Sorry for my noobness but what actual difference is there between the two UI? is it just the way it looks? if so I could just theme it right?
I'm just looking for something that is stable for everyday use I was mainly looking at Super D because it has some pretty good feedback on the stability, but if sense is that much better i might as well get cursor or something
Donut is version 1.6 of the stock android build. Sense is HTC's modified user interface which runs on top of stock android builds. i.e. you can have sense ui running on a donut build (or cupcake, eclair, etc.) Sense is basically jut a replacement for the stock Android UI, whereas Donut is version 1.6 of the stock Android UI.
Basically it just comes down to what UI you prefer to use. If you want a really solid, stable UI that doesn't use Sense then I would recommend Cyanogen Mod. Cursorsense is great if you're after a solid, stable Sense UI rom - the only issue is that you will have to flash your radio and SPL in order to run it and if you're new to the game I wouldnt reccommend playing with that just yet Look for a Sense UI that says it can run on the 'Old Radio' and give that a try to see if you prefer it to the Stock android UI.
Just wanted to add...
that nearly all Sense UI roms are running on Android 1.5.
So, it's either donut Android UI or cupcake Sense UI.
With the exception of some Tattoo roms (Sense on Donut).
I like sense ui, it's a lot smoother in my opinion. Unfortunately I don't like 7 screens, cupcake, and it's harder for me to theme the rosie. I like personally like Donut more. But if you're just looking for everyday use, I agree with theo ther guy. I'd use CyanogenMod for Donut (SuperD isn't bad either), and Cursorsense for SenseUI. SenseUI moves from screen to screen so much more smooth and if you like The Rosie thing, then I think you'll love senseui(I hate it lol)
Related
Firstly let me just as I give a MASSIVE congratulations to the guys in #g2root for all their hard work in achieving permanent root. I'm not going to lie, I thought Christmas time was an achievable target when it came to breaking the eMMC lockdown on the G2 and DHD but to do it in early November? (applause)
Anyway, my Black Ops addiction forces me to keep this short and sweet, as time is of the essence and I must earn some COD Points before work!
My question is, when we start seeing custom ROMs, will you be sticking with Sense or moving to an AOSP ROM? I'm interested in your reasons and also wondering whether there are any users who were fans of AOSP (Stock Android) and have been converted by the new and improved HTC Sense 'experience'?
Things to consider are speed, functionality, looks etc.
I'll weigh in with my opinion later on.
Please don't start flaming each other and turn this into some kind of epic fight between the OS and it's illegitimate shell UI of a child!
They both have pro's and con's.
Regards.
I much prefer stock android. Sense is nice, but i just don't really like the look of the dock (even though you can change it). Stock android with the transparent dock at the bottom, and all fancy animations for opening/closing apps, keyboard sliding up etc just looks awesome!
Also gingerbread im sure will probably have more eye candy, but again HTC might cut these from their roms. So i'll be sticking with stock. Cyanogen maybe..
No I couldnt get to grips with sense it looks really flash, but maybe it's because i came from the Magic that the system overhead of running all the ui effects worries me, so I have disabled it all and am waiting on Cyanogen
What counts more?
To me its not the UI that counts but the android version, in other words if i had a choice of CM 6.1 or my current sense rom id go for sense. Don't get me wrong CM is amazing but both being 2.2 id rather take the extra functionality, looks and ease of use of the new Sense roms than an AOSP build. However if i had the choice of CM 7.0 (ie gingerbread) or sticking with sense 2.2 i would move over to AOSP without a second thought!
After coming from the Hero and the amazing FroydVillain 1.5. I cannot wait for Hacre to start cooking ROMs for the DHD. So my choice is firmly in the AOSP camp.
Unless a custom rom offers something i dont have ill stick with sense. I like it graphically and much prefer htcs widgets.
Only phone ive loaded custom roms on before was my htc hero but that was because it fixed a message notification problem.
