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I find Sense is a resource hog... I mean a real hungry hog on this at$t Tilt2 and their latest rom. Read in a few other posts where I'm not the only one that experiences this. gwes.exe grows and grows and grows....and memory just will not release when closing programs. The phone comes to a crawl, down to 20mb left of memory, phone starts closing programs on its own so no multi tasking….time to restart. Even then, there is over FORTYmb of memory difference between running it over Windows default! I don’t even have to open any programs, just navigate Sense’s menus and memory drops like a rock!
Trying Mobile Shell now and the difference is night and day. Sense IMO is still a better looking, more intuitive interface. Mobile Shell is too complicated and over down. Great features there, but too much IMO. But it looks like I gotta stick with SPB Mobile Shell because my phone is so unreliable with Sense running, and it runs like it is suppose to with Mobile Shell.
OK... rant over...
Flash a custom ROM. I like Sense, run it with Cookies Home Tab (which is also a resource hog, but love it too) on the newest Energy ROM, and typically have 60-70 mb (or more) Program Memory free after using the phone all day.
redpoint73 said:
Flash a custom ROM. I like Sense, run it with Cookies Home Tab (which is also a resource hog, but love it too) on the newest Energy ROM, and typically have 60-70 mb (or more) Program Memory free after using the phone all day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to flash a custom rom as of right now. This phone is my business line, so I can't afford to get that deep into customization. I've done it with the old Tilt, but right now a custom rom is not an option.
I am using Cookies, and the icon pack. Found they do not effect Sense's appetite for memory. With or without those two, Sense will gobble 40mb regardless. And cause gwes.exe to grow from there.
I've also noticed my battery life is 'about' 25% better with Sense turned off.
True. I experience the same thing. But you have to remember why it's there in the first place. Sense is almost a replacement of WiMo(Not hiting towards the OS part)
The entire UI is redone and every single click is done in sense with no direct interaction with WiMo. And we can both agree, HTC did a good job with the sense. I myself was on a 1st Gen Samsung Omnia before i got my HTC TP2, and that was with a stock WiMo and only included stuff like a dial-app, and a mp3 player and stuff like that. Everything else including SMS was done directly in WiMo and i will take A Memory hog over that any day.
That being said, there is stuff HTC or Developers here could do:
Isolate the biggest RAM-Sink. You mention gwes.exe yourself(Which is actually not HTC but Microsoft)* And try to find out why they continuesly take up more and more ram and try to fix it.
Split up sense so different tasks are handled by different applications, which after you are done can be killed with easy to save RAM(Composing Email/SMS, Weather Check, Contactlist, Music player, ETC ETC.) I know some of this is already done, but there more could be done more.
Work on how do decrease RAM usage for different parts of Sense. Maybe even contact some Developers from this community or other communities(A_C of S2 would be a great place to start)
*)
Random Quote from a random forum
"Gwes is the Graphical Windowing and Event Subsystem. It’s one little program that draws all the controls on the device like scrollbars, buttons, and checkboxes. It also handles passing window messages back and forth between applications and manages the WndProcs of all of the programs on the device that are displaying UI."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The WinMo 6.5 Start Menu is the biggest memory hog of all. You can improve things dramatically by disabling the standard start menu and using either QuickMenu or OCMan's start menu replacement.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=621800
http://www.modaco.com/content/i8000...8000-modaco-com/318725/free-up-even-more-ram/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7937478&postcount=16392
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=711914
To disable the start menu, use one of Arto's Start Menu Remove cabs.
To restore your start menu use one of Hayami's Start Menu Restore cabs:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7690749&postcount=43
Use the ControPanel_shotcuts download to activate Settings in QuickMenu.
I start up with 94MB Ram on a Tilt 2 with dozens of apps installed, and it's typically at 75MB after a week.
goncrack said:
You mention gwes.exe yourself(Which is actually not HTC but Microsoft)*
*)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am already familiar with gwes.exe. Been in the WinMo world long enough to know by now it is part of the OS.
goncrack said:
WiMo and i will take A Memory hog over that any day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't mind a resource hog myself, makes for faster operation... if... you have enough resources to go around. But this phone just doesn't have enough memory to multitask with Sense running too.
goncrack said:
Sense is almost a replacement of WiMo(Not hiting towards the OS part)
The entire UI is redone and every single click is done in sense with no direct interaction with WiMo. )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would agree, or better yet, Sense is an effort to make some of the WinMo apps finger friendly and intuitive. For the most part they succeded. I would take exception to some, like Contact editing. While their contact editor is FF, I still find myself clicking the more button to enter data, and back to WinMo's contact editor it goes.
