Related
I found one on Craig's List and my girlfriend desperately needs a new phone. I plan on sticking to stock OS and not rooting or customizing it because it's for her and I don't want to risk bricking her.
I just want to know, how reliable is this phone?
Personally, this is my last Samsung phone. So... I wouldn't recommend it.
Essenar said:
I found one on Craig's List and my girlfriend desperately needs a new phone. I plan on sticking to stock OS and not rooting or customizing it because it's for her and I don't want to risk bricking her.
I just want to know, how reliable is this phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a Captivate for my gf and she loves it, but the stock OS pissed her off due to lagging and bloatware.
We installed Cognition 2.3b8 which was very easy and now she really loves it as her daily driver. All you do is put an update.zip for Clockwork on the root of SD. Reboot into oem recovery, reinstall packages twice to get to Clockwork, then wipe data and flash Cognition. Couldn't be easier.
Honestly, if you can find a Nexus One for AT&T (if you have AT&T the T-mobile version will be Edge only!! You need an AT&T Nexus One) I think that's your best bet, but with a little bit of modding and care the Captivate is a great phone. My gf LOVES the giant screen and beautiful display.
That said, the more I learn about it the more pissed off I am with Samsung. Different revisions, ODIN, Kies, Download Mode, etc. Rooting this thing is way more complicated than it needs to be. I'm running a MT4G and SOOOO glad I didn't buy the Vibrant. Shudder...
The only problem I've ever had with my cappy is the GPS, which, after reading the GPS fixes thread has been absolutely perfect.
To me this is the perfect phone. Fast, reliable, pretty. I don't even want anything faster anymore. If phones peaked in speed right now and started focusing strictly on battery life (I get about 1.5-2 days right now, I'd like to get 3-5), I'd be perfectly happy with that.
Craig's List? Buyer beware!
Here is where I am at:
This phone is probably not the best choice if you are planning on giving it to your wife without a custom ROM. If you plan on giving it to you wife with a ROM it is a good choice regardless of what ROM you choose however it is better if you use one that is as close to stock as possible: cognition, perception, or Andromeda (1.00).
cappysw10 said:
Craig's List? Buyer beware!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got several great phones off CL. Do your due diligence as a buyer and you'll be just fine.
If you can get it for a decent price, then go for it.
Here's a simple pro & con list:
Pros
-Super AMOLED screen makes pictures and videos gorgeous
-1 GHz Processor that can be overclocked to 1.28GHz (stable) and undervolted to improve battery performance
-The xda devs are constantly providing the Captivate support that Samsung has failed to give us.
-Did i mention the Super AMOLED screen? Yes, yes I did.
-Swype makes texting a lot more fun to type on the phone once you get past the 1-minute learning curve
Cons
-Developed by Samsung and so the customer support for the phone is terrible
(see: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=913045)
-The stock AT&T Rom is filled with bloatware that takes up space and attempts to get you to spend more money on AT&T services.
-AT&T has disabled the ability to sideload apps (install apps from outside of the market) on the stock ROM, and so you won't be able to install third-party apps if/when you come across them.
-No official 2.2 froyo release from Samsung, despite promises from them as well as AT&T to have it released by the end of 2010 (this is when the store rep told me to expect the update when i bought my phone. derp).
-Some GPS Issues
Conclusion based on my personal opinion.
Overall, I love this phone and I'm glad I chose it over the iPhone 4 due to the ridiculous customization available. However, if not for the xda devs creating amazing custom ROMs, I would have probably returned it for the original Jesus phone.
My advice? Get the phone, pick out a launcher from the market (LauncherPro, ADW Launcher, or for the minimalist: Zeam) and grab handcent while you're at it. Then give her the phone and she should be happy with it.
More advice? Sure. Root the phone, flash Cog 3.02 onto it with the firebird 2/Glitterball kernel and JK4 modem.
Sorry if this post seems a bit jumbled and scattered. I'm currently doing about 4 different things at once and posting from my Computer Class at the local community college haha
Dont' buy it. GPS problems, shutdown issues, and, based on the general lack of reliability so far, probably more issues to come as the phone ages. If it weren't for the beautiful display and the custom ROMs here on xda I'd have little good to say about my phone. Since you don't plan on modifications the screen is really all you'd get. Does that screen outweigh the hardware problems I've noted?
Phateless said:
Rooting this thing is way more complicated than it needs to be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SuperOneClick -- The program is called "SuperOneClick". That is literally all it takes to gain root on a SGS phone. So, personally, I think rooting is not nearly as complicated as it could be!
yourname146 said:
SuperOneClick -- The program is called "SuperOneClick". That is literally all it takes to gain root on a SGS phone. So, personally, I think rooting is not nearly as complicated as it could be!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me rephrase that. Custom ROMs are more complicated than they need to be. I've used SOC on my MT3G, works well. It's ODIN, Kies and manually flashing modems and kernels that annoys me. I've flashed radios and roms on my mt3g and I'm comfortable with fastboot and adb so I'm not a total noob. HTC just seems simpler to me, but maybe that's because I'm used to it.
The only beef I have had with this phone is the GPS issue. otherwise it's a great phone. Beautiful screen, sleek design and fast with a good ROM such as Cognition.