So far ive no issues with my DHD so see no reason at the moment for a custom rom.
bratfink said:
To me its not the UI that counts but the android version, in other words if i had a choice of CM 6.1 or my current sense rom id go for sense. Don't get me wrong CM is amazing but both being 2.2 id rather take the extra functionality, looks and ease of use of the new Sense roms than an AOSP build. However if i had the choice of CM 7.0 (ie gingerbread) or sticking with sense 2.2 i would move over to AOSP without a second thought!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, surely Cyanogen adds functionality, or did I miss something? Yes you'll lose the SENSE skin but I'd be surprised if any real functionality is lost
i prefer aosp clean roms,i always used to have aosp cooked roms on my ex-desire and looking forward for aosp roms on dhd
Bring the AOSP roms on !!!
Yes..
ghostofcain said:
Sorry, surely Cyanogen adds functionality, or did I miss something? Yes you'll lose the SENSE skin but I'd be surprised if any real functionality is lost
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im fully aware of the benefits of CM but being mostly a business user the utility i gain from sense is far greater than on AOSP, however the geek in me just cannot live with not having the latest and greatest OS. Simple as that.
Given the choice of a same version Sense UI and a CM ROM I'd likely stick with the Sense UI version. There is a lot more integration than normal flavour ROMs offer and it's one of the reasons HTC have been praised. Small touches like basic Facebore and Twatter integration without needing an app specific to them is nice, as it the browsing of Facebork photo albums as if they're on your device.
ghostofcain said:
Sorry, surely Cyanogen adds functionality, or did I miss something? Yes you'll lose the SENSE skin but I'd be surprised if any real functionality is lost
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on what you call real functionality. As I just said above I love the extra touches that Sense UI has such as the Facebork photo albums, cross-account linking with updates from social networks in their contact profile on your phone and for me the best implementation of copy and paste outside of iOS. It's basic things, not massively important but those touches are missing from stock Android.
skimminstones said:
Unless a custom rom offers something i dont have ill stick with sense. I like it graphically and much prefer htcs widgets.
So far ive no issues with my DHD so see no reason at the moment for a custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me too, i completely agree
I'm really torn between HTC Sense & AOSP. There are positive things for both, as this phone was supplied with android 2.1 and HTC Sense. So for me my first introduction to android was via the Sense UI so once I had rooted the phone and applied s-off I was keen to see what was difference for the user interface (ease of use) and to compare the battery life etc. I'm currently using cyanogen nightly builds, and I'm most impressed with its performance, I do miss some of the HTC widgets, but I get by! now for me my comparison between the two is like comparing kde vs gnome!
Currently my preference is with AOSP, but only by a slim margin as to some degree Sense is (for first time use) easier, but is quite taxing on CPU...
so there's my 2 cents worth!
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
AOSP !!!
I dont use any Sense widgets. I prefer the speed in a Senseless ROM
I prefer Sense ROM most of the time.. i will try to play around with AOSP once in a while but when a higher version of android is out but still no official sense rom is out yet, AOSP is a must.. this applies to Gingerbread and higher xD
How about that sense browser with the translate feature on long press, can't get that anywhere but sense, and LPP has similar widgets
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I'll be sticking with Sense, at least for a while anyway (until I get bored!).
It's nice to have something that just works. Coming from WM6.5 it's such a breath of fresh air to just have a phone that does what it's supposed to when you want it to.
I have a Kaiser flashed with CM6 and a Rhodium with AOSP if I ever want to play with that, but right now I just want a seamless environment, and Sense seems to provide that for me quite nicely.
Sense without any doubt!! The only setting I would choose AOSP is if Gingerbread comes out before an official Htc rom with Sense, as said by many. That would be the only scenario I would choose that, and then decide what to do if/when Htc comes to the upper Android version too. I really feel good with Sense, love it!
I'llstick to the first Sense rom "without all the Sense crap" I will see. Why?
The sense phone dialer is unbeatable, so useful! I don't need the clock, Fancy widget takes care of this. I don't need the news and weather stuff and all Sense crap, but because of the dialer, the contacts management AND the music interaface, it's worth having. In the Desire Android development thread, there was 1 rom like this, but I stuck with a AOSP rom because it was better. This sense rom was ok, but still, too many crap in it. The AOSP was ok, but with an update almost everyday, I could merely keep up. So I gave up and sold my Desire. Now I'm back again on the Android scene, let's see what it brings.
BIG THANKS AND RESPECT TO THE G2 TEAM WHO MADE A DESIRE COME TRUE!!!
f.
dazultra2000 said:
I'll be sticking with Sense, at least for a while anyway (until I get bored!).
