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Hey everybody,
I'm extremely new to the community and have recently found myself the proud parent of a baby T-Mobile Wing. There is so much helpful information on this site, but it is so hard to sort it all out. Right now I am running SPB Shell and am digging on it, yet I crave more. I like the layout of SPB Shell, but would love to be able to take better advantage of touch options (scrolling, contacts, internet, etc). What could be done to get these options? I've read about Open Touch, and there seem to be mixed reviews. Is it possible to still have SPB Shell and a program that offers better use of the touch screen?
Also, what are some applications that you Wing users are fond of? I am using VTouch, Google Maps, and an SNES emulator. Are there other things I should know about? Radio, a pizza maker maybe?
Thanks so much.
I'm still very new here too, but my advice is download everything you can find on this site and try it! The cooks are AMAZING and I'm now doing things with my wing that i never thought was possible.
Download a kitchen and play with it. But only after flashing and playing with all the roms that are available so you know what you want out of a rom.
start here... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=395793
ronnieglenn said:
Hey everybody,
I'm extremely new to the community and have recently found myself the proud parent of a baby T-Mobile Wing. There is so much helpful information on this site, but it is so hard to sort it all out. Right now I am running SPB Shell and am digging on it, yet I crave more. I like the layout of SPB Shell, but would love to be able to take better advantage of touch options (scrolling, contacts, internet, etc). What could be done to get these options? I've read about Open Touch, and there seem to be mixed reviews. Is it possible to still have SPB Shell and a program that offers better use of the touch screen?
Also, what are some applications that you Wing users are fond of? I am using VTouch, Google Maps, and an SNES emulator. Are there other things I should know about? Radio, a pizza maker maybe?
Thanks so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best way that I found to learn about my Wing is to screw it up several times and then learn how to fix it. I've made pretty much every mistake you can make with it when it comes to flashing ROMs. Every time I've found a thread on here to save me when I was inches away from throwing it in the trash can.
There's definitely not one overall "best" or "favorite" ROM. Personally I'm a fan of Ivan's JustMe because it has pretty much everything I use so I don't need to install anything on top of what's cooked in, and Just2Clean because, as the name implies, it really IS clean. But you really just need to get several, take them out for test drives (at least a week), and see which one suits you best. I've gotten ROMs before that I thought after a couple of hours were perfect for me, and then a few days later I realized a couple of annoying tiny things that made me reconsider. That's why it's ultimately best to cook your own. As soon as I get brave enough, that's my next step!
I personally don't take as much advantage of the touch screen as I should, so I'm not the best person to advise on that, but you should definitely spend a long time reading just about every post in the ROM review thread here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=395793
The Wing isn't built to support radio natively, but I use Internet radio a lot. www.thestreamcenter.com is the place I usually use. It's good if you know the call letters you're looking for. It was invaluable when I had to work during football games.
As far as a pizza maker goes, I have actually dropped my Wing on a piping hot, gooey pizza before. I do not recommend it. Sometimes I swear I can still smell oregano.
Some essential CABs I use no matter which ROM I'm currently using:
BatteryStatus
Total Commander
TCPMP
WM5torage
Opera Mini
Oxios Hibernate
PIM Backup
Again, though, everyone has their faves (even if they don't use MyFaves!).
Definitely start here though:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=327046
You may find some outdated apps in the links from that thread, but they'll at least hip you to the more commonly-used ones so you can look for the latest versions on your own.
Above all, don't be afraid to ask questions (after making good use of the "Search this Forum" button, of course)! I have posted several questions that I was embarrassed to be asking, but everyone on this site is incredibly knowledgeable and supportive.
Long post - To help you understand where I am coming from and my situation to better assess what I'm looking for
I've read pretty much all the stickies, and the newbie section regarding questions but I didn't really get answers. Though I did learn a lot, but I'm still a little confused. I find some threads messy, in terms of instructions, and descriptions. Not forgetting the existance of compilation threads. Of course, kudos to everyone here for making awesome apps and roms.
I'm a student from Singapore, and I finally got my dream phone, which is the X1, my first smartphone, from a friend. Barely a few months old and still under warranty. So I'm pretty much a newbie in terms of smartphones, firmware, apps and all that. Been using it for about a month now, got a few minor scratches from wear and tear so it's no biggy, but the keyboards a lil faded, peeled. I'm not sure how to describe it, some letters are just a blob without the 'paint' on to denote it, and the slide-up screen's a little loose.
I started off getting apps like PockeTwit for Twittering to play around. Then I stumbled upon XDA forums. I started off 'boosting' my phone's capabilities with TuneUp, XperiaTweak, VModeSwitch, SKTools, R3A Camera Update, SRS WOW sound thingy. Probably the same way you would do to a PC with certain OC programs and whatnot. Then I installed that Manilla program thing, and now my UI's pretty much like a HTC. Which is awesome might I add. A little laggy, may not be perfect, but it's still great. Thereafter I found out about firmware, WinMo 6.5, issues with it, custom ROMs. Read about how to flash, break it down before flashing custom ROMs into it, which is easy actually. I'm deciding between the Touch-It ROM and the SE-X1 xPERT one because it already has all the goodies in it. More inclined to Barebone one even, then later installing the goodies I want.