I've decided I'm either going to get her a Nokia N900 or an iPhone (some variation). I can't put a phone in her hands with such a gamble on the GPS (There's no guarantee the fix works and no way to identify which Captivates will work and won't work). Especially since this phone is purchased used and won't have a warranty on it.
I wish her sister would make up her mind about AT&T. If she decided to stay with AT&T I could just buy her something new. If she decided to leave AT&T, I could buy her a new Android device with another carrier.
Essenar said:
I've decided I'm either going to get her a Nokia N900 or an iPhone (some variation). I can't put a phone in her hands with such a gamble on the GPS (There's no guarantee the fix works and no way to identify which Captivates will work and won't work). Especially since this phone is purchased used and won't have a warranty on it.
I wish her sister would make up her mind about AT&T. If she decided to stay with AT&T I could just buy her something new. If she decided to leave AT&T, I could buy her a new Android device with another carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can tell you from experience, **** AT&T! T-mobile has buy one get one free for MT4G right now, I have no clue why on earth you would want to stay with AT&T.
Seriously, I have been with T-mobile for 5 years and I'm in love with their service. Every time I call I get an AMERICAN rep on the phone in 5 mins tops.
pizz0wn3d said:
If you can get it for a decent price, then go for it.
Here's a simple pro & con list:
Pros
-Super AMOLED screen makes pictures and videos gorgeous
-1 GHz Processor that can be overclocked to 1.28GHz (stable) and undervolted to improve battery performance
-The xda devs are constantly providing the Captivate support that Samsung has failed to give us.
-Did i mention the Super AMOLED screen? Yes, yes I did.
-Swype makes texting a lot more fun to type on the phone once you get past the 1-minute learning curve
Cons
-Developed by Samsung and so the customer support for the phone is terrible
(see: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=913045)
-The stock AT&T Rom is filled with bloatware that takes up space and attempts to get you to spend more money on AT&T services.
-AT&T has disabled the ability to sideload apps (install apps from outside of the market) on the stock ROM, and so you won't be able to install third-party apps if/when you come across them.
-No official 2.2 froyo release from Samsung, despite promises from them as well as AT&T to have it released by the end of 2010 (this is when the store rep told me to expect the update when i bought my phone. derp).
-Some GPS Issues
Conclusion based on my personal opinion.
Overall, I love this phone and I'm glad I chose it over the iPhone 4 due to the ridiculous customization available. However, if not for the xda devs creating amazing custom ROMs, I would have probably returned it for the original Jesus phone.
My advice? Get the phone, pick out a launcher from the market (LauncherPro, ADW Launcher, or for the minimalist: Zeam) and grab handcent while you're at it. Then give her the phone and she should be happy with it.
More advice? Sure. Root the phone, flash Cog 3.02 onto it with the firebird 2/Glitterball kernel and JK4 modem.
Sorry if this post seems a bit jumbled and scattered. I'm currently doing about 4 different things at once and posting from my Computer Class at the local community college haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a very fair and accurate assessment.
Absolutely get this phone if you're comfortable rooting the phone and installing custom ROMs, launchers, etc. The phone will run markedly better than stock and will be a dream to use.
If you're not technically inclined, and need rely on $am$ung and AT$T for your firmware updates, get a different android phone. Updates are either never coming or will be over half a year behind and quite possibly bugged and broken even if you do get them.
kingtz said:
This is a very fair and accurate assessment.
Absolutely get this phone if you're comfortable rooting the phone and installing custom ROMs, launchers, etc. The phone will run markedly better than stock and will be a dream to use.
If you're not technically inclined, and need rely on $am$ung and AT$T for your firmware updates, get a different android phone. Updates are either never coming or will be over half a year behind and quite possibly bugged and broken even if you do get them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
I feel like I should mention that I'm now using Exists Suckerpunch kernel and it's... Well... Amazing. OC/UV support with speedmod's battery battery tweaks is pretty much the best thing ever. And exists (pretty cool guy, eh made my favorite kernel ever and doesn't afraid of anything) updates so often I barely have time to find and complain about any bugs that happen to slip past.
This phone is quite captivating indeed.
Herp derp Captivate XDA App
Phateless said:
I've got several great phones off CL. Do your due diligence as a buyer and you'll be just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too. That said out of the box the Captivate is a very frustrating phone to use. The GPS is spotty and You won't have full access to it's super fast Gee Bees unless you install a custom ROM.
I ended up getting her an iPhone. I know guys, I know.
To be honest, I didn't feel comfortable giving her a phone with spotty GPS as this will be her primary GPS unit.
Reading the custom rod and GPS thread gave me no assurance that doing the fix and rooting with a custom rom would fix the issue.
I have enough problems dealing with my MyTouch 4g that you may see me on a Bionic or iPhone with Verizon anyway.
But thanks for the advice. I may root and mod her sisters Captivate to score points because I heard she has had for warranty replacements lol.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
gunnyman said:
Me too. That said out of the box the Captivate is a very frustrating phone to use. The GPS is spotty and You won't have full access to it's super fast Gee Bees unless you install a custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree.
Essenar said:
I ended up getting her an iPhone. I know guys, I know.
