Database Users

Hands up who just wants a fast, stable vanilla 2.1 ROM with everything working...

I know there are people who love sense/rosie, I used to be one of them. But the more I use my phone, the more I find myself just wanting it cut down a bit and more streamlined..
I have no need for facebook or twitter, htc mail widgets etc.
The only things I see value in are the dialer, pinch to zoom in the browser and the music controls on the lock screen..
I have found myself setting 'home' as the default on most of my ROM's and having everything go fast, but I can't help thinking it could be even better..
I am fine with 3 to 5 home screens, no need for leap..
Just a lightning fast, stable build with no bloat or social crap..
Am I alone in wanting this?
TJ
For all the Dev's, you are doing AWESOME work, I love playing with all the ROM's and sincerely appreciate your time and effort. I know the masses want rosie, but there are a large number of people who aren't the majority

Honestly, I really like the HTC Friendstream and/or Twitter widget, but I can do without them. One thing I would miss is the HTC camera, but I found out today that it's been ported to the Nexus One, so I don't see why we couldn't get the HTC Camera in a vanilla Hero ROM.
I've noticed (using Villain 5.0, aka the 2.1 Sprint Hero ROM) that if I'm listening to music and using google navigation, the music skips sometimes, mostly when the GPS app is calculating something. I figure getting rid of Sense might fix this by freeing up some RAM.
So, as long as we can get the HTC Camera into a vanilla ROM (and maybe that's already been done... anyone?), then yes, I would rather use a vanilla ROM.
With a vanilla ROM we should also be able to use voice dialing, right? Since we'd be using the google dialer instead of the HTC one?

Save Heros from sense.
I really don't like sense and hate the thought of having to return to it for a stable phone... the stock android experience is what I want on the my Hero.
I am a developer and do know Java well but I don't have much time to dive into Android although I have started. I have the sdk, eclipse, and the source synced and started looking at the code.
I know we are waiting for HTC to release updated kernel sources and to get our hands on stable drivers but I would like to get Gallery3D and Launcher 2 working
It's a shame that I have this tease... a 80% stable phone using aHero v0.6.1 but the phone still locks up and reboot randomly... this could have a lot to do with the kernel and drivers.
Gallery3D used to work in both landscape and Portrait on Android 2.0
Not sure if this is Google dropping support or bad drivers but I have had Google Earth running on this Hero too.
Launcher2 is actually faster then launcher but it seems to swap out of memory or something when the phone sleeps and takes a few seconds to wake up.
I will try and look at the code more but I'm hoping some very skilled Android Hero guru will save the Hero and get us up and running %100 in the next months.

i support the notion for a vanila rom. sense is nice, but truthfully, i am a fan of the stock android gui. for some, its clunky. for me, i can work around it. i feel the phone would be more of a true enthusiast's phone with the stock OS, and sense tries to well..(no pun intended) make sense for people new to having a phone.
HTC is doing a great job making android phones appealing, but the way android OS looked prior to sense was what appealed me to it in the first place...something unique, one that is sort of minimalistic yet packs a lot of options for an end-user. I find HTC's widgets beautiful but slow. And in a phone, i'd rather have zip to make an emergency phone call rather than a cool UI soaking up the resources to display the weather. thats not to say i don't like cute little things like that, though. just have the speed first, optimize and incorporate later. 1.5 did well, and 2.1 really makes android very nice, keeping its simplicity and making subtle yet elegant additions.
2.1 stock rom based from these leaks pls =3

It's good to see i'm not alone..
I agree that once the new kernel comes out I think it will be much easier to get a fully functional stock 2.1 happening..
I have used raidroid 2.1 and I was VERY impressed with the speed, but all that makes me think is how it could be even faster!
I just like the idea of a business like experience.. No bull****, just do what you are built to do.

I'm pretty keen to see a fast stock rom as well. I already use the stock keyboard because of its speed and I was using Launcher2 for a while, but it was too buggy.
But really, more then anything I want a fast, stable build to run with.
The only thing I think it would really miss is the music player controls on the lock screen, but I think they could do with some work.... not fast enough at the moment, the same goes with unlocking to answer a phone call, it all seems to take too long.

agree
aHero 0.61 is good, but still a bit buggy
im not a fan of the sense bloatware approach

I'm currently working on a rom that pretty much fits these requirements.
CyanogenMod based (this may change due to video playback issues), JIT enabled, and after an initial release, I may try and integrate drivers from the CDMA 2.1 roms.
Oh, and it won't have Sense (inefficient and ineffective), Launcher2, Live Wallpapers or any of the rest of that superfluous crap.