Edit: and another waste IMO, is the drop-down menus. I like the look and feel of the WinMo menus better.
rete said:
The WinMo 6.5 Start Menu is the biggest memory hog of all. You can improve things dramatically by disabling the standard start menu and using either QuickMenu or OCMan's start menu replacement.
<snip>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the links, time for some more reading.
Sometimes I wish I could just be a noob tho... have someone hold my hand and guide me... step... by... step.
Quickmenu was mentioned above. One user, colossus_r has gone the extra mile and included all the settings in his version of Quickmenu. I used to use his version before NRGZ28 started cooking it into his ROMs.
If you do decide to use any version of QuickMenu, it would behoove you to increase the distance between the items in the menu. This give a better look to the menu as well as making it more finger-friendly. Do do this (after installing everything, of course), bring up Quickmenu, and tap QuickMenu > Option > View tab, and then set Menu item edge to 16.
Bookmarking this.
I know the problem you speak of, and my solution was to use cleanRAM.exe. Great little program, you can choose how "deep" it cleans, is fast, and it does the job quite well. After a run, it has brought RAM usage down to ~%50, or about 90mb, with Sense on. It's the one program I brought over from my old Q9, and I'm glad I did.
I really liked Sense/TF3D (or what ever you call it), till I tried to run 3rd party apps. A few games would not even run, others would start after a few min.
NFS shift will not even run with it running but, with Sense turned off, it runs fine on my TP2... Stock rom (well, Mr. X's fixed stock rom), with no Sense (just 6.5) I will boot up my phone with 90mb+ free.
It's just too bad that apps don't run right under it..or I would use it.
Without flashing a custom rom your limited... however if you download the htcAddicts.com cleanRam and run it after you open and close 2 or more apps, you will find it will free up alot of memory as your correct the stock sense rom leaks and uses memory like a monster.. Hope ya try this im sure you'll be pleased.
The 15 day trial for Mobile Shell ran out for me. Decided I didn't wanna use Mobile Shell, so uninstalled it. Ran Sense again... and within 15mins phone is lagging and or locking up. Memory dropped below 20meg..
Time to load a custom rom... or learn to cook my own. Me tinks the at$t rom would be just fine, if I can unload all the gawd dam bloatware.
GWelker62 said:
The 15 day trial for Mobile Shell ran out for me. Decided I didn't wanna use Mobile Shell, so uninstalled it. Ran Sense again... and within 15mins phone is lagging and or locking up. Memory dropped below 20meg..
Time to load a custom rom... or learn to cook my own. Me tinks the at$t rom would be just fine, if I can unload all the gawd dam bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't want a custom ROM, the easiest way to reclaim memory is to replace the Start Menu. It, by itself, eats about 20MB of RAM ALL THE TIME!
QuickMenu is a favorite of mine. There are several Start Menu replacements, though. NRGZ28 has 5 options cooked into the Energy ROMs.
Also, check \Windows\Start Up folder to see what you can remove from there. The stock TMoUS ROMs were easy to clean up that way.
cajunflavoredbob said:
If you don't want a custom ROM, the easiest way to reclaim memory is to replace the Start Menu. It, by itself, eats about 20MB of RAM ALL THE TIME!
<snip>.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Working on that option this week to see how it works.
I haven't done a hard reset yet either and started over. I normally install apps and tweak a lot after installing a new rom, then hard reset and only install/tweak what I liked. Haven't done that yet with the latest at$t rom.
GWelker62 said:
I don't want to flash a custom rom as of right now. This phone is my business line, so I can't afford to get that deep into customization. I've done it with the old Tilt, but right now a custom rom is not an option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was the same way with my old tilt, roms,roms and more roms ..then i got the new tilt2 , kept it stock for the first year , i played with several add-on's even had Mobile Shell which i loved but the phone was a bit too laggy, i then bit the bullet this past month and installed the lastest rom upgrade from AT&T reinstalled Mobile Shell , still was not happy about performance, so I finally broke down Hspld and then found basically a stock rom with all the garbage removed.. .wowsers finally it was fast and stable with Mobile Shell (disliked sense) . So what i am getting at, is to go ahead and make the plunge unlock it flash the simplest rom ....I am a business user so my phone is very important to me in keeping my wallet supplied with greenbacks..
the biggest reason i like Mobileshell is it is easy to use and has as many favorite people that i want listed...have about twenty manufacturers on the that page ..
GWelker62 said:
. Haven't done that yet with the latest at$t rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not much of a difference, the boatware kills the upgrade..not really worth it IMO
rofl
Ok look as much as I do agree with you that on a stock rom with very little fixes and alterations the sense ui may take up tons of memory. BUT!!!!!! On a custom rom with minor adjustments it works great, I use it to on a day to day bases with the energy rom and it completely keeps up with me. Battery life is great I get live update for e-mails, use it to do some research on the net and i utilize all that sense brings together. In other words all I'm really trying to say is, HTC made a great job consolidating all these tools that we use on a day to day bases into a single ui. If u were to run individual programs to do everything that sense brings together, ur phone would be as slow as Forest Gump from lack of memory.