To be honest, I didn't feel comfortable giving her a phone with spotty GPS as this will be her primary GPS unit.
Reading the custom rod and GPS thread gave me no assurance that doing the fix and rooting with a custom rom would fix the issue.
I have enough problems dealing with my MyTouch 4g that you may see me on a Bionic or iPhone with Verizon anyway.
But thanks for the advice. I may root and mod her sisters Captivate to score points because I heard she has had for warranty replacements lol.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been keeping my eyes open for an iPhone4 for my gf as well for the same reasons you mentioned. There's also an AT&T iteration of the Evo coming soon. That might be a good device for her.
Phateless said:
I got a Captivate for my gf and she loves it, but the stock OS pissed her off due to lagging and bloatware.
We installed Cognition 2.3b8 which was very easy and now she really loves it as her daily driver. All you do is put an update.zip for Clockwork on the root of SD. Reboot into oem recovery, reinstall packages twice to get to Clockwork, then wipe data and flash Cognition. Couldn't be easier.
Honestly, if you can find a Nexus One for AT&T (if you have AT&T the T-mobile version will be Edge only!! You need an AT&T Nexus One) I think that's your best bet, but with a little bit of modding and care the Captivate is a great phone. My gf LOVES the giant screen and beautiful display.
That said, the more I learn about it the more pissed off I am with Samsung. Different revisions, ODIN, Kies, Download Mode, etc. Rooting this thing is way more complicated than it needs to be. I'm running a MT4G and SOOOO glad I didn't buy the Vibrant. Shudder...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really??? Rooting this is as easy as switching off your phone and rebooting. With all the easy stuff available right here in this forum and tons on the net... it is a breeze to root and flash a custom ROM.
I don't want to make trouble, but I'm hoping there can be a dialog as to the viability of the Captivate as a long-term, stable cell phone.
Like probably everyone here, I found the ROM AT&T supplied for the Captivate to be practically (if not criminally) unusable even if I didn't care about my rights to do what I want with it (but I do). Thus I decided that I needed to flash it with something better.
Obviously, there are a lot of Captivate owners who work very hard (and presumably, enjoy) modifying and tweaking the Android system for their phone - and that's great - but I'm not one of them. I appreciate that people like to change the look of their <object> and that the latest-and-greatest functionality is an ever-moving target, but paramount to me for everything in my life is minimal maintenance.
I don't really care about flashy eye-candy and holiday color schemes if it is moderately consistent. I am not looking to squeeze the last 2% (or even 10%) of possible speed out of my phone, but I do want it to respond to my input within a few tenths of a second (faster w/ typing) unlike the stock ROM. I have to use a lock-code, so I don't give a fig about the number of lock screens. If I could flash my phone and never have a need (note: not desire) to do it again, that would be fantastic. If I have to re-flash it once every 6 months and don't need to (re)read long (long!) meandering threads with cryptic and often conflicting and (possibly - how to tell?) outdated information, I could live with that.
Basically, it seems like I have to choose between a fixed, official ROM that sucks, or a sea of ever-changing ROMs with stability problems and a lot of focus on look-and-feel.
I'm not here crying about not having the perfect phone experience, rather I'm interested in the opinion of you here, "in the know", as to whether there exists a Captivate ROM that is stable in both the short-term (little to no crashes or unplanned reboots) and in the long term (will function similarly for months when not tweaked beyond what say, TiBu or AdAway would do).
This is something I've been wondering for months now (as my Serendipidy ROM grew ever-more unstable), but it has come to a head now because my wife is insisting that I encounter so many problems with my Cappy (currently experiencing various problems with Serenity) that I need to get a new phone (and it should be an iPhone like hers). I am as jealous at her stability, battery life and lack of problems as I am loathe to sell my soul to live in the walled garden with the iDevil.
If the world of smart phones is really a choice among the walled garden, the astro-turfed basement and the slopes of a volcano in the jungle, then I will have to accept that and choose my fate. If the problem is Samsung/AT&T and Android is simply ambrosia on some other device/carrier (as my colleague claims), then I would love to know that too.
Sorry for the dissertation and thanks for the thoughts.
teknowledgist said:
I don't want to make trouble, but I'm hoping there can be a dialog as to the viability of the Captivate as a long-term, stable cell phone.
Like probably everyone here, I found the ROM AT&T supplied for the Captivate to be practically (if not criminally) unusable even if I didn't care about my rights to do what I want with it (but I do). Thus I decided that I needed to flash it with something better.
Obviously, there are a lot of Captivate owners who work very hard (and presumably, enjoy) modifying and tweaking the Android system for their phone - and that's great - but I'm not one of them. I appreciate that people like to change the look of their <object> and that the latest-and-greatest functionality is an ever-moving target, but paramount to me for everything in my life is minimal maintenance.
I don't really care about flashy eye-candy and holiday color schemes if it is moderately consistent. I am not looking to squeeze the last 2% (or even 10%) of possible speed out of my phone, but I do want it to respond to my input within a few tenths of a second (faster w/ typing) unlike the stock ROM. I have to use a lock-code, so I don't give a fig about the number of lock screens. If I could flash my phone and never have a need (note: not desire) to do it again, that would be fantastic. If I have to re-flash it once every 6 months and don't need to (re)read long (long!) meandering threads with cryptic and often conflicting and (possibly - how to tell?) outdated information, I could live with that.