I'm looking for one that would look great, with minimal lag, with all the goodies to help me keep it in check and upgrades. (I do understand that there will definitely be a little lag in smartphones due to it's hardware and how we upkeep them as owners.)
Here comes the questions.
1. I would like to change the keyboard to a new one and tighten the sliding-screen. Would SE do that? And would it be free due to warranty?
2. If I were to flash a custom ROM in, would it void my warranty? (Assuming I do it before sending it to SE to fix above problems)
3. Which ROM should I get? I like the goodies that come in the xPERT ROM, but I also like the HTC UI from the Touch-IT ROM. Is there a way to maybe integrate the two? (I'm assuming it would lag less if the UI was integrated into the ROM rather than having it as a seperate installation like I have now)
4. Which would be after the first three are settled, is with games. I've seen the phone's capabilities and what not around, with emulators for the PS1, fullscreen games like Palm Heroes, PDiablo and all that. I've tried them all but I just can't seem to get them all to work, am I doing something wrong?
5. Panels, the whole point of the X1 would be its panels. But I just can't seem to find any. I've searched google, lists, pretty much everywhere. All I see are the official released ones from SE. The most I found, being custom, was the Youtube panel which I got to work. Is there really a lot of panels out there?
[Edit - More questions in Post #5]
That's all the questions I can remember for now, it's pretty late. I'll put up more in the thread or post if I can remember.
Thanks in advance!
keiitastrophic said:
Long post - To help you understand where I am coming from and my situation to better assess what I'm looking for
I've read pretty much all the stickies, and the newbie section regarding questions but I didn't really get answers. Though I did learn a lot, but I'm still a little confused. I find some threads messy, in terms of instructions, and descriptions. Not forgetting the existance of compilation threads. Of course, kudos to everyone here for making awesome apps and roms.
I'm a student from Singapore, and I finally got my dream phone, which is the X1, my first smartphone, from a friend. Barely a few months old and still under warranty. So I'm pretty much a newbie in terms of smartphones, firmware, apps and all that. Been using it for about a month now, got a few minor scratches from wear and tear so it's no biggy, but the keyboards a lil faded, peeled. I'm not sure how to describe it, some letters are just a blob without the 'paint' on to denote it, and the slide-up screen's a little loose.
I started off getting apps like PockeTwit for Twittering to play around. Then I stumbled upon XDA forums. I started off 'boosting' my phone's capabilities with TuneUp, XperiaTweak, VModeSwitch, SKTools, R3A Camera Update, SRS WOW sound thingy. Probably the same way you would do to a PC with certain OC programs and whatnot. Then I installed that Manilla program thing, and now my UI's pretty much like a HTC. Which is awesome might I add. A little laggy, may not be perfect, but it's still great. Thereafter I found out about firmware, WinMo 6.5, issues with it, custom ROMs. Read about how to flash, break it down before flashing custom ROMs into it, which is easy actually. I'm deciding between the Touch-It ROM and the SE-X1 xPERT one because it already has all the goodies in it. More inclined to Barebone one even, then later installing the goodies I want.
I'm looking for one that would look great, with minimal lag, with all the goodies to help me keep it in check and upgrades. (I do understand that there will definitely be a little lag in smartphones due to it's hardware and how we upkeep them as owners.)
Here comes the questions.
First, I would like to change the keyboard to a new one and tighten the sliding-screen. Would SE do that? And would it be free due to warranty?
Secondly, if I were to flash a custom ROM in, would it void my warranty? (Assuming I do it before sending it to SE to fix above problems)
Thirdly, which ROM should I get? I like the goodies that come in the xPERT ROM, but I also like the HTC UI from the Touch-IT ROM. Is there a way to maybe integrate the two? (I'm assuming it would lag less if the UI was integrated into the ROM rather than having it as a seperate installation like I have now)
Fourthly, which would be after the first three are settled, is with games. I've seen the phone's capabilities and what not around, with emulators for the PS1, fullscreen games like Palm Heroes, PDiablo and all that. I've tried them all but I just can't seem to get them all to work, am I doing something wrong?
That's all the questions I can remember for now, it's pretty late. I'll put up more in the thread or post if I can remember.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Just ask Sony Ericsson
2) You can send it back unless you flash to any of the Official Roms and you have to flash the default spl so they don't find out that you flashed your phone.
3) I don't get your questions. If you install a ROM that has Touch Flo 3D then of course you get Touch Flo 3D (aka manilla 3d)... therefore you can delete the the Touch Flo 3D cabs...
4) Xperia sucks with games... btw what is Pdiablo? Link please?
poetryrocksalot said:
1) Just ask Sony Ericsson
2) You can send it back unless you flash to any of the Official Roms and you have to flash the default spl so they don't find out that you flashed your phone.
3) I don't get your questions. If you install a ROM that has Touch Flo 3D then of course you get Touch Flo 3D (aka manilla 3d)... therefore you can delete the the Touch Flo 3D cabs...