Try flashing EnergyROM! NGRZ added some different start menu options than can save 20-30 mbs or ram, it makes using SenseUI snappy!
Hi Im a new user at this site, Been scouring the internet since monday looking into evo shift stuff and came across this site. This site is awesome and I love how the threads are based off phone and not just software or carrier like other phones which makes forums messy as heck.
Btw I am new to andriod software
K here is my question..
What should I do with my Evo Shift 4G ?
My time searching I have came across stuff like "root" - "ADW Launcher" "wimix keys"
First off I know what root is, Its like jail breaking I heard, Is it suggested I do this?
Also what is this wimix keys or another , wmix keys or something that I hear alot of people talking about when rooting?... What information is that holding and why is it so important to back em up?
Also If I where to root would I have to worry about any applications running like Lookout and Advance task killer?
So I guess in all, What do you recommend I do with my Evo Shift to spoof it up abit.
Protejae said:
Hi Im a new user at this site, Been scouring the internet since monday looking into evo shift stuff and came across this site. This site is awesome and I love how the threads are based off phone and not just software or carrier like other phones which makes forums messy as heck.
Btw I am new to andriod software
K here is my question..
What should I do with my Evo Shift 4G ?
My time searching I have came across stuff like "root" - "ADW Launcher" "wimix keys"
First off I know what root is, Its like jail breaking I heard, Is it suggested I do this?
Also what is this wimix keys or another , wmix keys or something that I hear alot of people talking about when rooting?... What information is that holding and why is it so important to back em up?
Also If I where to root would I have to worry about any applications running like Lookout and Advance task killer?
So I guess in all, What do you recommend I do with my Evo Shift to spoof it up abit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, let me preface this by saying that congratulations on purchasing the best phone in the current sprint lineup. How are you liking it so far?
In response to your first question, I don't think I, or anyone else for that matter, am qualified to tell you what to do with your phone. The best I can do is give you a list of pro's and con's and be helpful and polite in answering questions you may have.
Rooting is like jailbreaking an iPhone in that it gives you administrative access to your phone. Unlike the iPhone, Android is open-source and hacker friendly, which means that rooting your Shift also allows you to do things like install custom versions of Android (ROMs), apply themes over current versions of android, and use apps that require root access.
That being said, there are some downsides to rooting your phone. Obviously, it voids both HTC's and Sprint's warranties for the phone. This means that while your phone is rooted, you can not take it to a sprint store and get it replaced or repaired. Also, rooting is a somewhat delicate procedure and if you make a mistake in the process, you will be left with a $549 paperweight.
Furthermore, please read through the forums BEFORE rooting and if you have any questions about the process, please ask. Were here to help.
In response to your other questions, ADW Launcher is simply a replacement launcher (the program that comes up when you press the home button). It does not require root and if you're curious about it, you can download it from the android market for free and play around with it.
Wimax is Sprint's 4g service. Without Wimax keys, the Shift cannot connect to 4g. The custom recovery that is available on the shift does not back them up, so when you use the restore function in recovery mode, you will lose them, unless you back them up to your SD card (which is one of the steps in the rooting process).
Lastly, Because of the way that the Android OS utilizes RAM, task killing apps are usually frowned upon. Killing background tasks does not result in a noticeable increase in speed or benchmarks and uses more battery restarting vital apps than it saves when they're not running.
There is an app for root users that does help though, its called Cache Cleaner and is available for free on the market. Instead of force stopping background processes, it periodically clears up space in your cache (which is comparable to deleting your web history, cookies, and cache in your internet browser at home in order to make videos and webpages load faster).
I hope this post was helpful and I apologize for the length. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Well first off, length on post doesnt matter to me, I thank you for a quality post.
So in a nutshell wifimax or wimax are files thare are essential for the 4g connection when it is present in your area. For me we dont have 4g yet. So if I where to ROOT I would need to back these files up, because if I dont, I lose the option to have 4g and then basically I am jacked?
I tried ADW Launcher and I dont see whats so special about it, With the HTC Sense option to have different scenes,I dont see a reason to really mess with it.. I just got it so maybe Im not bored yet with the flipping options and theme yet.
If it matters I have experience flashing PSP with a custom firmware if that helps any with rooting.
I have came across many apps in my 3 days owning this phone, Amazing stuff out there. Stuff from barcode scanners, Scan2PDF,AngryBirds,EasyTether,etc.. I feel like there are other apps out there Im missing that I would love.