Basically, it seems like I have to choose between a fixed, official ROM that sucks, or a sea of ever-changing ROMs with stability problems and a lot of focus on look-and-feel.
I'm not here crying about not having the perfect phone experience, rather I'm interested in the opinion of you here, "in the know", as to whether there exists a Captivate ROM that is stable in both the short-term (little to no crashes or unplanned reboots) and in the long term (will function similarly for months when not tweaked beyond what say, TiBu or AdAway would do).
This is something I've been wondering for months now (as my Serendipidy ROM grew ever-more unstable), but it has come to a head now because my wife is insisting that I encounter so many problems with my Cappy (currently experiencing various problems with Serenity) that I need to get a new phone (and it should be an iPhone like hers). I am as jealous at her stability, battery life and lack of problems as I am loathe to sell my soul to live in the walled garden with the iDevil.
If the world of smart phones is really a choice among the walled garden, the astro-turfed basement and the slopes of a volcano in the jungle, then I will have to accept that and choose my fate. If the problem is Samsung/AT&T and Android is simply ambrosia on some other device/carrier (as my colleague claims), then I would love to know that too.
Sorry for the dissertation and thanks for the thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
......so get an iPhone then........
Currently Fusionized
I bought my wife a 4gs on launch day, and its smooth but not without a few faults. The amount of repeat info here can turn into a maze of discouragement, but I think just a little more effort might yield the results you want. I'm currently running mosaic 8 with the latest semiphore kernel and its very stable to say the least.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
KK4 seems to be the final update and source code is out so things are about to get real good. There are 5-6 real nice stable roms out right now. Take the time to find one you like and stick with it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium
Wdustin1 said:
......so get an iPhone then........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, your view is that the Captivate and/or Android phones are best used by people who have both the skills and time to regularly - if not constantly - rebuild and tweak hidden and background settings always at some risk of bricking their several-hundred dollar device, and you see the iPhone as the proper choice for people who simply want something that works for their day-to-day use?
That's worse than what everyday users had to manage with DOS or in the early days of Linux or Windows 95. At least with those, your hardware wasn't (usually) at risk.
Is there no solution for those in the middle who want something that works day-to-day and allows them some freedom to make minor changes like block ads and install "unapproved" apps? Are they simply out of luck?
teknowledgist said:
I don't want to make trouble, but I'm hoping there can be a dialog as to the viability of the Captivate as a long-term, stable cell phone.
Like probably everyone here, I found the ROM AT&T supplied for the Captivate to be practically (if not criminally) unusable even if I didn't care about my rights to do what I want with it (but I do). Thus I decided that I needed to flash it with something better.
Obviously, there are a lot of Captivate owners who work very hard (and presumably, enjoy) modifying and tweaking the Android system for their phone - and that's great - but I'm not one of them. I appreciate that people like to change the look of their <object> and that the latest-and-greatest functionality is an ever-moving target, but paramount to me for everything in my life is minimal maintenance.
I don't really care about flashy eye-candy and holiday color schemes if it is moderately consistent. I am not looking to squeeze the last 2% (or even 10%) of possible speed out of my phone, but I do want it to respond to my input within a few tenths of a second (faster w/ typing) unlike the stock ROM. I have to use a lock-code, so I don't give a fig about the number of lock screens. If I could flash my phone and never have a need (note: not desire) to do it again, that would be fantastic. If I have to re-flash it once every 6 months and don't need to (re)read long (long!) meandering threads with cryptic and often conflicting and (possibly - how to tell?) outdated information, I could live with that.
Basically, it seems like I have to choose between a fixed, official ROM that sucks, or a sea of ever-changing ROMs with stability problems and a lot of focus on look-and-feel.
I'm not here crying about not having the perfect phone experience, rather I'm interested in the opinion of you here, "in the know", as to whether there exists a Captivate ROM that is stable in both the short-term (little to no crashes or unplanned reboots) and in the long term (will function similarly for months when not tweaked beyond what say, TiBu or AdAway would do).
This is something I've been wondering for months now (as my Serendipidy ROM grew ever-more unstable), but it has come to a head now because my wife is insisting that I encounter so many problems with my Cappy (currently experiencing various problems with Serenity) that I need to get a new phone (and it should be an iPhone like hers). I am as jealous at her stability, battery life and lack of problems as I am loathe to sell my soul to live in the walled garden with the iDevil.
If the world of smart phones is really a choice among the walled garden, the astro-turfed basement and the slopes of a volcano in the jungle, then I will have to accept that and choose my fate. If the problem is Samsung/AT&T and Android is simply ambrosia on some other device/carrier (as my colleague claims), then I would love to know that too.
Sorry for the dissertation and thanks for the thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cm7. Wipe data factory reset again after flashing, let it sit for 10 mins after first boot but before you sign in.
My vibrant was perfectly stable that way.
Sent from my Sensation using xda premium
MIUI, great fast ROM. All you have to do is flash the small update every week and everything stays the same. You don't loose data!