4) Xperia sucks with games... btw what is Pdiablo? Link please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will be asking first thing in the morning regarding that. Just wondering if anyone had the same idea and probably got it fixed.
Regarding 2, if they'll fix it, I'll just wait till I get it back before flashing the ROMs then.
Sorry about the mix up with question 3, what I meant was, in regards to what I expecting from the X1, what I wrote in my first post. I like how the Manila UI looks and feels. But I'd like to have all the goodies or upgrades that are included in the other ROM.
So would it be ideal to flash the xPERT ROM and then installing the Manila UI? Or flashing the Touch-IT ROM and install all the other goodies and upgrades thereafter. Which would have minimal lag as a result, more space etc.
Hope I cleared it up.
PDiablo is a port of Diablo 1 to smartphones or PPCs (Whichever is the term), I read somewhere that it works fine on the X1. Here's the link.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3836658
Games are not an issue for me, since I have the PC and my PSP for it. I'm happy enough just to have the X1 as a phone, with apps and goodies.
For a properly working TF3D, you need it flashed into the ROM. Even then it'll be a tad slow at times (TF3D was coded horribly), but it'll be loads better than installed through CAB.
Which goodies in the other ROM do you want? Most can be installed anyway.
Angelusz said:
For a properly working TF3D, you need it flashed into the ROM. Even then it'll be a tad slow at times (TF3D was coded horribly), but it'll be loads better than installed through CAB.
Which goodies in the other ROM do you want? Most can be installed anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clarified my thoughts in terms of programming, about flashing > CAB installation. Thank you.
Program wise, preferably those I listed, like the R3A goodies from xPERT ROM, TuneUp, XperiaTweak, VModeSwitch, SKTools, SRS WOW HD I guess. Which I'm assuming shouldn't raise any problems in regards to clashes and whatnot.
I understand the SE-X1 ROMs come with WinMo 6.5, does the Touch-IT ROM come with 6.5 or is it just 6.1?
Is there also a way to increase the volume beyond the given maximum on the X1? Sometimes I can be pretty deaf and miss calls or alarms due to that.
A seperate question. Is there a way to show upcoming appointments beyond the current day and/or the Calendar button on the Home tab in Manila?
You say - "a truckload of question"
I say - Bring them on !!!!!!!!!
Some of them were answered so here are my two cents.
3 - I am using the Generic R3A UK ROM. I find it pretty stable and decently fast. All the tweaks and apps can be done separately, so I don't need a custom ROM. By the way - you can find almost every app or tweak in a cab file.
4 - There are many games that can be played by the X1, but a few made for it . Just search the forum for topics about games. Like this one that I posted (sorry for the shameless self promotion) -
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=522761&highlight=games+X1
Most of the problems are caused by the resolution of the games. Not many of them are in WVGA resolution. You need this app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=442426
5 - There are probably a dozen or less custom panels. Panels development = FAIL.
I dislike TF3D, so I can't help you there .
orelsi said:
You say - "a truckload of question"
I say - Bring them on !!!!!!!!!
Some of them were answered so here are my two cents.
3 - I am using the Generic R3A UK ROM. I find it pretty stable and decently fast. All the tweaks and apps can be done separately, so I don't need a custom ROM. By the way - you can find almost every app or tweak in a cab file.
4 - There are many games that can be played by the X1, but a few made for it . Just search the forum for topics about games. Like this one that I posted (sorry for the shameless self promotion) -
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=522761&highlight=games+X1
Most of the problems are caused by the resolution of the games. Not many of them are in WVGA resolution. You need this app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=442426
5 - There are probably a dozen or less custom panels. Panels development = FAIL.
I dislike TF3D, so I can't help you there .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply and input. I've seen your thread about games and I find it highly useful. I'll be sure to refer to that if I intend to get more games.
Will also look at standard Generic ROMs since you brought that into light. Never really looked into that.
Currently playing with theChanner program now, watching the telly on the X1.
As with games, not really bothered with panels, just find it rather funny how a strong released concept like that would be so under-developed. Guess it'll take time.
Thanks again.
keiitastrophic said:
Program wise, preferably those I listed, like the R3A goodies from xPERT ROM, TuneUp, XperiaTweak, VModeSwitch, SKTools, SRS WOW HD I guess. Which I'm assuming shouldn't raise any problems in regards to clashes and whatnot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, shouldn't be a problem at all. All those things are available in CAB format. SRS WOW HD doesn't work properly on the X1 though, so I don't know what that chef did.
keiitastrophic said:
I understand the SE-X1 ROMs come with WinMo 6.5, does the Touch-IT ROM come with 6.5 or is it just 6.1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Touch-IT has a WM 6.1 variant (10.3) and a WM6.5 one. The WM6.5 one is pretty old though, and if you use TF3D, having WM6.5 isn't that big a bonus.
keiitastrophic said:
Is there also a way to increase the volume beyond the given maximum on the X1? Sometimes I can be pretty deaf and miss calls or alarms due to that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SRS WOW HD is the only method I'm aware of - which, like I said earlier, doesn't work.
