has received updates to make it more functional.
Hope this has helped.

sw20matt said:
I am a semi noob at this. I have been following and flashing since the g1 came out, but there are a few things I never quite understood.
First. When going from 1.5 to 1.6 or to 2.0 what is it that I'm updating exactually? Is it just another rom or is ther more to it?
Second, what makes roms "slow"? I know most of the hardware is the same from one phone to another, or at least in terms of speed. But even the fastist hero rom is still slugish compaired to roms like xRom. So far the new 1.6 rom is the fastist my phone has been since root.
I'm not trying to discredit the devs, cuz I love what they are doing for android. I just want to be able to better understand the why,. Thank you
Please no flaming, simple answers (cuz its made for a diffrent phone), and last please break it down barney style.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Numbers 1.5 to 1.6 to 2.0 refers to the version of android. its similar to xp vs. vista vs. win7
Latest is 2.0 but its not fully ported for dream due to missing drivers.
theres no single factor that makes it slow. the hardware that hero roms run on have 96mb more ram than what the g1 has (its a different phone)
edit: rp beat me to it lol

Questions before diving in

Hello folks, I know ill have no problems flashing the phone to a new rom (not worried about bricking it) but one thing after searching these forums I havnt found is how hard is it to go back to stock if you dont like said rom
I dont even know why I am flashing it, my phone works great, seems snappy enough but im one of those types of people that just has to toy with things.
So id just like some information for you guys first what i asked above but also why do you use custom roms does the phone work better, all I read about is apps not working? is there an added benefit to flashing?
Most important to me though is how hard and the steps to revert back to stock
Thanks alot

sprockets2000 said:
Hello folks, I know ill have no problems flashing the phone to a new rom (not worried about bricking it) but one thing after searching these forums I havnt found is how hard is it to go back to stock if you dont like said rom
I dont even know why I am flashing it, my phone works great, seems snappy enough but im one of those types of people that just has to toy with things.
So id just like some information for you guys first what i asked above but also why do you use custom roms does the phone work better, all I read about is apps not working? is there an added benefit to flashing?
Most important to me though is how hard and the steps to revert back to stock
thanks alot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, all you need to do is download the stock RUU which will return your phone to it's original factory settings. There have been a few people who've encountered an error running this utility to retorn to stock but it has been very rare and has only affected a small percentage of the population of hero owners. Worse-case scenario, you can try and get a warranty replacement or use your TEP plan if you are enrolled in it.
I find I enjoy the phone more with a custom rom for several reasons. It feels more responsive and usable, also I am a true gadget-head and tweaking customizing and playing around with my phone is just in my nature. Android as a platform is well suited to this kind of mentality and is even encouraged.
Of course there is also the current situation we are in that we are able to run a newer version of android than what is available from the manufacturer at this time.
Then you can get into custom themes etc etc.

Stock ROM - 1.5 vs 2.1 ??

I bought my gf a Sprint Hero to see if she likes using Android. Might buy an Evo or whatever comes next if she likes the platform (this is her first smartphone, I've been using them for a loooong time - since the iPaq days!)
Anyway, the used one I bought her has stock 1.5 ROM on it, and I know that the Sprint 2.1 ROM is also available. I've searched all over and see mixed opinions on if its worth upgrading or not. A lot of bugs seem to crop up in the 2.1 version, but also some new features and better app compatibility in the market.
I'm a long-time HTC device user, but always WinMo, so I'm no stranger to flashing/modding etc. But I don't want to get into that at all with her phone, she'll get angry if I try to do something and then something else breaks, so I just want whatever stock ROM "just works" best. I don't want to have to "maintain" this device.
Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance.

Hi there. As far as what "just works"...I have used both 1.5 and 2.1 stock...some people have experienced multiple problems. I used 2.1 stock for awhile before rooting...and quite honestly, the only problems I had was occasional lag...not drastic like some have reported....and rapid battery drain. I've since rooted 2.1 and use an overclocked kernel. Now, with GPS location off (still use cell service loc.), and no task killer whatsoever...i get almost 24 hours of battery with moderate to high usage. I experience no lag whatsoever. And, quite honestly, the rooting process and installing the OC'd kernel are VERY easy. I don't know about your girlfriend, but the skeptics I know...given a few days running straight stock unrooted...came back in a couple days begging me to root and make their Hero "run like mine".