I would love to see a stable build of a vanilla rom...everytime one is released i flash right away but theres always a major bug that push me to sense roms again.
I even like the android camera,mostly in poor light conditions.
The music control in lockscreen is nice but not nice enough to make it a setback...
All the social widgets(twitter,facebook,mail,buzz,etc.) can be found in market for free...many of them better then HTC ones.
Genie widgets can do weather and news(I use them in sense roms)
If ppl dont like android calendar widget,"smooth calendar" is similar to HTC calendar(to me is much better) and free.
And thats what makes vanilla rom so good,i only install this apk if i want to or need it...my phone,my rules.

yeah i would love one!

I also hate seeing SocialNetworkReciever firing up all the time in logcat when my phone is asleep when I have no accounts for fb, twitter and flickr..
*SocialNetworkReciever is being called every 5 mins! Even after removing peep!

Just like any OS on whatever device. It should be basic and fast.
+1 for Vanilla.

I very much prefer the vanilla Android experience over Sense. For me Sense adds nothing but bugs and bloat and also a few Android features I like are missing in HTC Android.

I would like one as well. Currently I am just stripping everything from someone's custom rom, perhaps I should try the Kitchen that's available to make my own 2.1, based on AOSP.

Yep, i'm on board. A 2.1 Vanilla ROM, possibly with Multi-Touch in the Browser, Touch Focus in the Camera and the HTC dialler would be perfect.

I loved the aychteesee rom for this reason. at the time it was the fastest around for the hero. shame it never got updated, there were one or two bugs that pushed me back to sense.
It makes sense to install an os with very few features on, as we have the Market! I really don't find any htc widget/app that performs better than a Market place counterpart. Just look at Camera Zoom FX.

Best Vanilla Rom
Hi all,
I've tried lots of ROMs and I must say that Kagudroid 1.2.2 is by far the best. It is vanilla Android and it is faster, more stable, less buggy than any other ROM. The only drawback was that the camera was unstable, but now there is a fix for that in the post on Htcpedia.com (http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1979)
Try it, it's the difference you're looking for!

I really want a stock fast vanilla rom.. Going to try this kagudroid.. Let's se how it is

Taijohnsen said:
I know there are people who love sense/rosie, I used to be one of them. But the more I use my phone, the more I find myself just wanting it cut down a bit and more streamlined..
I have no need for facebook or twitter, htc mail widgets etc.
The only things I see value in are the dialer, pinch to zoom in the browser and the music controls on the lock screen..
I have found myself setting 'home' as the default on most of my ROM's and having everything go fast, but I can't help thinking it could be even better..
I am fine with 3 to 5 home screens, no need for leap..
Just a lightning fast, stable build with no bloat or social crap..
Am I alone in wanting this?
TJ
For all the Dev's, you are doing AWESOME work, I love playing with all the ROM's and sincerely appreciate your time and effort. I know the masses want rosie, but there are a large number of people who aren't the majority
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think this is the right part of the hero threads for your Christmas wish list, mayee the Q&A section. Try picking a Rom that's already close to what you require and giving feedback

Would love one, too!
<3 Google / Android 4 Life ;-)

Incredible has leaked 2.2 with everything working w/Sense

Now I know they don't have 4G but everything works with Sense. Can we get this ported?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Is it really nessecary? Ava-FroyoV2 already has Sense and everything but BT and 4G working. I would expect it to be more work to port this than just have Ava fix BT and have basically the same.

Given the similarities between the Evo and Inc, the 2.2 update should be right around the corner. Also remember that Verizon is notorious for long testing before a software update.
Having said that, I'm sure a Dev will figure out a way to port this over.

But we already have CyanogenMod with everything but 4G working.
-------------
Sent from my HTC EVO 4G using Tapatalk Pro.

The advantage of using the Incredible's 2.2 over the current 2.2 Sense that we have is that it will work better with what we have. The other one we have is for the Desire. So, for instance, the camera may work better. If it has a newer kernel we may be able to use that, etc. So, yeah, I'd say it would be worth porting over. Either way, I'm sticking with CM6 as I have missed Cyanogen since my days with the G1.

Well I suppose we'll have to wait again for the new kernel's source code, hopefully it doesn't take as long this time.

There is more issues with that rom then those listed, for example exchange doesn't setup correctly
trogdor182 said:
Is it really nessecary? Ava-FroyoV2 already has Sense and everything but BT and 4G working. I would expect it to be more work to port this than just have Ava fix BT and have basically the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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I would like to see a port of it. I like the Stock look with the speed under the hood.