keiitastrophic said:
A seperate question. Is there a way to show upcoming appointments beyond the current day and/or the Calendar button on the Home tab in Manila?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many people have asked this, none have found out how so far. I think the best person to ask this is "Rotastrain" - he does a lot of Mode9 editing.
keiitastrophic said:
Will also look at standard Generic ROMs since you brought that into light. Never really looked into that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although a possibility, do keep in mind that Generic roms might lack some tweaks that you require for some things to work properly. I'd recommend a stripped down and tweaked ROM instead of generic. Often chefs make these as well, since it's the first thing they do before adding in new stuff.
keiitastrophic said:
As with games, not really bothered with panels, just find it rather funny how a strong released concept like that would be so under-developed. Guess it'll take time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't take time, it'll take a miracle. The X1 has been released more than eight months ago. The peak interest in the device has come and gone, panels have failed.
To increase the volume, you can try what you can find here
A new version of touch-it with WM 6.5 should come shortly (it is in betatesting)
Angelusz said:
No, shouldn't be a problem at all. All those things are available in CAB format. SRS WOW HD doesn't work properly on the X1 though, so I don't know what that chef did.
Touch-IT has a WM 6.1 variant (10.3) and a WM6.5 one. The WM6.5 one is pretty old though, and if you use TF3D, having WM6.5 isn't that big a bonus.
SRS WOW HD is the only method I'm aware of - which, like I said earlier, doesn't work.
Many people have asked this, none have found out how so far. I think the best person to ask this is "Rotastrain" - he does a lot of Mode9 editing.
Although a possibility, do keep in mind that Generic roms might lack some tweaks that you require for some things to work properly. I'd recommend a stripped down and tweaked ROM instead of generic. Often chefs make these as well, since it's the first thing they do before adding in new stuff.
It won't take time, it'll take a miracle. The X1 has been released more than eight months ago. The peak interest in the device has come and gone, panels have failed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, so much for panels. I'll be sure to ask Rotastrain regarding that, I most definitely prefer seeing a list of upcoming appointments rather than seeing it a day before or having to go into the somewhat confusing calendar to look for stuff.
ROM-Wise, I guess I'll be going for the Touch-IT v10.3 one till the beta one is done.
Looks like I'm pretty much done, unless I can think of any more questions I likely forgot.
Thank you for answering all my questions.
Mopral said:
To increase the volume, you can try what you can find here
A new version of touch-it with WM 6.5 should come shortly (it is in betatesting)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That .CAB file works perfectly! Loud and clear!
Thank you so much.
Hi all,
First of all, I wish to preface this by saying how appreciative I am of the assistance and wealth of knowledge I have found on this forum. Without it, I must say I would have been pretty disappointed with my HD2 n its purely stock form. Much like the appstore is the iPhone's primary selling point, I believe the customisable nature of WinMo devices is their main selling point and is the reason I chose to purchase an HD2 over an iPhone (other than the cost/Tech Specs) of course. This thread is in no way intended to take away from the amazing work our chefs do!
I would also appreciate if any "If you don't like customising, why are you here?" comments off this thread also as that is not in any way what this is about. god knows I have destroyed enough PC BIOSes and mobile phones trying to customise them or tweak them for the maximum achieveable performance before it all became so mainstream.
I know this kind of a question is going to get people into "attack the n00b" mode really quickly, but i feel it is a legitimate question which could spark some insightful and intelligent discussion.
I was just wondering what your honest opinions are regarding the use of cooked ROMs.
At present I am using an up to date stock ROM with many added tweaks including CHT1.7.1 and the tweaked graphics drivers and am more than happy with the way the phone looks and operates. there is no software that is missing from the stock ROM which I feel would benefit me in any way and the phone seems to operate quickly and seamlessly and so far I have not experienced any reliabillity issues.
With a long standing background in the electronics and software development field, I have always been quite a strong believer in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" principal, but as I consider you guys and girls to be an intelligent bunch with a wealth of cumilative knowledge, I am interested in your opinions on the cooked VS customised stock ROM debate.
From what I can gather the benefits of a well developed cooked ROM such as EnergyROM or CleanEX ROM are as follows:
Menus are neatly organised and catagorised.
Extra software which is considered to be useful is preloaded.
Interface is tweaked (albiet usually no moreso than it can be with a few mods loaded on to a stock ROM)
UI and animation speed improvements.
The arguements against are as follows:
Risk (however low it is) of bricking your device
Compatabillity with different devices
Warrenty is voided (even though this can in most cases be avoided by flashing bck to a stock SPL)
Reliance on one person, or just a few people for updates rather than a huge company.
Personally, I have never used a cooked ROM, but I have been considering installing the EnergyROM on to my HD2 s it is the most closely matched cooked ROM to the way I have customised my stock ROM, however as I am currently quite happy with the way I have my stock ROM set up, I am wondering if there are any extra benefits that I have missed. It would almost seem that in my case, I am better off just sticking with the tweaked stock ROM as it serves all my needs and scouring pretty much any thread relating to a cooked ROM, I seem to stumble upon a LOT of bugs (hich have usually been fixed in subsequent releases).
