Database Users

Can I install cupcake / donut to my htc hero?

Hi,
This is my first post here. I got my htc hero a couple days ago and I've spent most of that time tinkering with it. I'm generally loving it, although I prefer the original android home screen to htc's custom interface. I've noticed that some things like the phonebook are quite laggy, and am under the impression that android's stock phonebook would feel much snappier.
So I would like to install a stock cupcake or donut android to my phone. The thing is, I'm really new to this so I'm not even sure if it's possible. Can it be done? Has any of you guys done it? Even if I succeed, will I be able to use my phone to call and send messages, or will I need to do extra stuff? Can I backup everything in my phone, so that I'll be able to revert it if I break something or I decide that no, the sense ui was better after all?
You see that's a lot of questions, I really hope you guys can give me a hand with this.
Cheers!

After reading some other threads, I think I have some of my questions answered. But do you guys know if any of the stock android builds works with the hero? Can I install anything to it, apart from the system that came with the phone?

you can only install Hero builds on your phone! currently there are none as the phone just came out. So just be patient. If you think the UI is too laggy.. clear default home screen and use regular launcher..

The HTC touchflo stuff works on top of android so If you REALLY wanted to revert back to basic android then i guess you could after rooting and installing a basic android ROM. WARNING though, i dont think that has been done yet. reasons in include
WHY WHY WHY?
Hero has exchange support, basic flash support.

barryallott said:
The HTC touchflo stuff works on top of android so If you REALLY wanted to revert back to basic android then i guess you could after rooting and installing a basic android ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well minogue seems to think otherwise... has anyone tried actually?
Anyway, if I use nandroid to backup my system I shouldn't risk anything right?
I think I'll just wait but, can you point me to a basic android Rom? I've seen there are lots of them and I would't know which one to pick.
I written this with the phone, by the way. Awesome keyboard

frandavid100 said:
Well minogue seems to think otherwise... has anyone tried actually?
Anyway, if I use nandroid to backup my system I shouldn't risk anything right?
I think I'll just wait but, can you point me to a basic android Rom? I've seen there are lots of them and I would't know which one to pick.
I written this with the phone, by the way. Awesome keyboard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And you would lose this 'awesome' keyboard!

Just turn off SenseUI. The rest of Android runs underneath.

Where are the default Calendar and Contact apps ?

I'm in exactly the same boat as frandavid100. I love the Hero's hardware, but most of SenseUI is too flashy; I don't care about most of the improvements (seven home screens, irritating widgets, lots of Facebook/Twitter/Flickr integration, exchange support) and I'd say some of them are worse than the alternative (the calendar doesn't show as much information in the month view; Flash in the browser just makes websites much, much slower and doesn't work for video).
On the other hand, apparently 1.5 is much faster, and 2.0 (on release) will have multitouch in Google Maps as well as in the browser, so I'd like to get running the stock Android operating system.
I don't know anything about cooking ROMs, though, so I'll wait for a kind benefactor. Hopefully it's not just frandavid100 and I who want a faster version of Android...

Glad to see I'm not alone.
Anyway, is there a way to test the stock android keyboard and phonebook? I kinda dig htc's keyboard, with its compact qwerty layout, but I hate the phonebook and I haven't found a decent alternative in the market.

+1
Beeing used to G1 I would also prefer simple UI .. not that Sense is bad
but I prefer simple that sexy UI Then we could benefit of full hero
power on cupcake or donut ...

phcollignon said:
+1
Beeing used to G1 I would also prefer simple UI .. not that Sense is bad
but I prefer simple that sexy UI Then we could benefit of full hero
power on cupcake or donut ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You already effectively have Cupcake on the Hero - firmware version is V1.5, which is a Cupcake build. If you just drop Sense UI, your back to almost a vanilla G1 build, which the exception you have HTC keyboards and apps as opposed to Google ones. Given that the hardware in the Hero is pretty similar to the Magic (at least those with 288mb RAM), there isn't exactly any additional "power" to harness either!
With respect to Donut, as far as I'm aware there are *no* operational Donut ROMs available for the G1, Magic, or Hero as yet.
Regards,
Dave