If you don't feel like doing the update every single week just skip a few here and there. Or got the latest Gingerbread leak(KK4) and use it. It is stable, has great battery life, and pretty fast, but still can't compare to MIUI/CM7 speeds!
I'm not sure what you mean by stock AT&T ROM being no good. I've used a Captivate that had the official AT&T stock 2.2 on it, and it was pretty darn good. I then loaded the "stock" AT&T gingerbread leak on it, and it was even better. Almost no lag at all, GPS worked great, and battery life was excellent. I think you're just complaining for the sake of complaining.
derek4484 said:
I'm not sure what you mean by stock AT&T ROM being no good. I've used a Captivate that had the official AT&T stock 2.2 on it, and it was pretty darn good. I then loaded the "stock" AT&T gingerbread leak on it, and it was even better. Almost no lag at all, GPS worked great, and battery life was excellent. I think you're just complaining for the sake of complaining.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to use the stock 2.2. I really did. I was getting random shutdowns and reboots all the time and the lag, oh the lag! I can't tell you how many times I would hit an on-screen button and nothing would happen. I would hit it again a second or three later or try a different on screen-button, and still nothing. Thinking the app had crashed, I would hit home or back. Another second or two after that, everything I had done would process in a millisecond and I would be back at the home screen with no idea what I had done as the "extra" touches would register as some other command on the screens that followed and I didn't see.
Once I reflashed the first time, the lag went away and the shutdowns greatly diminished, but since then I have had various other problems. Things like:
- the phone telling me I had a cell signal when I didn't and because I don't make many outgoing calls or texts I just thought nobody wanted to talk to me. Meanwhile people were getting mad that I wasn't getting back to them.
- Apps "uninstalling" by themselves sometimes with a generic icon to replace them. Re-installing them sometimes worked and sometimes didn't (with the same app).
- Texts that come in 5 hours after they were sent and 2 hours after I emerged into a strong cell signal (I work in a sub-basement).
When I tried the KK4 stock, everything did seem to work well until I actually tried to use it as a phone. It said I had signal and I had data connection, but most calls would simply never dial, and while it would ring and I could see who was calling, I couldn't answer. This seems particularly bizarre to me as you would think the ROM/modem pair should work with all Captivates.
If you want stability, I'd recommend Firefly or Andromeda. They are both older and are Froyo builds, but ultra stable.
And I concur the out of the box Cappy 2.1 build was unusable...it's how I ended up here at xda! Unlike you however, I found that I do like tweaking my phone, and I've done some amount of that...not without peaks and valleys, but I currently really enjoy the Mosaic ROM with Semaphore JVZ kernel.
i897 running Mosaic 8.5
teknowledgist said:
So, your view is that the Captivate and/or Android phones are best used by people who have both the skills and time to regularly - if not constantly - rebuild and tweak hidden and background settings always at some risk of bricking their several-hundred dollar device, and you see the iPhone as the proper choice for people who simply want something that works for their day-to-day use?
That's worse than what everyday users had to manage with DOS or in the early days of Linux or Windows 95. At least with those, your hardware wasn't (usually) at risk.
Is there no solution for those in the middle who want something that works day-to-day and allows them some freedom to make minor changes like block ads and install "unapproved" apps? Are they simply out of luck?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, it's shaping out that way. And it's only getting worse as time goes on and the fragments march in their separate directions. When there's 20 different fundamental ROMS (Sense, TouvhWiz, all the variations and so on), and 4000 different phones it becomes increasingly difficult to provide a consistent quality experience.
The worst part being I don't see a way out for Google or a light at the end of the tunnel for consumers short of starting over, which presents more problems than it solves.
Sent from my SGH-I897
Madtowndave said:
If you want stability, I'd recommend Firefly or Andromeda. They are both older and are Froyo builds, but ultra stable.
And I concur the out of the box Cappy 2.1 build was unusable...it's how I ended up here at xda! Unlike you however, I found that I do like tweaking my phone, and I've done some amount of that...not without peaks and valleys, but I currently really enjoy the Mosaic ROM with Semaphore JVZ kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestions.
Actually, I think tweaking can be fun sometimes, but between work, family, house, etc. I'm usually stumbling through on 5 hours of sleep a night as it is (good thing I don't drive to work!). I simply don't have time to tweak, and I definitely can't be without a phone for a day or two.
MikeyMike01 said:
Unfortunately, it's shaping out that way. And it's only getting worse as time goes on and the fragments march in their separate directions. When there's 20 different fundamental ROMS (Sense, TouvhWiz, all the variations and so on), and 4000 different phones it becomes increasingly difficult to provide a consistent quality experience.
The worst part being I don't see a way out for Google or a light at the end of the tunnel for consumers short of starting over, which presents more problems than it solves.
Sent from my SGH-I897
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the sense I was getting, but when I would express it to anyone I know in meat-space, they just rolled their eyes and called me crazy. I started this thread with the optimistic hope that I was simply missing something.
It's good to know at least that I'm not alone in my thinking.
Stevenrogers_420 said:
KK4 seems to be the final update and source code is out so things are about to get real good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my hope.