To me it would seem that a lot of the time, the appeal of cooked ROMs is the "Elite" and "Geeky coolness" factor rather than actual functionallity.
Discuss....
Excellent post mate and I hope it's taken in the spirit it's intended and you're spared all the usual nonsense when questions are asked.
I've been on here a few months, but rarely ventured into the ROM's section, fairly competent with everything in the "Themes + Apps" section and like you, have my phone looking and performing pretty much how I'd want it.
All I'd perhaps want, and the reason I dip in here every now and then for a look, is perhaps a ROM which removes some of the redundant (for me) applications, ie Twitter, Footprints, Stocks etc to perhaps speed things up a little as my RAM is constantly at 60% and I'm getting low on internal storage memory despite installing everything which can be to the SD card.
But again, I wonder if there is perhaps more to this ROM flashing and whether I'd notice any real advantages which I'd not considered?
One other question for anyone who feels like answering, and it will seem silly. Are the softkeys in 6.5xx all aligned with the right hand one set further in than the left (ie non-symetrical), may seem a minor thing, but it just doesn't look right to me and if I was going to flash to something newer, I'd like to know if it can be changed.
Probably complete "noob" type questions, and apologies for partial hijack of the OP's thread, but as someone else had dared to ask some points that I'd like answered, I thought I'd stick my oar in and we can both be flamed together then.
Thanks for the support
I am the admin on another forum so I am not afraid or unfamiliar with flameage!
I'm looking forward to seeing what discussions this sparks
i think a VOTE would be great for this page....
Hi I would think the best advice would be that if you are happy with your ROM and you are not having any issues with it. Stick to it, this way you will have the peace of mind that your warranty is still in tact and you will not have to revert to reflashing to original stock without any risks.
Flashing on the other hand is fun and I feel the ROM cooks do a fantastic job of tweaking them so they work most efficiently. The chefs also remove programs that are not used that often which gives us more memory to install programs that we will actually use and the chefs also update to the newest builds for software which is dorment in the stock roms e.g. google maps,opera etc. If you update these on stock roms, it takes away valuable space due to the programs installed twice (you cannot usually replace the stock ROM versions and overwrite them with newer builds).
Naturally you will get issues cropping up with things going wrong and this is mainly due to the fact that the chefs use the newest builds before they are released officially so you can have a feel of new things that are put into them. I personally like to stick to one or two chefs and follow their progress, this way you will generally be ok as you will be aware of any minor problems and their fixes. If you flash many different ROMs with different chefs, you may encounter different problems with each of their ROMs and feel that ROM flashing seems to cause more problems than solutions.
I hope this clarifies some of your queries.
chiraag said:
i think a VOTE would be great for this page....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I considered it, but I thought a vote makes it a little too black and white. I'd rather a more in depth discussion on the pros/cons
Adiction!!
There's nothing wrong with stock ROM's what a little tweaking can't solve.
and there wil always be problems and things that don't suite you in a cooked ROM.
Bud if you would try it once it wil become an adiction to find the newest and/or the fastest that suite your needs the best.
if you follow the guide's the change of bricking your phone are slim bud there is always the posebilety
I think it's one of the best things of my HTC and no risk no luck.
(bud don't listen to me because i'm an addict)
Well it took a while before I flashed a cooked rom into my phone. I use Artemis roms, and those are the only one I have tried yet - and I really do not think I will ever try another since most of them have silly and ugly mods baked in.... I like the newer 6.5.5 with bigger soft buttons and the "start" down on the left. But the most important thing is speed - with artemis, everything the phone can do, the phone does it faster running Artemis than Stock rom. Often _much_ faster. Starting Opera 10 for example takes roughly 2 secs with Artemis, 5-6secs with stock...
I started to flash custom ROMS because I got sick and tired waiting for HTC to solve my problem with data connection. I tried all sorts of official and unofficial tweaks and patches without success so I decided to take the risk with the flashing adventure.
After flashing a few ROMS from different chefs I eventually found THE ONE that solved my frustrating problem out of the box. Not only that but I was also very impressed by the performance and by the chef himself - always there, always wanting to improve, always fair and balanced. So I settled for it and it's the only ROM I flash to my phone.
I would also like to add that I prefer the close to stock philosopy because I want to do the customization myself. Even so, in my opinion custom ROMS have the following advantages compared to stock:
- you have many options to chose from
- they prove to be faster and more stable
- you have LIVE support from the chef and the other users
- you get updates much, much faster and more frequently (even if beta builds)
- you get all sorts of goodies cooked in the ROM (tweaks, apps, etc.)
- with the ROM I use you also get an app built by the chef himself to tweak the ROM to your likings
- it's rather fun to do it
just my 2 cents
I'm the same as the above poster. I got sick of waiting for my mobile operator to update the ROM (O2). I had SMS problems, data connection problems, freezong problems, the list goes on.
Then i turned into a frantic flasher..up to 5 times a day, looking for the latest and greatest. I was forever setting my phone up and it was taking over my life! I even tried cooking my own with pretty decent success.