It's nice to have something that just works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, i agree, im not bored with it yet and it works - no reason to change
Heyyy, kind of a noobie here.... I flashed iced glacier, and desire HD, and now I'm using cyanogen, which is like vanilla I guess? But what's the big difference....I mean it seems like there are two sides, the vanilla, and the other side... what I want to know is what is the real difference between say, sense, and something like cyanogen? I mean I am by no means anything even remotely close to a dev or anything of that nature so maybe that's why I don't know or understand...but so far the only big difference I have seen has been like the friendstream widget and te Widgets in general are nice in sense...could someone explain to me the case for both sides....vanilla and sense?
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Jaskwith said:
Heyyy, kind of a noobie here.... I flashed iced glacier, and desire HD, and now I'm using cyanogen, which is like vanilla I guess? But what's the big difference....I mean it seems like there are two sides, the vanilla, and the other side... what I want to know is what is the real difference between say, sense, and something like cyanogen? I mean I am by no means anything even remotely close to a dev or anything of that nature so maybe that's why I don't know or understand...but so far the only big difference I have seen has been like the friendstream widget and te Widgets in general are nice in sense...could someone explain to me the case for both sides....vanilla and sense?
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cyanogen Mod is basically a modified version of the Android Open Source Project. That is to say it is basically vanilla android with some tweaks and replacements of generic apps.
CM6 Demo
Sense is user interface created by HTC that sits on top of the core android system and replaces many of the AOSP apps with HTC versions.
Sense Demo
Espresso, sometimes called MySense, is a modified version of HTC Sense.
Espresso Demo
Touchwiz is a samsung propietary that sits on top of the core android system and replaces AOSP apps with Samsung versions.
Touchwiz Demo
MIUI is a chinese developed UI for android, and much like sense sits on top of the Android core. MIUI to most people resembles iOS. It has aspects of many other user interfaces such as sense and touchwiz.
MIUI Demo
MOTOBlur is a Motorola proprietary user interface that is heavy on social networking. It was used int the cliq, but is no longer prevalent in newer motorola phones.
MotoBlur Demo
The case for any of these is personal preference. Cyanogen Mod being an AOSP derivative tends to be more lightweight and not as resource intensive, but Sense has a ton of added goodies (particularly the actual HTC Sense and not T-mobile's version of sense, Espresso). MIUI has a very snappy interface heavy on animations and is very customizable. With all that, it's really up to you what you like most, and what suits your needs most.
I've had the Nexus One for So long with stock...
I kinda like HTC Sense on this phone it isn't so bad plenty of memory and I have a 16gb SD card. So I think I'll wait until Cyanogen comes up with a gingerbread ROM.... After coming off Cyanogen for months I think I'll give sense a try...
Thank you very much!!!!! Very helpful I get it all now. So would you say that people like AOSP so much because its by devs where as sense is something HTC tried to brand and because they are hardware end of things they don't know as much and should just leave it to devs and aosp, on the software side of things...?
slhpss said:
Cyanogen Mod is basically a modified version of the Android Open Source Project. That is to say it is basically vanilla android with some tweaks and replacements of generic apps.
CM6 Demo
Sense is user interface created by HTC that sits on top of the core android system and replaces many of the AOSP apps with HTC versions.
Sense Demo
Espresso, sometimes called MySense, is a modified version of HTC Sense.
Espresso Demo
Touchwiz is a samsung propietary that sits on top of the core android system and replaces AOSP apps with Samsung versions.
Touchwiz Demo
MIUI is a chinese developed UI for android, and much like sense sits on top of the Android core. MIUI to most people resembles iOS. It has aspects of many other user interfaces such as sense and touchwiz.
MIUI Demo
MOTOBlur is a Motorola proprietary user interface that is heavy on social networking. It was used int the cliq, but is no longer prevalent in newer motorola phones.
MotoBlur Demo
The case for any of these is personal preference. Cyanogen Mod being an AOSP derivative tends to be more lightweight and not as resource intensive, but Sense has a ton of added goodies (particularly the actual HTC Sense and not T-mobile's version of sense, Espresso). MIUI has a very snappy interface heavy on animations and is very customizable. With all that, it's really up to you what you like most, and what suits your needs most.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my freshly rooted sex machine aka Icy MT4G!