I have had Cognition 5 on my phone since it was released. It has been the ultimate experience for me. Stable, GREAT battery life, awesome response, etc. It is the Plain Jane of ROMs and I won't use anything else.
at least not until a stable, working version of ICS is out. I've recently got my hands on a free captivate and have been using it as a testbed for ICS. Once I am satisfied, I will flash my everyday use Cappy to ICS and be done with flashing on this phone until I can upgrade this summer.
Im in your boat somewhat. I want all features of the device to work and I dont want reboots etc. Stability is critical.
For Froyo, Firefy 3.0 ROM gave up uptimes of 7-8 days without issue. I only rebooted once battery ran out.
GB ROMs Ive tried are all more unstable, but I have been on Illuminance 3.01 for over a week now and its running quite good. I reboot often though as I swap batteries, so I cant speak to up time but it goes over a day easily. Im using the ICS theme with it so it feels like I have a new device also.
Now that we have KK4 source I think we will see stability improve even more.
I see too many problems with the ICS builds so far but they are alpha afterall. Impressive progress from the devs working on it however!
Eventually my idea is to take the best of all the leaks and make a rock solid stable hybrid rom. Though most devs, including myself, try to cater to the masses. It seems what you are looking for isn't very popular. Most want more and better in their roms, i've tried both and still not overly successful at either. But it doesn't stop me from trying to create the best of both worlds. A solid stable rom with nice features, that doesn't deteriorate in performance over time. Hopefully a hybrid rom will solve a lot of issues we all face with the cappy.
The thing the iphone has going for it is the fact it is one manufacturer, apple. All the iphones are the same, same processor, same hardware, same specs, same, same, same. It makes it easy to have a tight knit development for the phone, so it is less prone to issues. But because of this tight, closed architecture, you don't have allot of choices as far as styles and hardware. Android and Windows, on the other hand, have multiple manufacturers and many choices of processors, hardware and styles to choose from. So it is much more difficult for Google and phone manufacturing developers to cater to all of the different phones and have each one run flawlessly. The same holds true for Linux and Windows with PC's. But I think the cappy has some of the best developers on XDA making great ROMs for it and these ROMs don't necessarily cater to hobbyists, they cater to captivate users in general.
Sometimes good things come to those who wait...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium
In my own opinion, I think one of the best ROM's out there, and quite frankly possibly the most stable I've run to date is Phoenix Unleashed. It's Froyo JS8, and was the last of the 2.2 ROM's Adam put out. It was a ROM I would absolutely go to IF I ever got tired of flashing ROM's(don't really see that happening) and wanted to just have a phone that worked and worked well.
I'm too busy now playing with ICS.......but that is a story for another day
kangi26 said:
In my own opinion, I think one of the best ROM's out there, and quite frankly possibly the most stable I've run to date is Phoenix Unleashed. It's Froyo JS8, and was the last of the 2.2 ROM's Adam put out. It was a ROM I would absolutely go to IF I ever got tired of flashing ROM's(don't really see that happening) and wanted to just have a phone that worked and worked well.
I'm too busy now playing with ICS.......but that is a story for another day
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I think there's something to that. Serendipity 6 was JS8 if I remember correctly.
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MikeyMike01 said:
I think there's something to that. Serendipity 6 was JS8 if I remember correctly.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
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By the way, no offence Mikey, I'm not in any way trying to imply that your ROM's are inferior, I just spent a TON of time with the Phoenix ROM's so my opinion comes from that alone
Firstly, please don't get me wrong here. Im not trolling in the slightest and I really appreciate all the work the devs do here.
With the HTC One having such high specs is there really any need to flash custom Roms? In my opinion all of them seem the same and don't look or feel any different to the stock rom on the One. The only benefit I can see is for Root access.
Im sure there is a lot of "under the hood" tweaks that are done but are these really noticeable or beneficial to the end user? Other peoples thoughts would be interesting.
dr9722 said:
Firstly, please don't get me wrong here. Im not trolling in the slightest and I really appreciate all the work the devs do here.
With the HTC One having such high specs is there really any need to flash custom Roms? In my opinion all of them seem the same and don't look or feel any different to the stock rom on the One. The only benefit I can see is for Root access.
Im sure there is a lot of "under the hood" tweaks that are done but are these really noticeable or beneficial to the end user? Other peoples thoughts would be interesting.
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Click to collapse
Actually yes, I wish to get CM working fully on HTC One.
It gives us an alternate experience than what HTC wanted us to.
Best of all, you don't have to wait so long for HTC to update their phones.
Especially when they abandon the One, we rely on CM.
But I'm really hoping for the success of the One, nobody could resist the look and feel of the One.
Livebyte said:
Actually yes, I wish to get CM working fully on HTC One.
It gives us an alternate experience than what HTC wanted us to.
Best of all, you don't have to wait so long for HTC to update their phones.
Especially when they abandon the One, we rely on CM.
But I'm really hoping for the success of the One, nobody could resist the look and feel of the One.
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I totally agree the updates and the benefit of getting rid on Sense if you dont like it is a real benefit. But is there a need for multiple Sense custom roms?
dr9722 said:
I totally agree the updates and the benefit of getting rid on Sense if you dont like it is a real benefit. But is there a need for multiple Sense custom roms?