Thanks for the info. I might go that route. Are you running a ROM with Sense? Did you just root the stock Sprint Sense ROM and OC it?
Any more help would be appreciated, like I said I've done a lot of ROM flashing and modding in the past but always on WinMo, I'm new to Android but have been reading up on these forums so I think I have a good sense of what needs to be done now. I'm not afraid of rooting / flashing processes, but I really don't want to put on ROMs where little weird glitches are going to piss her off. I don't mind dealing with that on my own phone, but this really does need to be a one-time job where I can just had it off to her and never have to deal with it again

I am running a ROM with Sense. It's the actually the HTC ROM that has been rooted. Here is a link to the thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=703267 It runs sweet. I also formatted the stock 2gb SD card to ext for use with Apps2SD and it worked flawlessly after flashing the ROM. There are plenty of straightforward instructions here in this forum. Like I said, I think your g/f will be very pleased with the speed and battery life using this message. I flash a couple roms now and then to try something new, but always come back to this 'cuz it "just works".

1.5 is faster & more stable imo...but outdated. 2.1 provides a few new features but it's really up to her which one she wants to use. try them both out.
for 2.1 id use the stock rooted sprint rom
for 1.5 id suggest the pancake rom.

If you flash one of the OC kernels, just know that not all phones can handle the OC speeds, especially on bootup. If you decide to flash an OC kernel, MAKE SURE you nandroid backup first in case that phone goes into bootloops or freezes after the new kernel. Start with the 691mhz one just to test, then if all is good you can move up to 710mhz or 768mhz if you want more.
Also, to answer your initial question, I personally think stock 2.1 is much better overall than 1.5. Without even considering OC kernels, extra apps, widgets, etc....Android 1.5 didn't even have native CDMA support, so it had to contain a lot more code/tweaking for our Sprint build, which is why it runs so slowly and laggy. 2.1 includes CDMA support which automatically makes the code smaller and it means the OS automatically runs more quickly and smoothly on almost all HTC Heroes.
The only big consistent issue I've heard of on stock 2.1 is terrible Bluetooth functionality. Most other issues are hit or miss cases that aren't very common.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info, this has all been helpful.
To update, I dove in and just updated to the latest 2.1 Sprint official ROM (.6). I don't really think she has a current need to be rooted, as she doesn't use many apps, and doesn't need tethering.
If the need arises in the future for these things, I'll just flash the ROM linked above, or flash back to .5, root, and re-flash. Maybe by then there will be a root for .6 anyway and it will be even easier yet.
I'd also like to post my experience with 1.5 vs 2.1 I am not sure why everyone feels 2.1 is so much slower. I'm guessing it's because they haven't applied the .6 patch, which in addition to fixing the root exploit, also adds a bunch of speed enhancements in the UI.
2.1 is much faster on her phone than 1.5, especially scrolling in long lists, using the dialer, and even swiping between homescreens. She's quite happy with it, and I don't have to hack any fixes due to broken stuff in ROMs, so I'm happy too
I'm liking Android enough that I think I'm willing to buy another phone to play with, I got sick of dealing with flashing and hacking on my WinMo devices, so I went to iPhone. But I want a new Android HTC phone to play with, I think I'll buy a Nexus One or something.

[Q] A Newb to Android

I just ordered my Samsung Captivate and now I am just waiting...
Maybe I could pass the time learning about Android!?
Having only had a little expierience with my Friend's MotoBackflip running Doughnut and my current phone being Winmo 6.5, I wanted to know the best way to learn about Android before I recieve my phone.
What would be the best learning resource?
I have a feeling I am going to want to Root the phone which I don't completely know what that means but if it gets rid of the the Bloatware then I am just fine with it.
HTC has spoiled me so I have a feeling I am going to want to get rid of TouchWiz too but we'll see.
I have like a thousand questions but I am a pretty capable person so just point me in the right direction if you can!

as far as rooting i think you could take a look at the android dev forum , theres some info there about rooting and different roms available I believe

Don't use a task killer.
They are not needed. And there is no reason not to root. And it is pretty much risk free.
Sent from my iPhone with the bigger Gee Bees.

notasimpleway said:
Don't use a task killer.
They are not needed. And there is no reason not to root. And it is pretty much risk free.
Sent from my iPhone with the bigger Gee Bees.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird, I thought a task killer would be essential. I've always wondered where those little programs go if you don't close them lol