Jaskwith said:
Thank you very much!!!!! Very helpful I get it all now. So would you say that people like AOSP so much because its by devs where as sense is something HTC tried to brand and because they are hardware end of things they don't know as much and should just leave it to devs and aosp, on the software side of things...?
Sent from my freshly rooted sex machine aka Icy MT4G!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the allure of AOSP is how lightweight it is. That is why so many people like CM... it's AOSP with extra tweaks and features. Sense on the other hand many people see as bloated and "improving" where it's not needed... like I said it's all preference though... I personally really like CM, but I also really like the "new" sense that you will find in gr8gorilla's DHD port. Just experiment... maybe run a rom for a day or two give it a good test run then try another... eventually you will figure out what's right for you.
@slhpss Thanks a lot. This is a really easy and concise way of explaining things and I appreciate that.
When I started using Android on my HD2, I hated stock android builds and was huge fan of Sense Builds.
However after using it all (Stock Desire, Desire HD ROMS) and trying out stock Android builds...i've started to like stock android/CM much more...
Even though HTC has done a great job and sense has the best out of the box experience, but with few additional softwares, widgets Launcher Pro and Dialer2...stock android is just as functional as sense and feels much more smoother/faster too...Animations also seems much more elegant..
What you guys think?
Also I don't know what CM7 gives over stock Gingerbread, stock builds are just as much functional and feels more light too?
my 1st try on android was shubcraft, very simple but later its annoy me of launcher pro unintend 'widget resize' reminder to get full purchase. Then, Iv try the Nexus base which has bland milky white menubar which make me boring. So I skip to Desire and Evo base rom. I think Im liking to use more because Sense is is very usefull with instant result widget like, message and people widgets, so handy without necessary open main program
But once getting to Desire HD, its like full of colors while other build stay sorta black and white. But I do like to MIUI and Gingerbread too, better than before
Is there a thread with a basic comparison of the different ROMs available for the MT4G and what the major differences/advantageous/disadvantageous are?
tmagritte said:
Is there a thread with a basic comparison of the different ROMs available for the MT4G and what the major differences/advantageous/disadvantageous are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should do a little research on your own, most people will flame you for this question seeing how all the info you ask are already on these forums.
You can either A. Check the rom development section and see what all the roms have to offer and compare them from there or B. Flash and test yourself
I was hoping maybe someone had written an introductory guide for noobs that I had missed that might save me a lot of reading/testing. Based on your response, that doesn't seem to be the case, so lots and lots of reading for me it is...
Thanks.
tmagritte said:
I was hoping maybe someone had written an introductory guide for noobs that I had missed that might save me a lot of reading/testing. Based on your response, that doesn't seem to be the case, so lots and lots of reading for me it is...
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one has sat down and written a guide as far as what ROM has what feeling to it.
Cyanogen is a AOSP ROM. Plain Jane Android, nothing fancy. Just works and does a quick job of it
Iced Glacier is a slimmed down variant of the MySense that comes on the phone
Gorilla, IIRC, is a traditional Sense ROM
and the last popular one is a MiUi (pronounced My You Eye) rom...
I could be wrong on the last two.. but yea... there is alot of reading to see what you like. Typically you will not find write ups on ROMs because of biased opinions.
Here's my quickie breakdown... Just my opinion (I have not used all of them myself)
Froyo based (Android 2.2.x)
HTC Sense/Expresso ROMs:
Stock - stripped down version of the HTC Sense UI, very fast, but filled with T-mobile BLOATWARE, Sense UI experience is limited.
Ice Glacier - same as above with BLOATWARE removed and ROM optimized.
Desire HD/Z/Thunderbolt - FULL Sense UI experience, a bit slower than STOCK, but with lots of Eye Candy... Great for beginner users who wants all the bells and whistles. Desire Z's Sense UI can work in landscape, but because of it, it is also the slowest of all Sense UIs.
CM6, G2 - Your AOSP ROMs (Google ROMs) totally striped down to bare minium.
Very very fast, but without ANY eye candies or fancy UI's. Some like it due to their speed, some hate it because of lack of Eye Candies.
MIUI - This is a Chinese invented UI which very closely resemble Apple's iOS UI. So for former Apple users, this would seem most intuitive to them.