I do also prefer the clean fast Android interface over HTC's one, I know how to make the default home screen to be the Android one but touchflo keeps running in the backgroupd eating more than 30MB RAM and wondering if it is safe to uninstall this package and probably others too. In brief, disable the sense UI. It is maybe nice but at this point is slow compared to the Android interface

yeh, i would like to remove the touchflo altogether as it keeps running in the background even though i use the default home screen. Or at least have some sort of of startup manager to stop things running at boot.

must be out soon, there is some leaked screenshots here including the widget.
http://androidguys.com/?p=6260

OK - so the Her is already running Cupcake, but with SenseUI on top, and while you can disable some parts of SenseUI from running, you can't actually get rid of them.
In that case I think I'll wait and see what happens around Donut. If HTC release an updated Hero ROM, I'll go with that, and if they don't, I can wait for a generous ROM chef to bake a nice, basic Donut ROM for the Hero. Thanks for everyone's help.

You'll need to root your phone to do it:
http://android.modaco.com/content/h...if-you-wanted-to-get-rid-of-rosie-completely/

Me tooo
I would love to be able to 'downgrade' my Hero to the stock android.
At the very least, I'd love an easy way to install the stock android applications on top of the HTC ones, and hopefully uninstall the ones I don't use so as to save some application space.

New to HD2...N00b here...

Hey all,
I've been a huge fan of the iPhone since it came out and I finally got one on Tmo which i've been using for about 8 months, I love my iphone but Edge sucks and I'd rather have a 3GS with more music space. So, I decided to try out the HD2 which I really like,even though I have a nasty history with the WM (blame it on the Shadow, absolutely horrible device had it sent back to Tmo so many times they finally gave up and sent me a BB) but I digress, the whole point I'm trying to make is that I know how customizable the HD2 is and it has the potential to be an amazing phone which I'll hopefully keep for a while. I just want some help on apps and roms that will make things smoother. I've heard Handango.com and the Marketplace have some good apps which unfortunately I won't all get for free like i used to with the iPhone (take that, Jobs!) Also, is there any way to get push notifications on the facebook app, and on my gmail? (I don't like Outlook).
If I could just get some guidance into the most stable ROMS and ways to make things run smoother I'd really appreciate it!
Thanks

ibuddha said:
Hey all,
I've been a huge fan of the iPhone since it came out and I finally got one on Tmo which i've been using for about 8 months, I love my iphone but Edge sucks and I'd rather have a 3GS with more music space. So, I decided to try out the HD2 which I really like,even though I have a nasty history with the WM (blame it on the Shadow, absolutely horrible device had it sent back to Tmo so many times they finally gave up and sent me a BB) but I digress, the whole point I'm trying to make is that I know how customizable the HD2 is and it has the potential to be an amazing phone which I'll hopefully keep for a while. I just want some help on apps and roms that will make things smoother. I've heard Handango.com and the Marketplace have some good apps which unfortunately I won't all get for free like i used to with the iPhone (take that, Jobs!) Also, is there any way to get push notifications on the facebook app, and on my gmail? (I don't like Outlook).
If I could just get some guidance into the most stable ROMS and ways to make things run smoother I'd really appreciate it!
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out the stickies in this forum and the original HD2 subforum (the european version, it's the same phone... just certain roms and radios won't work) There's tons of info here and the other hd2 section... just learn to use the search feature of the forum.
Good luck with the transition. They are completely different OS's, so don't expect an iphone like experience. But if you know what you're doing, the HD2 can get so much more versatile and useful than the iphone. But again, they are for completely different types of people. The HD2 takes more work setting it up and customizing it the way you want. It's more for people who enjoy tinkering and tweaking, and don't mind searching for a solution to a problem or bug that comes up in the phone. I hope you have a good experience with your HD2.

Download oMarket, its a 3rd party market place that has a lot more apps and its all free. At least I haven't seen a paid app in there yet. Also there are several forums on here that have tons of apps too.
Omarket
HD2 Themes And Apps
XDA Winmo Apps

you guys are awesome. thanks!