So your saying get rid of the advance task manager and run that cache cleaner instead?.. Does it accomplish the same thing in a nut shell?
Thanks for any help, it is appreciated
I would also give Launcher Pro a chance, its free unless you want the Launcher Pro Widgets which give you simular to Sense Widgets (Calendar, Messaging...ect) I prefer it to ADW because its incredibly smooth in comparision.
Task killers are generally bad on android period. Cache cleaner just clears temp files.
If you feel you must run a task killer, don't set it to ruin continuously, and only use it kill single apps that lock up or wake lock the phone. Which - by the way, has not happened to me in the month I owned this phone. It was a daily occurence seemingly on my old hero
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
I found that by checking out the top apps in various categories, I started learning a lot about the capabilities of the phone. Oh, and go through the settings menu.
Enjoy your Shift! Root and read the forums, well worth the time.
My #1 recommended "maintenance" app, free in the Market:
Android Assistant
-cache cleaner already built in, as well as "quick boost", which will clean up unnecessary background apps. You can even tweak it to run periodically. Additionally, you can access sound settings, and there are a wide variety of efficiencies in the tools menu. Battery level, current RAM usage....too many things to mention. Needless to say, I went from using AutoKiller, Quick Settings, and numerous toggle widgets to just using this app, and enabling access in the notification bar. Haven't looked back since.
I agree with you about ADW but I too am new and perhaps didn't give it a chance. On the other hand I love Launcher Pro. has a tendancy to FC (force close) every now and then but it is very customizable. On a side note I saw something in the works for SPB shell I think it's called and it looks very promising.
Hi guys,
I thought i share my thoughts and experience with people who have not decided which phone to buy. Maybe my input will make the decision easier (or maybe it will confuse you even more hehe).
Also I am hoping people with Android experience maybe can assist me with some of my negative bullets. I'm very new to Android so i apologies for my mistakes in my so called review/comparison.
And lastly i dont want to start any fanboy android vs iOS. This is just my personal view of the two phones/OS'es. Its maybe a bit unfair since i been using iPhone for the last 3 years and Android for only a week but still some of the bullets are independent of that. Any how lets dig into it, First i take the negative side of SGII and next the positive sides.
(maybe my topic is a bit misleading but below some of the items are compared against iPhone but i wont write all the plus/negative for iPhone since the SGII list is already pretty big and i want to focus on SGII which i hope can replace my iPhone)
- When i exit USB mode (where i can access the SD card) i cant find a way to reconnect it without cable unplug->plug. Is there a way i missed?
- Browser doesnt word wrap the text/column so good on table tab. I had a side by side comparison with my iPhone4. On iphone the whole article including images are resized and the text is fully readable. On Galaxy S2 images are not resized and text is readable but just barely. So the whole screen real-state is not fully utilized with the lower resolution and bad browser formatting.I have tested Opera also but the whole word wrapping experience left a very bad taste in my mouth. It was the worst experience ever, the article jump up and down every 5 sec or so, i think the browser got confused for some reason and couldnt decide how to format the page (this was when double tapping).
- Default browser crashes (go to qj.net where i usually visit to read about games).
- Text selection is a pain sometimes. First problem is that in every app it behaves differently. Second problem is that the process to select a text isnt so smooth.
- Confused about task and background proceses that start magically! When using taskmanager i can see mostly 2-3 tasks there and this makes sense. Now using other task killers suddenly they show 10-15 tasks. I understand these are background task but its beyond me why some of them suddenly are there. Like Kies, this should never be started unless i am using Kies. I can see now why my battery goes dows so fast (well compared to iPhone again). Why is there so many tasks started and why cant i control them from vanila Android. This should be a must. I dont want to root my phone to do the basic settings.
- Pretty much all application is downloaded can only be installed on phone memory. Why doesnt Google enforce developers to adapt to new versions of Android is beyond me.
- I havent found a way to backup everything on the phone (including applications and their save data) to my pc/mac. Without this i dont like to experiment rooting and other shizzles.
- Apps are not as smooth and functional on GS2 compared to iPhone4. Ex: Tunein Radio, i cant skip to next song. Ex2: ign app (iphone) allow for daily videos while the Android version is very poorly done and dont have any videos. Feels like Everything works just a little better on iPhone compared to Android phones.This is something most people cant understand if they havent had iPhone for a long time i think.
- Slow battery charging. I usually start charing at around 20% battery left. In one hour GS2 reaches around 40-50% while iPhone goes to 80%
- Headset lacks volume + next/back track when playing music.
- Creating folder through Kies Air not possible. for ex in media make a folder called movies.
- Drag&Drop in Kies air missing.
- When uploading a file through Kies Air there should be a progress bar, now it just looks busy and you dont know if its uploading or it hangs.