I'm now more settled and gone for a ROM thats closer to stock with a few tweaks. It does what i want and pretty quickly too. Its a million miles away from the original phone i got back in early December, but that a good thing.
on a functional level much of the surface features that cooked roms offer could in theory be done with cabs and tweaks, but some things can only be cooked in.
also, cooking in a fix or tweak means it is there from the start, so when you hard reset it the system isn't needing to be patched, so the fix is more stable.(generaly)
on another level many of the chefs really do know a thing or two about building roms and can make them smaller faster and more stable than the stock releases.
I personally never flashed a device...I have to admit that with CHT1.7.1 things been running smoothy and perfectly. The idea of removing some applications on standard ROM sounds really great like footprint,shares,music sense...which i dont use.
As Sentinel196 says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" , i guess i come from the same school in that sense.
by the way with all the cutomization available for CHT i find it really hard if people do not like their htc hd2
I do believe the HD2 is a very good compromise between 'works out of the box' and 'can tweak 'til the cows come home'. It's a modders dream but at the same time probably the only WinMobile device that I thought to myself "I might actually stick with a stock rom, it works"
Curiousity got the better of me... WITHIN HOURS... of getting the device. First off I noticed I was locked to Vodafone's stock rom (it was obviously a Vodafone customer selling on a new handset), I couldn't get the latest rom from HTC so HSPL'd it and flashed to stock 1.66. Good stuff, it was working fine for me.
Then I got curious again some days later and tried 6.5.5. I definitely prefered 6.5 to 6.5.5 and believe it feels much more 'balanced' on a device of this nature (giant screen, few hardware buttons) so decided I wanted to go back to 6.5 after some days of use. I remembered the stock rom did have a lot of 'junk' attached to it, despite operating blazing fast. I found CleanEX on here and from the description it sounded like a good compromise - the stock rom but with junk removed, more 'under the hood' tweaks added and all underlying software updated. Fantastic. I've been flashing to it 'til now and can't see me going anywhere else for the time being.
So yeah, the HD2 out of the box (for the most part, I realise some people have experienced bugs) is a decent device. However, coming here turns it into an AMAZING device capable of just about anything. Having the choice is fantastic. When people ask me about me about my HD2 Vs. the iPhone I can't help but be honest and state 'the iPhone just works', if you want the HD2 to fulfill its full potential you'll need to 'dedicate time to it and be one with your inner geek.'
For people stuck with locked down operator roms, the rom section on XDA is invaluable as it would seem o2 UK (my operator) have ONLY JUST upgraded their rom from the version people were using in Nov '09. Sorry, but that is ridiculous and no customer should have to wait that long for a device like this to have its bugs ironed out when people 'breaking the rules' can have it right off the bat with a bit of a learning curve. Just another reason why operator branded bull**** is a waste of everyone's time -- like movies being released in the US months/years before the UK in the 90s & til mid '00, it took file-sharing to fix that!
I also strongly believe if people are willing to come here and read the 'basic' threads & take a little time out, support here is absolutely second to none. Better than an RMA to HTC, better than your operators forums, just fantastic. This does however support the idea that the HD2 is somewhat another device kept alive by XDA-developers... which I'm sure will become more apparent in the future after WinPhone7 is released.
tl;dr - The HD2 is a HTC phone which, once again, benefits more than anything from the development, tweaks, mods, hacks, customizations and support given here.
Some excellent posts so far. Thanks everyone!! Looking forward to some more insight.
I'm certainly becoming more and more tempted to HSPL and flash a cooked ROM just to satisfy my inner nerd and curiosity!
Until a few weeks ago I was a stock ROM user. To be honest the stock rom was ok but just didnt seem very stable to me with resets a normal part of life. Having looked through the various ROM threads I decided to stick with a fairly stock cooked rom and chose Artemis.
After the first few days it was very apparent that this was the way forward. Artemis transformed my HD2 into what I believe the device should have been, stable and a joy to use.
I think before you can decide on a cooked ROM you need to decide on what you want a cooked ROM for. Is it for stability (in my case) or for added features such as extra tabs, preinstalled cabs etc.
I cant fault Artemis v11, is as stock as you can get with a cooked ROM and is fast, stable and very user friendly but I expect that others will have critism over this ROM against another, like I say there are many great chefs out there and its down to personal choice which is the best.
I love cooked ROMs. This is my first Win Mo device and I have to say when I first got it I was pretty disappointed(December last year). Was pretty damn buggy and slow! O2 UK didn't seem in any hurry to release any of the improved ROMs(not sure if they have even released an update now). I did the various tweaks that people have listed to improve the phone and was pretty pleased with the result. When HSPL came out I figured I would give a cooked ROM ago as if me a n00b doing a few tweaks could make my phone better imagine what pros could do! Flashed Duttys HG series and was blown away! Have been flashing them ever since (tried a few others but always come back to Duttys). It feels nice to have all the latest software bundled up and tweaked for me! Just about to flash from HG v2.5 (COM5) to HG v2.6 (COM5). Will be maybe the 20th time I have flashed my phone Gets better each time
Always cooked. Stock roms are always lacking something... cooked, especially with kitchens allow you to play around and have fun.