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That's subjective I guess. But for something like example HTC DROID DNA or Butterfly, Sense 5 gets ported before HTC did. So I guess it's also a huge benefit.
Earlier updates is the main reason why I will be rooting, these phone networks take ages to update it's unavailable!!
Also there are some very nice skinned roms out there
I won't be unlocking my bootloader for a while. Not until I am at least sure that my device is working 100% and that will take a couple of weeks. I was eager to root it etc but I was reading about HTC's warranty and it seems as though it is a very long winded process. Maybe you wish to do the same?
m00moo said:
I won't be unlocking my bootloader for a while. Not until I am at least sure that my device is working 100% and that will take a couple of weeks. I was eager to root it etc but I was reading about HTC's warranty and it seems as though it is a very long winded process. Maybe you wish to do the same?
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yep ill be in no hurry either.
when i finally get a device im happy with yea i will root and flash custom rom, but not CM - Sense 5 is great and IMO is much better than stock JB - there are a few minor things I would like added, but I have no doubt they will be added to custom sense 5 roms in due course.
to me, there is no point in being a flashaholic. flash the latest stable base, and then keep up with custom kernels for battery.
thats me, idk bout u guys
Personally something that will push me over the unlock bootloader line is when either when A) IF the HTC logo can become mapped as a button, or B) A full relock becomes available lol
For me, absolutely. I consider some features (such as long press vol key to skip tracks) essential. There are also always some visual things I like to change no matter how well it is made
I just need root to enable volume key wake, and ill want to remap the keys. Everything else looks flawless
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
do you need root etc. to install flash on ONE ?
ChazyChaz said:
do you need root etc. to install flash on ONE ?
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No. To my knowledge, the built in browser has flash support.
What about Wi-Fi hotspot support?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
While there's obviously no NEED, a lot of people will prefer to flash ROMs for a variety of different reasons.
I'd say the main reasons are;
*The ability to have a pure AOSP look which is preferred by a lot of people (especially those who come from a Nexus device). Also, a lot of people don't like the look/feel of Sense and will therefore want to change the UI to something which is more preferable to them.
I, for example, have never tried Sense before and could quite possibly hate it once I finally test it. On the flip side of that, I may love it but at least custom ROMs will give me the ability to completely change the UI whilst giving me a ton more customizations and optimizations than a custom launcher would do.
*As mentioned at the end of the first reason, customization is a huge part of what a lot of people do with their devices. For example, when I had my SGS2 I used to love the ability to flash a simple ROM and have a ton of customization at my fingertips, so I could edit the look of my phone to my hearts content.
*Some people are simply flashaholics and have ORD (Obsessive ROM-flashing/updating Disorder). I'll normally flash every ROM in sight if the device is new and there aren't many ROMs available yet. This way it gives me a good early decision as to what type of ROM I'd prefer on said device. However, once the device starts getting more development and more ROMs start appearing in quick succession, I'll then make my mind up about which ROM to choose and generally won't change ROM for the vast majority of the devices lifetime.
Got a HTC? Join the HTC Hangout Thread
I unlocked, rooted and flashed now because in a few months time the phone will be setup perfectly; all the right apps, all the right data, all in the right place (and HTC might of discovered a way to do a Sensation on us (S-Off))
With the phone rooted I can be relatively confident of getting it back to my currently backed up state after any major updates (and, when I finally install some games, get their progress restored as well)
Sent from my Tricked out HTC One via xda-developers application
Sense means HTC. I don't see any reason to buy HTC if I'm not gonna use sense.
Because HTC makes great hardware. I buy HTC exclusively, but I rip sense off it ASAP and put AOKP or CM or something without sense. Nexus devices are generally not top of the line hardware, they're supposed to be a benchmark for development (i.e. midrange). That said, N4 has more impressive specs than usual, but I can't imagine buying an LG phone. I have never realized LG even made smartphones, only flip phones until the N4 was released.
Still, HTC makes best hardware, I just generally don't like sense. That said, sense 5 does look interesting.
Sent from my EVO LTE using xda premium
Having options is nice!
Dharkan said:
Sense means HTC. I don't see any reason to buy HTC if I'm not gonna use sense.
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To a certain extent, yes, I agree with you on that statement. However, sometimes you just need a change and it is nice to have the option of running AOSP roms as well. I would much rather go back and forth between Sense/AOSP than TouchWiz/AOSP after having my GS3.
No. Roms are for old devices. Lol
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk 2
Just got my HTC One Dev Edition yesterday, been playing with it all night and LOVE IT. I've been an android user for the past 3 years and have rooted, crack flashed all my phones, though I must admit I have slowed down with the flashing looking for more stability and just don't have time to research as much as I used to.
BUT this is the first phone that I don't feel the need to root and flash. I'm fully on stock for now and liking sense, but will install Nova for my configuration.
Got a couple of questions and want to know your opinion:
1) HTC Backup or leave it google backup
2) How are you liking blinkfeed? I'm loving it.
3) For HTC one email, do you leave it smartsync or push for work Exchange emails
4) Any tweaks or performance enhancements I should know of?
Thanks for any opinion!