Ok now to some good sides on the Galaxy S2:
+ Brilliant screen (even if i think resolution could be better)
+ Flexibility and open market for every sort of application. Much like windows here you can add more functionality and make the phone very personal.
+ Excellent codec support. It plays pretty much everything i through at it. Well done Samsung.
+ Very good camera (even better then iPhone i admit)
+ Very good video recording (also better then iPhone)
+ Very light
+ Feels pretty good in your hand (even though i’m afraid one day the backvocer will break, i had a Nokia N95 and one day the smal plastic edges broke when i was opening the cover. Same thing will happen ti GS2 i’m sure)
+ Expandibale uSD.
+ Very cool fearure called Kies Air where i can access most studd through browser. (this can also be added to minus since it doenst work perfectly everytime i tested but the potential is there)
+ Nice features like pinch effect for desktop + many nice widgets.
+ I think you can make proper call recording on SGII (CallRecorder) but havent confirmed myself yet.
Lastly i like to say SGII is a wonderful phone and i really really want to use it as my primary phone. The one thing i hope Samsung fixes that will make me more loyal to Android is the default browser. The text wrapping must be improved and the browser more stable. I like the smoothness of the default browser and this is the most used part of the phone and so far my iPhone is better but i hope 2.3.4 update maybe can improve this.
Any input, tips, tricks are welcome. I really appreciate your help.
Hopefully this will help you, at least in some areas (i numbered them in the order that you have used):
1) using developer mode at least (i prefer it as its faster and more compatible than samsung's stuff) you can mount/umount at will the card on the pc via the phone without unplugging
2) You may want to try Opera Mobile, it seems to do a very good job at this. I'd like to see this in the stock browser too, but hey, this is Android, you have the choice to change the browser if you like ;-)
3) Well, same thing I guess. 2.3.4 may improve stability but the rest, I don't know, I wouldn't bet on it. I like Firefox quite a bit as well, but text wrapping is odd on it.
4) Android issue =/
5) I wouldn't use any task killer. Check the active apps and uninstall any app that doesn't behave (keep only the ones you REALLY need that still do stuff in the background, like email etc, but not too many). Seems to work a zillion time better for battery life. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a decent way to enforce such a policy.
Regular background tasks are not necessarily ever active. It just means they're frozen in the background and do nothing. As long as they do nothing it's fine, it's just faster to start them again (instant, in fact). The issue is really when they're activating every XX minutes while in the background.
6)Doesn't matter, the recent samsung phones such as the SGS2 have a HUGE internal memory compared to other phones, you'll never have space issues for that imo.
7)Install a kernel with CWM and then, boot in recovery and run a nandroid backup. It will create the backups on your sdcard. Copy them to your PC. Also, copy /efs using tools or manually..
You can restore using a CWM kernel later on and nandroid restore.
You can also use stuff like TitaniumBackup, but it's not nearly as thorough as nandroid backup (which is doing basically disk images, while Titanium and other such apps just copy app/settings)
8)Trollish subject. Some apps are superior on Android, some are superior on iOS. Heh SGS2's browser speed eats my IP4 for breakfast for example. If the same Android app doesnt have the feature of the iOS app, complain to the dev or find another app.
9) it's true it's like that, nothing you can do about it (technically, something could be done but that's probably not wise at all)
10) Use another music player, such as PowerAmp if you like. There's (many, many) other possibilities as well. It also let you boost the volume higher than the stock max volume (although I find stock to be loud enough)
11) Don't use KIES air to do that then ;-)
12) Likewise. There are apps like KIES air, you might want to try them btw. Make a little search, I dont have the name in mind, but they do exist, others will probably point them out
13) I do get a progress bar that moves, maybe a browser issue. Anyway, see point 12)
Cheers for the answers and help. I write the comments inline below.
bilboa1 said:
Hopefully this will help you, at least in some areas (i numbered them in the order that you have used):
1) using developer mode at least (i prefer it as its faster and more compatible than samsung's stuff) you can mount/umount at will the card on the pc via the phone without unplugging
A: i did test this mode but it asked me to unplug the cable also, same thing for MTP. Dont you get that?
2) You may want to try Opera Mobile, it seems to do a very good job at this. I'd like to see this in the stock browser too, but hey, this is Android, you have the choice to change the browser if you like ;-)
A: As mentioned i already tested this. Opera does some things better and some things worse. For instance visiting one of my favorite sites like Engadget.com the whole page jump up and down when i zoom in a little. To be honest the stock + Opera feel very bad compared to iPhones browser. I hope Opera or Samsung improve on this area. This is the most used feature for me.
3) Well, same thing I guess. 2.3.4 may improve stability but the rest, I don't know, I wouldn't bet on it. I like Firefox quite a bit as well, but text wrapping is odd on it.