LiquidMetal - This is an Acer Exclusive UI. It is also very fast because the Framework for it is fairly light weight. It is kinda unusual so takes time to get used to it. Some like it because its FRESH some hate it because it is VERY different from Sense UI.
Gingerbread based (Android 2.3.x)
CM7 - AOSP bare minimum Android... Super fast because its the latest greatest, no eye candies but highly customizable with stuff from users and market place....
Anyways, just my 2 cents...
Wow, great summaries, thanks so much!
I had no idea the stock MT4G ROM isn't the full Sense UI...
Me either! What differences are there between stock sense ui on the MT4G and a 'full' version of sense ui on the other roms?
And thanks for that little breakdown, very helpful
faux123 said:
Here's my quickie breakdown... Just my opinion (I have not used all of them myself)
Froyo based (Android 2.2.x)
HTC Sense/Expresso ROMs:
Stock - stripped down version of the HTC Sense UI, very fast, but filled with T-mobile BLOATWARE, Sense UI experience is limited.
Ice Glacier - same as above with BLOATWARE removed and ROM optimized.
Desire HD/Z/Thunderbolt - FULL Sense UI experience, a bit slower than STOCK, but with lots of Eye Candy... Great for beginner users who wants all the bells and whistles. Desire Z's Sense UI can work in landscape, but because of it, it is also the slowest of all Sense UIs.
CM6, G2 - Your AOSP ROMs (Google ROMs) totally striped down to bare minium.
Very very fast, but without ANY eye candies or fancy UI's. Some like it due to their speed, some hate it because of lack of Eye Candies.
MIUI - This is a Chinese invented UI which very closely resemble Apple's iOS UI. So for former Apple users, this would seem most intuitive to them.
LiquidMetal - This is an Acer Exclusive UI. It is also very fast because the Framework for it is fairly light weight. It is kinda unusual so takes time to get used to it. Some like it because its FRESH some hate it because it is VERY different from Sense UI.
Gingerbread based (Android 2.3.x)
CM7 - AOSP bare minimum Android... Super fast because its the latest greatest, no eye candies but highly customizable with stuff from users and market place....
Anyways, just my 2 cents...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This should be stickied on the rom bible!
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
I dont want to make this a gingerbread vs froyo thread or mysense vs aosp. i already know the differences between them and i know on paper gingerbread is the future and is better.
my question is if i should upgrade to GB because the roms are ports from other phones. with roms such as royal glacier running the stock firmware i would think it would run more efficiently and more stable since that rom and kernel were made for our phone compared to all the ginger roms/kernel which were meant to run more efficiently on other phones. i know at this point the gingerbread roms are stable but they come with a few caveats with some things not working properly as their supposed to.
what do you guys think? is ginger really worth it for now?
It's a matter of personal taste. ROMs and kernels have come a long ways since the phone came out. The latest RoyalGinger and RoyalGlacier are both rock-solid and everything works, no "catch" at all. I'm torn trying to decide which one to run permanently on my phone, they're both that good. RoyalGlacier is nice, smooth, fast, and has the stock espresso/sense stuff that makes the stock ROM so good. In my opinion HTC/T-Mo nailed the software interface dead-on, it doesn't feel gimmicky or clunky, it flows really nice and the experience is top-notch, I like it a lot. The only downside I've had with it is that the battery life is not nearly as good as RoyalGinger and up until the latest version it didn't have DSP/Equalizer, but I see that it does now. RoyalGinger is rock solid, it's blazing fast, the battery lasts forever, has DSP/Equalizer, and feels very "lean". But that is also the downside to it, it feels too "old/plain" compared to espresso, I miss having a different wallpaper for the lockscreen, recent apps on the notification area, nice music player integration with the lockscreen, a very nice look to the app launcher/icons, mms notifications on the lockscreen, the phone/contacts app, and other miscellaneous things that define the stock experience. RoyalGlacier cleans up really good with the Mixer theme(not because of the wallpaper, I changed that), the notification area colors/icons look really nice, the launcher icons look way better than stock gingerbread, the dialer has a transparent look to it and you can see the wallpaper through it. If the battery life were better on the stock-based ROMs I'd probably go back to that, but right now I'm just amazed with the battery life on RoyalGinger. Bottom line is both are EXCELLENT ROMs and can't go wrong with either one.