Now, regarding the future of cooked roms? that much is very very doubtful. I doubt we'll see many WinMo cooked roms after 2010.
I first had the default ROM 1.43 and everything was allmost OK with little glitches here and there (first of all the battery didn't last long) then I had the official 1.48 update wich I promptly applied and everything worked the same with little things improved (still terrible battery life) then after a couple of months of constants soft resets or taking out the battery for a reset I decided to try Miri's ROMS wich are great (I always prefered the close to stock) but still with battery problems until I learned I can upgrade the radio only without damaging the ROM wich I did and somewhat improved, but just a little, then I tried Dutty's wich are great roms (still close to stock and more stable at least the COM2 version) finally I decided a couple of days ago to give a try to EnergyROM which have additional software and I whent the GTX route, and I really love it, speccially since the battery is lasting me longer with the same radio update as my previous rom and with the lovelly GTX theme but some things like CHT seems to work better cooked in that installed separatedly, in my opinion I think you will have a lot of benefits using a custom ROM, but first use the original rom a couple of months to evaluate if your unit is functional (try everything: FM radio, GPS, light sensor, etc.) and then when you get to know your device try the custom rom of your choice and prepare to be amazed, once you go custom....
Good luck!
Maybe i am talking about the wrong thing here but i will say it. In the HD2 there is very little (if not nothing at all) noticeable difference between stock and custom Rom (except some registry modifications that you can do them with the stock rom as well). It is mainly in the addiction that cooking provides that you can see a difference. In the HTC Touch HD although the difference between stock and custom rom (mainly the Custom Roms that come from the HD2) is VERY VERY BIG. The last stock rom that HTC provide is 1 year old (7/4/2009) with 6.1 Windows, Black and White slider icons, Manila 1.XX etc. So in some cases i thing Custom Rom is more needed that the Stock Rom. But in the case of the ultra-fast HD2 i believe that the difference is much much smaller.
Wow - a front pager!
Sentinel196 said:
I would also appreciate if any "If you don't like customising, why are you here?"
[...]
I know this kind of a question is going to get people into "attack the n00b" mode really quickly, but i feel it is a legitimate question which could spark some insightful and intelligent discussion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sentinel196 said:
I am the admin on another forum so I am not afraid or unfamiliar with flameage!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just thought I'd share in case you hadn't noticed; despite your concerns, you managed to make the 'front cover' of XDA-Devs!
http://www.xda-developers.com/
Next - Time Magazine?!
Good post, well deserved. Enjoying the conversation and Mass-Debating(!).
Hirshy
Hey all
I got my HD2 a month or two ago, and I really like it. Especially the HTC Sense interface. A thing of beauty, truly. Especially once you get the tweaks done to improve battery life a bit and add on some extra features.
BUT, I'm hugely disappointed in the lack of decent apps via Windows Marketplace, and trying to find an app that works properly on the HD2 by searching online seems to be marginal, at best. (I've tried several that seem to simply...not function.)
So, I'm wondering if it's possible to get Android on this hardware. I'm a total noob when it comes to phones--never flashed a ROM before--though I've built my own desktop computer, so I'm not a technical idiot. Basically, I'd feel comfortable doing it IF someone tells me that a) it's possible, and b) it's worth it.
Is it possible to put Android on my HD2? And is it worth it?
Things I consider 'necessary' to having this be 'worth it':
--Can make calls, text, MSMs, etc
--Internet access with 3G working well
--GPS works well (I'd LOVE to get a decent geo-caching app)
--Music player (Big fan of Slacker Radio)
--Camera/Video player that works well
Any thoughts? Is it worth it to try to go Android?
TheUkieVillain said:
Hey all
I got my HD2 a month or two ago, and I really like it. Especially the HTC Sense interface. A thing of beauty, truly. Especially once you get the tweaks done to improve battery life a bit and add on some extra features.
BUT, I'm hugely disappointed in the lack of decent apps via Windows Marketplace, and trying to find an app that works properly on the HD2 by searching online seems to be marginal, at best. (I've tried several that seem to simply...not function.)
So, I'm wondering if it's possible to get Android on this hardware. I'm a total noob when it comes to phones--never flashed a ROM before--though I've built my own desktop computer, so I'm not a technical idiot. Basically, I'd feel comfortable doing it IF someone tells me that a) it's possible, and b) it's worth it.
Is it possible to put Android on my HD2? And is it worth it?
Things I consider 'necessary' to having this be 'worth it':
--Can make calls, text, MSMs, etc
--Internet access with 3G working well
--GPS works well (I'd LOVE to get a decent geo-caching app)
--Music player (Big fan of Slacker Radio)
--Camera/Video player that works well
Any thoughts? Is it worth it to try to go Android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While they have made a great leap towards getting Android on the HD 2 it is not yet available. Do a quick search for "Android on HD 2" and you will find the thread where they are talking about it.
Thanks
Thanks for the heads up. Answers my question. Perhaps I'll just have to be content with WinMo for a while and keep making tweaks.