A: Lets hope so
4) Android issue =/
A:
5) I wouldn't use any task killer. Check the active apps and uninstall any app that doesn't behave (keep only the ones you REALLY need that still do stuff in the background, like email etc, but not too many). Seems to work a zillion time better for battery life. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a decent way to enforce such a policy.
Regular background tasks are not necessarily ever active. It just means they're frozen in the background and do nothing. As long as they do nothing it's fine, it's just faster to start them again (instant, in fact). The issue is really when they're activating every XX minutes while in the background.
A: Yes true, i think Android just shows to much info for regular user. I have to see past the background tasks perhaps. Also some appz you can not remove like the hubs and such. Sure i can root and hack but i'm not so interested to do so just yet. Maybe when i'm a bit more user and understand Android better
6)Doesn't matter, the recent samsung phones such as the SGS2 have a HUGE internal memory compared to other phones, you'll never have space issues for that imo.
A: Actually i got over 12Gig of Appz on my iPhone so 16Gig (or actually 12Gig which is free) isnt all to much when you have navigator (3,5Gig) and games and blogs and such. But sure its enought for a time to come. The bottom line is Google must be tougher with the market otherwise the fragmentation will just grow.
7)Install a kernel with CWM and then, boot in recovery and run a nandroid backup. It will create the backups on your sdcard. Copy them to your PC. Also, copy /efs using tools or manually..
You can restore using a CWM kernel later on and nandroid restore.
You can also use stuff like TitaniumBackup, but it's not nearly as thorough as nandroid backup (which is doing basically disk images, while Titanium and other such apps just copy app/settings)
A: Thanks for the tips, i will write it down. As said i dont dare yet to mess with hacking but soon i was actually considering using the TitaniumB , hear its easy to use.
8)Trollish subject. Some apps are superior on Android, some are superior on iOS. Heh SGS2's browser speed eats my IP4 for breakfast for example. If the same Android app doesnt have the feature of the iOS app, complain to the dev or find another app.
A: I'm noob on what is there on the market so i'm sure there are many awesome apps on Android but when comparing the same app on Android vs iOS the Android was inferior. That was what i was comparing.
Another thing i dont really experience is the speed. To be honest i dont see such a huge speed difference when using my Wlan at home. But maybe you are right
9) it's true it's like that, nothing you can do about it (technically, something could be done but that's probably not wise at all)
A: I guess your right. On the other hand it could be possible a fw update could adjust some values for the current input, this could be a software limitation also i think. Lets hope
10) Use another music player, such as PowerAmp if you like. There's (many, many) other possibilities as well. It also let you boost the volume higher than the stock max volume (although I find stock to be loud enough)
A:Thanks for the tips will test this. Actually this is same thing as the copy/paste issue. I expect the behaviour to be the same no matter application (coming from iOS) but here it seems its application to application. This offer more freedom to developers for sure but it will also generate crapy software and result in a bad user experience. It would be so much better if there were a set of rules that all developers should follow on certain areas (this one is one such area).
11) Don't use KIES air to do that then ;-)
A: hehe true but this is the official way so i thought it should have been well tested and all
12) Likewise. There are apps like KIES air, you might want to try them btw.
Make a little search, I dont have the name in mind, but they do exist, others will probably point them out
A: Will do.
13) I do get a progress bar that moves, maybe a browser issue. Anyway, see point 12)
A: Strange, have to test again on IE which i hate, i use Firefox only. Also tested Safari on my mac.
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Thanks again for your input mate. Back to play more with my GSII
Applications can also be installed on the external sd card.
Applications and I also believe their user data are backed up on google server. So if you factory reset the phone and sync with google, it will download all previous apps.
About the slow charging - are you on old firmware version or do you charge over USB?
Creating a folder through kies air is not possible, that is correct. To be honest I am happy that there is even an app which allows to copy media etc. over wifi, you know there are phones which don't have that, for example the iPhone.
All apps I am using are working fine. If an app is not stable it's developer's fault, not the phone.
Ios is from 2007.. android 09.. 1-2 years between them. just think how far android have gone the last year.. give it 2 years and then compare it to iphone 4 in it current state.. well yes i know android is older.. but the initial realse was around 08-09 and IOS june - 07.
and yes.. so far iphone fits those who just want it to work better.. that means ppl not that used to computers etc.
and currently i dont own an iphone but i got a first generation ipod touch.. and yes even that stoneage IOS thing does alot of things better then my S2..
bah but this iphone vs android is getting old its a subject that can go on forever and ever..
well ill stick with my laggy android.. well i've been told by my iphony friends that its laggy.. i just dont see it
vampyren said:
Hi guys,
Any input, tips, tricks are welcome. I really appreciate your help.
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Nice overview.