Is it an unpopular opinion to actually like SenseUI around here? I vastly prefer Sense over the stock UI, TouchWiz and MotoBlur.

Unfortunately, since CyanogenMod has just about everything working, the only real improvements for the EVO that could be pulled out of the Droid Incredible's code is the FM radio, assuming they're even the same chip(which, without doing some research, I highly doubt).

From what I have seen and played with Sense is pretty nice, but I really like the look/feel of ADW.Launcher and Stock apps myself.
To each their own.
Although an official HTC Release of 2.2 would be interesting to see performance wise.

I like sense as well but I am not married to it, but I don't see why all the hate
Loading.........

Sense has some really good apps like music and email. Don't argue with me about music app. It is by far the smoothest and streamed lined music player for android. Even froyo music is a piece of crap. Google really need to work on the music players for Android. iPhone and.most likely the Zune based Windows Mobile 7 music player are/will be vastly superior.
Sent from my PC36100

Sense isn't bad, but it's not as useful for me. There are maybe one or two widgets that I'd like to have, but with all the other bulkiness it's not worth it. Like the 3 button dock. I'd much rather have the ADW where I can put 4 shortcuts plus the drawer. Once I tried CM6, I don't think I can go back to Sense.
It's all about preference.

The only thing I liked about Sense was the Mail/Exchange app. At least it gave me the option to select and delete multiple items at a time. With the current e-mail app (Froyo) i have to "tick" each e-mail, kinda tedious when you have over a hundren e-mails you want to delete at a time.

I don't plan on flashing a 2.2 rom until I know 4g works. I'd rather be able to use the service I'm paying for.

cosine83 said:
Is it an unpopular opinion to actually like SenseUI around here? I vastly prefer Sense over the stock UI, TouchWiz and MotoBlur.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sense is just a pretty pointless bit of eyecandy that vastly slows down updates received by HTC phones. It is completely tangled up in the OS, and it just slows things down and provides very limited customization due to its closed-source nature. AOSP Android is extremely fast and smooth, and you are free to add all of the eyecandy and additional apps you want.

TheBiles said:
Sense is just a pretty pointless bit of eyecandy that vastly slows down updates received by HTC phones. It is completely tangled up in the OS, and it just slows things down and provides very limited customization due to its closed-source nature. AOSP Android is extremely fast and smooth, and you are free to add all of the eyecandy and additional apps you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I do agree with you, I really wish there were Marketplace equivalents of some of the HTC widgets (Email, Bookmarks, and NewsReader in particular). Pure Messenger is the closest I've found to the HTC email widget but after spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get it set up the way I like, I gave up. And, don't get me started on my K9/Exchange integration issues.
And, I'm a geek! I can only imagine the frustration the average non-techie, Android owner without a Sense phone goes through.

okolowicz said:
While I do agree with you, I really wish there were Marketplace equivalents of some of the HTC widgets (Email, Bookmarks, and NewsReader in particular). Pure Messenger is the closest I've found to the HTC email widget but after spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get it set up the way I like, I gave up. And, don't get me started on my K9/Exchange integration issues.
And, I'm a geek! I can only imagine the frustration the average non-techie, Android owner without a Sense phone goes through.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well final-damn-ly, somebody without their head stuck up their ass realizes this lol. But really, they did a good job with the widgets and to me are worth more than the hassles i have to put up with. And don't forget copy/paste; stock google's is the most godawful take on copypasta i've ever seen. While I've gotten used to launcher pro plus, returning back to sense would definitely be a welcome home for me.

I agree that Sense, although a resource hog, has the best widgets. Just wish I could use wiimote.
Sent from your moms house

[Q] Any visible improvements on CM6 as compared to CM5.0.8?

Hi,
I have recently rooted my Magic 32A and installed CM5.0.8, which I'm happy with after stock Android 1.5 but I was wondering...
Is CM6 RC3 going to improve the performance of some of the apps because of the Java acceleration? Is it stable enough to try?
Anybody can suggest a better keyboard that I could use...default Android one is not that great.
Thanks!

Smart Keyboard is freaking awesome, but it's not free. It's $2.53 in the market.
As for CM6. I've tried all three RC's plus a random few nightlies, and it's always been slower than 5.0.8. Seems to lag anytime I'm switching betweens programs, flicking through the home screens, etc. Doesn't seem to be too bad while actually running applications, just a pain in the butt to get them going.
With that being said, don't take my word for it. The easiest way to find out is to make a Nandroid backup, flash CM6, and if you don't like it, just restore your Nandroid backup.