Don't be in a hurry to make changes to it.
Take your time, get to know the phone as it shipped.
I starting hanging around these forums weeks before I first got my dev edition, then started chiming in on a lot of conversations but still didn't make a single change to the phone for a month.
What I learned during that time was how great this phone is out of box. So much activity around here is just so unnecessary. All the ROMs mods tweaks and especially the obsession with getting OTA updates before they are officially released to your particular model or country. Really?
I did every last thing a person can do to an Evo. I've done swap partitions, init.d scripts, smali edits, undrervolts, overclocks, kitchen cooked my own ROMs, run jelly bean on a phone that shipped with eclair, basically everything short of compiling my own kernel from source.
Why? because each one taught me something about android and occasionally - very occasionally - made a material improvement to the value I got out of the phone.
I have no such motivation on the One.
In four months the only change I've made to the phone that I feel like made any improvement was updating to a newer camera. Don't need root, don't need a recovery, don't need splash screens HBOOTs radios or firmwares and I sure as hell don't need a new CID. Honestly the only reason I did S-OFF is you never know when the exploits will get patched.
That's just one guy's feeling about the phone.
So my thought is take it slow. Hang around here awhile to see what is possible, what people care about, and use the phone for awhile to see if there's anything about it you just have to change.
You may be surprised how long it takes before you have to scratch the itch.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Up top, this isn't a "best ROM" or "what should I run" sort of thread. It's also a topic that can easily provoke rage so please don't think that I'm trying to convince anyone of one thing or another. This is just me being curious.
After starting with Android a few years ago, I've noticed an increasing amount of "flashing fatigue" setting in lately. Sure, I'll root (because I have a lot of utility apps that require root), but the appeal of custom ROMs is fading fast. The Google Edition port was my latest (and longest standing) ROM for my One, and before that I'd tried one or two stock-derivative ROMs (save one bad AOSP experience back when we had sleep of death going on). I'm back to stock now, and trying a "fuller" experience (no launcher replacement, etc.-- minus root, again, for some XPosed tweaks like disabling the NFC icon).
This phone's now been out a while, so I'm curious: how many of you have "settled down" so to speak on one side or the other?
The first Android I owned was an Epic 4G and then Epic 4G Touch. Both left a ton to be deaired from a software standpoint and I easily flashed 3 dozen or more different roms between those two phones.
Flash forward to the HTC One and I've never felt the need to leave the stock ROM. I do use the Google Experience Launcher and have replaces some of the stock apps with better versions from 3rd party devs, but honestly I don't really see a point. Performance, battery life and functionality all seem to have hit a perfect balance with this phone. And like you suggested, the fatigue of flashing is really heavy these days especially since I'm not looking to fix a flaw or add a feature. Although once a working KitKat ROM hits us I will probably root and flash just to get a feel. Though admittedly I've always found the bone stock look of Android to be lacking visually.
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk
The very first phone I flashed over to a custom firmware was the LG G2X from T-Mobile. The android experience on that phone was very tasteless and bloated. Support from LG was less than non-existent. I found that I couldn't really stand using the phone on stock so I flashed a few different roms until I landed on eaglesblood. Although there was a lot broken on eaglesblood, I found it an upgrade to stock. Fast forward like Adam described and I have been on the HTC One for nearly 6 months. In that time I have flashed perhaps a few custom roms. In the end, I reverted back to stock. The One is a solid phone from both a software and hardware stand-point. I find myself checking my BlinkFeed a few times an hour and if I am on a senseless ROM I feel lost without it.
Tl;dr I have no need to ever leave stock. Stock rooted is good enough for me.
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I've been running RageOne and have found it to be more than enough from what I need for my HTC one
Same here. I started with Hero, then Evo Shift, Evo 3D, Evo 4G LTE and now The One. I previously always rooted and flashed multiple roms until found one that like and stable enough for daily use. With the One, I honestly haven't done nothing to it. I find it prefect for everyday use. No problem was so ever. At times I feel weird because I never had an HTC or android phone for less than a week without rooting it and etc, but with the One no need since good as is.
I know also pending amount of developers we have currently since most leave to develop in other phones or carrier based phone model is what we can choose from roms available which is less than the other carrier model.
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The HTC One is my first non Nexus smartphone, so dealing with all the bloat that comes with Sense and stock has been hard for me. When I was using my Nexus S 4G I used Slim Rom and loved it for its minimal nature and stuck with it. Slim bean 4.3 stable has been a great rom for me, though now that the 4.4 builds are out I've found them more suitable for a daily driver. Slimkat is awesome and I personally cant wait for it to reach stable. Minimal is my cup of tea, add in Google Experience Launcher and I'm one happy guy.
I had a Hero, then a whole bunch of Shift4G's. Rooted all of those because I could make them noticeably faster, increase the battery life, and get rid of apps I didn't use.
With the One, it's already fast enough that I wouldn't notice an increase much. The battery life is great for the way I use it, I recently had a stretch that was nearly 40 hours off the charger (obviously I didn't use it a heck of a lot during that time). And being able to hide the apps I don't want from the app drawer means I forget they're even there. Because of that, I haven't seen a good reason to put a different ROM on this phone...yet