IMO S2 is the best phone on the market now. But due to appl's hype, n matter what hardware specs they release, the iphone will always be superior to ANY phone. They could release an iphone with 1st gen hardware, and it will still make more sales than sgs2.
But, slowly more and more ppl are moving towards androi, and apple are losing sales. they even copied bb and android in ios 5..
Also coming from an iPhone 4 to the GS2 I can safely say that I don't miss the iPhone at all which I thought I would.
Having owned a Nexus S in the past and feeling a bit bewildered as there was a lot of stuff within the OS which felt unpolished and unfinished and now 2.3.3 is like night and day for that and it feels much more like a complete OS to me.
@OP give it time there will be a lot of things you can do with your new phone which would require rooting on your iPhone 4
The world of apps and widgets and customization is at your finger tips so jump right in and enjoy
My phone is running ADW Launcher EX with 90% icon dock size, 5x5 grid for homescreen, transparent drawer and miui weather
The only thing you might miss is the app store and iTunes integration (if you use it), other than that the Galaxy S II has it beaten quite comfortably.
@zxz0O0:
OOH that is cool , i think some option about it but didnt think it was what i thought it was nice to have it confirmed. Then this is pretty much what Apple is adding into iOS now with the cloud thing. Pretty cool Android has it already. By the way why do people use program like TitaniumBackup when there is google sync ? is there any limitation to the cloud backup? will all games data, programs data, settings be backed up or just Android OS stuff?
About FW i use the latest i think KE7 i think its called but i read there is a new one coming out next week so hoping for better battery life.
And your last point is something we can debate about for a long time but my view is that if you dont have strict rules developers do what ever they want and can let their app go without update. On the other hand if Google enforce some guideline like having option to install to SD card developers must go by that or their application is removed from market. In the end users will benefit and the platform will grow. But this is my view alone.
@olyloh6696:
I dont think its just hype really. I mean we are comparing a year old phone to SGII here and they are pretty much head to head in most scenarios i tested. But i see your point and i do agree that Android has a charm about it. I love the moving background, i love the whole flexibility to do what you want with the interface. Specially SGII's support for codecs so i dont have to spend 2 day re-encoding all my movies etc. So there are definatley benefits with Android but iOS has the benefit to be easy and working perfectly with the functions it offers from the get go. I think its a matter of preference and more advanced users will move to Android (a bit like me).
@daleski75:
Yupp i think i just need to play with it more and get used to the eco system
I think i will harass Opera developers to fix the formatting thing on the webpages now
Thanks for your input guys, gonna go out and take a walk now, later.
There are also many other good browsers, xscope, miren and dolphin hd to name a few, they all have their own way to format the page and all are pretty good many have different options too for formatting and text wrapping (I believe the default samsung browser also has some options)
also I believe google sync doesnt save all app data (eg angry birds progress is not saved)
That is correct...Google Sync doesn't backup app data (like your Angry Birds scores). This is where Titanium Backup (commonly abbreviated to as TiBu) comes in. It "sort of" does cloud backup (via Dropbox), but its strength really shows when you start installing/changing/updating custom ROMs. Typically, it's used to backup your apps and their data to a folder on your SD card. I can also do some pretty advanced stuff that you probably wouldn't use much (if at all). In my view, the strength is it's ability to deal with batch jobs. For example, before installing a new ROM, I backup all user installed applications (non-protected ones, anyway) with only a couple clicks. Restoring is just as easy, provided you have the paid version (it allows for hands-off batch restore of your apps). Another cool feature it has is "freezing" apps. Say you root your phone and may want to clean some carrier crapware off of it, but aren't *totally* sure. You can freeze those apps...they stay installed and can be defrosted at any time, but they won't be available for use until you do.
Also, I agree with you that a lot of iOS apps are much better than their Android counterparts. I believe this is the case for one main reason: there are tons of people using Android and tons of people on iPhones...you can essentially count on one hand the number of iOS phones Apple has to support, and they are all sold by Apple. Now, look at the number of Android phones and devices and their individual specifications...that makes developing apps for Android pretty complicated. Devs have to take into account different CPUs, memory limitations, and the biggie--SCREEN DIFFERENCES! However, I like being able to run an app developed for a phone on my Honeycomb tablet. Yeah, it may be ugly (not necessarily), but it almost always works! I have a network tool I use that only shows up on about 1/6th the screen of my tab, but I don't care...it still does the job.
Don't forget another important aspect of the Android vs. Apple thing...Apple has control of their devices and their operating systems, and the cell phone carriers don't have control over when Apple releases an update. On the Android side, you have some manufacturers that are prompt with getting an update ready, and those who abandon their devices after they leave the store shelf. Not only that, but those who do release updates, and most do, have to deal with the likes of AT&T and Verizon and everyone else here in the US. Each company wants a ROM customized only for them, and sometimes the manufacturers actually have to pay the cell companies to push out updates. This is what causes the splintering of Android, but openness is what gives it its strengths.