Some Newbie Questions

Hey all,
I am a t mobile USA user and im new to the windows mobile phone. I have been trolling around the forums trying to figure out bits and pieces of how to make my phone better. Now ROM are a big thing im trying to figure out. I know they are pretty much like re-writing the ECU of a car. I have been using search features and reading through the FAQ but im trying to figure out which would be the best way to increase performance. I have BsB, cookie's home tab, and a few other small tweaks. I have Pandora working somewhat good, except the sound quality is junk.
My real questions are can i get the SMS fix on the standard t-mobile rom? Also everyone refers to manila, is that simply HTC Sense or is it a rom? and finally which rom is best for a newbie to winmo? I'm just trying to get this phone to not crash on me all the time and not to lagg like crazy.
Thanks for any responses and help,
Chris

Hello,
Even with the newest ROM from HTC my phone still was annoying and crashy. I finally gave up playing it safe and installed a cooked ROM and it's pretty much as I would have expected the phone in the first place.
So my advice is to give up on trying to track HTC's fixes, or your service provider's updates, and go with one of those. I suppose that HTC and telcos only have a certain amount of time and budget to spend on the phone OS development, and they have to make them work in all conditions, rather than tune it to individual applications. Some of the devs on this forum have the time/knowledge and resources to re-engineer the OS to work much better.
I have been using the Artemis series which, as I said, gives me pretty much what I expected of the phone to start with. Considering the "default" install this is actually pretty amazing!
Have a look here for details:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=612580

Write me back I'll help you install ev erythinng you need

Hello and welcome to the WinMo world!
I can't answer any ROM questions, as I personally still run stock (I don't get any lags etc others seem to get) but I can answer one of your q's:
Manila is indeed Sense, not a ROM.

Total NOOB looking for advice on going to Android

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

Wanting to buy a Vibrant. Have questions

Ok so I would like to get a vibrant soon but there are a few things that bother me that I would like to get resolved.
#1 how are the custom ROMS? Can i use Galaxy S and Captivate ROMS or is it specific to the vibrant only?
#2 I really dont like the UI they put on there. I like the stock android OR sense UI. I know sense will probably never make it to the vibrant but how about the stock android? Are there any ROMS right now that offer that? I know how to theme but that would be a lot of changing.
#3 development... I feel like since the Galaxy S will be across the world and many carriers development would be fairly good right? How is it now? What do you think it will be like in the future?

Hey NC!
#1 how are the custom ROMS? Can i use Galaxy S and Captivate ROMS or is it specific to the vibrant only?
There are no ROMs right now. CM6 has two developers working on porting to the Galaxy though.
#2 I really dont like the UI they put on there. I like the stock android OR sense UI. I know sense will probably never make it to the vibrant but how about the stock android? Are there any ROMS right now that offer that? I know how to theme but that would be a lot of changing.
Use ADW or LauncherPro (amazing on this phone)
#3 development... I feel like since the Galaxy S will be across the world and many carriers development would be fairly good right? How is it now? What do you think it will be like in the future?
It will eventually be very good. With the volume sold and ability of this phone, it will eventually have great development. Right now, a lot of developers, especially on here are used to HTC and getting used to Samsung and the differences.

You have to remember, This phone Just came out and the other 2 still haven't.
Plus, this is not an HTC phone.
That being said, development is going strong.
Expect the Flood gates to open soon.
FYI: I use both ADW launcher and Launcher Pro (bothe give me the the stock android experience you seek.

i think the custom roms will start flowing.
about touchwiz, I thought that would be the first thing i removed, but i have actually liked some things about it, but like has already been mentioned, use ADW or whatever launcher you prefer.
I think development witll really start to take off in time.

Thanks for the quick replies. Great answers

I use:
Touch Calendar
ADW launcher
aContacts
stock News & Weather
Klaxon
cubed.
That pretty much gets me around the Yucky TouchFlow. I also rooted and installed Root Explorer to get rid of the bloatware easily.
I was really hesitant, and except for having to tap ever so accurately when correcting text because there's no dpad (I've put a request in to a dev that I like for a soft dpad), I'm very happy.
If you get too much lag because of the slow storage memory, there's a hack for that. I haven't use it yet.

Just took a chance and bought it. Loving the phone but just as I expected, touchwiz is quite annoying. Cant wait to see a 2.2 cyannogen rom