Watch out for the fake vid on youtube if your going to be google searching!
While there has been a huge leap forward in getting a bootable Linux kernel on the HD2, the time window for a "fully functioning with all the drivers" Android is still a ways out. If you want Android, go to the Nexus One (for the best GSM Android phone out there). If you're willing to switch networks to a non sim card, CDMA network, check out the Incredible on Verizon or the EVO on Sprint.
Hope this helps.
Also, try the search feature. XDA-Developers has an incredible website and it'd be a shame to let all of its fun forum search tools go to waste. I can think of tons of threads where people have asked this question. It's out there, just find it.
Thread Closed
Hey guys,
As an Ex-iphone user, i loved too playing around with photo applics that add effects to pictures, i.e. vintage look, polaroid etc... Can you recommend on any applications for HD2 of the same nature?
I have found VintagePic in the marketplace, but i can't purchase it since my credit card does not match any of the countries in the list. Any other suggestions?
Thanks, Guy
Vignette, or camera 360 are excellent for that. (android)
thanks for the suggestion, however I'm still running stock rom, which means i'm limited to apps in WM...
Any other suggestions in that department?
any clues?
Like you said, you are limited if you sick with wm ;-)
I have 3 apps who makes that and much more on my hd2
Hi,
I must admit, as a new user of HD2, I'm very concerned about messing around and ending up bricking my phone. i finally got to the stage where i have everything working fine on my WM, so I'm less eager to go about and mess things up.
However, maybe i can start reading and learning from other people's experience on the different 'adventures' that i may run into if i try to install Android on my system. as far i i understand there is still no 100% working version, but it's getting close.
Can you reference me to the main discussion thread on the forum for the android on HD2? (how to install..etc...)
BTW - do i need to take something into consideration if my Phone is a t-mobile?
Thanks,
Guy
Hi Guysu,
I do believe there are effects within your camera options that allows a few effects, under advance, on the 3rd page, you will find effects, limited to GrayScale, Seipia (for ur old look) and Negative (for whatever only God knows!)
But I do hear you, because I too am looking for some fun Cam Apps for my beloved phone. It's always a little harder to find fun stuff for a serious phone.
Benedict
guysu said:
Hi,
I must admit, as a new user of HD2, I'm very concerned about messing around and ending up bricking my phone. i finally got to the stage where i have everything working fine on my WM, so I'm less eager to go about and mess things up.
However, maybe i can start reading and learning from other people's experience on the different 'adventures' that i may run into if i try to install Android on my system. as far i i understand there is still no 100% working version, but it's getting close.
Can you reference me to the main discussion thread on the forum for the android on HD2? (how to install..etc...)
BTW - do i need to take something into consideration if my Phone is a t-mobile?
Thanks,
Guy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we should open a support group for these kind of issues. meet once in a while exchange painful stories. long live hd2!
on a more serious note, can someone direct me to the right thread on the options to migrate from WM to Android?
guysu said:
Hi,
I must admit, as a new user of HD2, I'm very concerned about messing around and ending up bricking my phone. i finally got to the stage where i have everything working fine on my WM, so I'm less eager to go about and mess things up.
However, maybe i can start reading and learning from other people's experience on the different 'adventures' that i may run into if i try to install Android on my system. as far i i understand there is still no 100% working version, but it's getting close.
Can you reference me to the main discussion thread on the forum for the android on HD2? (how to install..etc...)
BTW - do i need to take something into consideration if my Phone is a t-mobile?
Thanks,
Guy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As someone who is only just a few months into his 24 month contract (a contract that has no built in data connection), I know the fear of mucking up your hardware. However I've found the whole experience to be quite safe.
The first step would be to get HSPL onto your phone from this thread - forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=611433
Then reading this thread - forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=713977 should give you everything else you need to know to find and install a new ROM, Radio and Android build.
I went from stock ROM on my HD2 to cooked ROM, new Radio and Android all in a day with those threads.
The only issues I've noticed so far as not being able to change the alarm times on the built in clock (just download a new one from Android market) and sometimes the screen stops responding to touch for 10 seconds or so.
thanks for your help in getting started...
I tried to catch on my reading right away, but i noticed this warning in big red scary font:
1024LEOs (from T-Mobile with 1024ROM) ARE NOT SUPPORTED
so, as a T-mobile HD2 user, that means bye bye sweet android adventure for me i guess?
Looks like your android adventures don't have to be over quite yet forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=653614
I'll swop my HD2 with yours
But my experience with Android on my HD2, it's weird, sluggish and not fun. However that jumping cow game is fun in it. .
To be honest, the last I tried, I was on stock roms and radios, now with my new artemis rom and upgraded radio, maybe i should try again.. but i recalled I couldn't make phone calls lol..
guysu said:
thanks for your help in getting started...
I tried to catch on my reading right away, but i noticed this warning in big red scary font:
1024LEOs (from T-Mobile with 1024ROM) ARE NOT SUPPORTED
so, as a T-mobile HD2 user, that means bye bye sweet android adventure for me i guess?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's an app I found via Google.
EDIT: Nvm, it looks like it's not even good.