Shival said:
Having only had a little expierience with my Friend's MotoBackflip running Doughnut and my current phone being Winmo 6.5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, I'm in a bit of a similar situation (though I've owned an iPhone in-between owning WinMo and then Android).
First off, the best way to learn is to see whether devs had ported Android to your WinMo phone or not. If they did, use that to learn. If not, try reading an Android guidebook (e.g. T-Mobile G1 for Dummies) or simply using an available Android emulator. There's one at: http://tmobile.modeaondemand.com/htc/g1/
Lastly, there's a bit of a difference between Android's root and WinMo's HardSPL. The only purpose of HardSPL is basically to change ROMs...because WinMo pretty much allows you to do anything else you want. Android's rooting, on the other hand, doesn't just allow you to install ROMs, but it allows you to use a variety of programs which requires your phone to be rooted (e.g. ROM Manager), install certain tweaks, and so on.
As an analogy, Android's root is probably closer to iOS' jailbreaking than it is to WinMo's HardSPL. As with the iPhone's jailbreaking, rooting allows you access to a larger variety of apps, tweaks to change how your phone performs, and so on.
If you have any other questions, then basically the right direction to point you in is the Android phone forums around here. Read the questions others asked, see the answers, and learn. That's how I did it.

Shival said:
Weird, I thought a task killer would be essential. I've always wondered where those little programs go if you don't close them lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android is built on Linux. Linux does not handle resources the way Windows does. Basically, it closes programs when it is done on its own.
Sent from my iPhone with the bigger Gee Bees.

Your def in the right place. This is my first android phone and from what I understand the captivate is one of thee r easier phones to do anything with. I've flashed this thing a bunch of times already and there hasn't ben any custom roms released for it yet. Check out the stickies in the dev forum. Everything is there. And there s no way to get rid of touch whiz yet. Launcher pro is pretty awesome though. Its free on the market
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Is LauncherPro basically another UI?
When I goto root my device, which or what is going to be the best way?
Should I do the Onclick root program thing? or is there an even better way?
This is sounding like it is going to be just as much fun as the first time I Flashed my HD =]
[Edit]
I just noticed the Re-done Captivate guide so that looks like its gonna solve a bunch of my questions! Sorry that I didn't notice it before I posted.
Thank-you everyone that posted!
-Further Questions
Am I going to want to root the phone as soon as I get it?
Would it be best to use the phone with my Ubuntu partition?
I have a feeling I am going to want launcherpro, should I cash out and get LauncherPro Plus?

[Q] Samsung Galaxy S, ROM questions, help please?

Hello guys.
I'm sure the majority of you get sick of seeing people with no clue on how to do stuff on their Android phones, and I apologize in advance, but I used to be an iPhone user before swapping over and becoming a Droid, however, O2 in the UK are awful, and they don't update the handsets, I'm still on 2.2 Froyo, instead of 2.2.1 or even 2.3 Gingerbread.
I'm looking to the possibility of getting a capable Gingerbread ROM onto my phone, but I have absolutely no clue how to do it, don't get me wrong, I look on the XDA forums on quite a regular basis, and I'm aware of Darky's ROM, and the rest, however, I look at the HOW TO posts explaining how to get it onto your phone, and some of them are unbelievably basic, and for a start off user using an Android phone wanting to get the best out of it, but not knowing how to do the majority of things such as Rooting, and Flashing, it's impossible to understand the majority of the posts on this forum.
I used to jailbreak all the time, but that was easy compared to this, some may say Droid's are easier to do, but I disagree, if anybody has any tips, or step-by-step up to date guides on how to get a ROM/kernel etc onto my phone, or make it quicker, or quite frankly anything, as my phone is unbelievably laggy, it would be MUCH appreciated.
Many Thanks in advance.

The first and biggest problem for you is to choose what rom you want becouse there is alot of custom roms out there and noone can help you with that.
As for how to flash there is often lots of different ways of doing it depending on what rom you are on and this is probably whats confusing you.
Becouse your on a stock rom without any moddified recoverys you need to flash with a computer program and your phone connected to usb.
Best guide is probably the one from EZbase and this is a good rom to start of from anyway becouse it will give you root and a good moddified recovery.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=991792
Just read post number 4 to the letter and you can't go wrong!