As a general rule, I find that the more "techy" people like the Android OS, since you can customize it and tweak it like crazy. Those who aren't quite as savvy will probably like iOS more (there's less to screw up and they all look the same). Please don't flame me for saying that...it's just a general observation that has many exceptions.
Well that's my two cents. Maybe it will be helpful in some way? <*schrugs*>
Brad
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
There is no practical comparison possible between the mentioned phones.
Appreciate the explanation brad, TB is a nice tool indeed
Just one point, In regard to customization i can pretty do anything also when i jailbreak the iphone which is even simpler then rooting Android and what all techies do anyway with their Android phones
But i agree Android has its charm with the more open eco system.
The 2 area i wish to have before it gets perfect is the browsing and more resolution for the big ass screen (4.3)
For a start im not interested in changing to the newer 2013 version, im over all happy with the Nexus, but I would like to get the best out of the device.
At the moment I'm running pure stock unrooted 4.4.2
Will I benefit from rooting and trying some custom roms ?
Would overclocking help?
Do custom Kernels give a greater performance?
To be honest, one of the most overlooked things to do is to clear out software that you don't use, and is chewing away at system resources. I swear it's the main reason people find they have better performance when they get rid of everything and start from scratch.
That said, if you want to have a play around with other options without mangling your current state, give MultiROM a go. That way you can spawn new setups to play with to your heart's content, but still use the existing setup if something goes awry.
I'll give the same disclaimer you would to someone else: "It depends how you use it.".
In my case that means very little in the way of games: mostly web, e-books, and media. At various times I've run ParanoidAndroid and CyanogenMod, but I'm now back to stock (4.4.2) rooted.
Dolphin browser with a hacked Flash apk (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2548001) got Flash working and between Xposed Framework (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=24267797) and Nova launcher, I have all the flexibility I need to tweak things to my liking.
I don't see any noticeable lag, and I recharge every 2-3 days of intermittent usage (I've never pushed it, but it looks like it would go about 6-7 hours of straight NetFlix watching).
I have a rooted Galaxy Note 4 (T-Mobile), with TWRP recovery, and the Maximum OvrDriVE custom ROM installed. I used several apps to perform various tweaks on my device, and lost track of what all tweaks I've done, over the last couple of years. Somewhere along the lines, I think I used some tweaks that are either incompatible with each other, or with the device itself. It has been spontaneously rebooting at random, for several months now, and I've gotten frustrated enough to do a full factory reset.
However, it's been so long since I rooted, and first installed a custom ROM, that I need some help, particularly since OvrDriVE is no longer developing for the Note 4. I'm looking for a replacement ROM, with the following qualifications:
- Overall TouchWiz/Samsung Experience, or at least those features unique to the Note line, or even Samsung/Galaxy in general.
- COMPATIBILITY! I need for the ROM (or launcher) to not break apps or features. I still want to be able to use the full functionality of the S-Pen, split-screen apps, THE CAMERA, ability to write to external storage, all wireless connectivity, etc. I'm fine with a ROM ported from a later Note series device, as long as it doesn't break anything.
- Reduced bloat: I don't necessarily want ALL "bloat" apps removed, but I DO want to know what each actually DOES. I want space freed up, but I also don't want to reduce/eliminate functionality. I'm perfectly fine with adding GApps - either individually, or as a package - after installation.
- Customizable capacitive buttons functions. I realize this was probably a feature of some app, but I can't remember what app/tweak/whatever I used, for this customization.
- Various root/ROM options/preferences which, while currently made available by root, would be made more accessible.
- Ongoing development. I don't want to install a ROM, only to have it turn into abandonware, 3-4 months from now
I probably want plenty of other things, but those are the core features I want to keep. Please let me know what ROM(s) come closest to meeting the above requirements.
I prefer to do as much of this as possible from the device itself, but if connecting it to my PC would yield better results, I'm more than willing to do so. I'd like step-by-step instructions, when possible, too. I want to do a full factory reset, and after installing everything, I want the latest versions of TWRP recovery, a custom ROM fitting the above requirements, and a custom launcher (I currently use Nova Launcher, and see no reason to change). I've already backed up all my apps and contact/sms data, so I'm ready to wipe and reinstall, as soon as I've got a ROM picked out, and good, detailed instructions.
TL;DR
I want to wipe my phone, and start over with a new custom ROM that is as close to the stock Samsung Experience as possible. I want to remove/reduce bloatware, without sacrificing features/functionality unique to the Note series or Samsung devices in general. I want good, detailed, step-by-step instructions.