Thanks DonJuan692006! I really value the opinion of people who have tried it before me.
I was thinking CM6 should be faster...but maybe it's not because it's still RC.
As for the keyboard I would buy the one you suggested (actually never bought anything on Android yet so I'm curious of the process), but my question is...is that better than Swype? What are the advantages of Smart Keyboard? I think I found some other ones to buy too...

Smart keyboard for me is just a millions times more responsive than the Android keyboard. It also compensates for people who's fingers are bigger than the keys better. I know there are other keyboards available but I bought it based off the reviews.
Swype was really accurate when I was using it, but I found that right after I would clean the screen it was really too hard to drag my finger across the screen and even got to the point that my thumb would start to hurt. I quit using it all together once that started happening. But its all a matter of opinion. The good thing is that everything you buy in the market can be refunded within 24 hours, so just grab it first thing in the morning and use it through the day. If you don't like it, get a refund. I've done it for several apps in the past.
Sent from my HTC Magic using XDA App

i think the problem lies within the launcher. No matter what kind of launcher you use, it still not fast like the stock launcher from 1.6 donut. Thats the real problem. Why do we have to look the same to Nexus One? Can anyone here create a simpliest rom with almost no addition-ware (i.e. launcher and gallery 3d), see if it improve performance and battery? lets make a petition shall we

I have installed CM6 it is runnung a bit faster,but as it was said those few bugs with luncher are not really problems for me,it is great.But ofc there is a battery comsuption problem it is leeching your battery

ICS - am I missing something?

I've patiently been waiting and flashing the alpha/beta ICS ROMs onto my phone as and when they come (thanks devs!).
What I am wondering is, why am I distinctly unimpressed with ICS?
Sure it looks pretty, but when you get down to the nuts and bolts of it, it seems to be form over function. The launcher now takes several swipes to access an app which I could previously have got to in one flick. The task switcher which used to be just long-press on home button then bam, touch your desired app, is now a case of long-press then swiping through a long list of pretty windows to find the one you need. Don't get me wrong, the changes to the built-in apps are good (and necessary - having to press menu to get to the draft new email button was ridiculously bad UI) - but I'm just left unimpressed overall.
And still we have the poor choppy scrolling performance that iOS and WP users laugh at instead of the ultra-smooth buttery goodness they enjoy (although it is better than it used to be I admit).
I know the ICS ROMs are a work in progress still, and I've not spent any time using a Galaxy Nexus - perhaps it all makes sense on a superphone with dual-cores and a massive screen, and these are non-issues for those people. But I am in no position to get a new phone (need a hardware keyboard and there aren't any better ones around) and hence I don't see much compelling reason to get ICS over GB - except for the apps maybe.
Am I the only person feeling this way?

Take into consideration these are ALPHA and BETA stages..cameras still don't even work. Just be patient
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium

Hm, I'd have to agree with you about the Task Switcher. There is little to no functionality to it. May I add widget grouping in the Drawer would also be a great addition. Otherwise, I liked most of the changes.
Although, I have two questions. What ICS ROM did/are you test(ing)? And did you try Overclocking? I'm currently running Virtuous Quattro (Beta 8) and have an overclock of up to 1,6GHz, and I can tell everything is running smooth as silk. Of course you don't have to OC to upto 1,6, but 1,2-1,3 would definitely suffice.
Edit: As spastic909 said, there will be a LOT of changes in the upcoming updates, this is only a preview of what we're soon going to get.

As a test I just overclocked to 1.8GHz on performance governor, and rebooted to ensure minimal running processes. This is on a fresh install of Andromadus Alpha v8, no apps installed except GAPPS - scrolling is still really choppy when going through lists, such as my GMail inbox and my contacts list. This is just a fact of life on Android, it doesn't matter what ROM you have, and I've been through a lot in the 14mths that I've had this phone
If iOS and WP can scroll smoothly EVERYWHERE on hardware much older/worse than my phone then there is something seriously wrong with Android at a deep functional level. I think Google needs to sort that out now they've "prettyfied" Android. Lipstick on a pig springs to mind. I love Android, and as it stands I would never consider iOS or WP. But I am jealous of the performance they get.

setspeed said:
As a test I just overclocked to 1.8GHz on performance governor, and rebooted to ensure minimal running processes. This is on a fresh install of Andromadus Alpha v8, no apps installed except GAPPS - scrolling is still really choppy when going through lists, such as my GMail inbox and my contacts list. This is just a fact of life on Android, it doesn't matter what ROM you have, and I've been through a lot in the 14mths that I've had this phone
If iOS and WP can scroll smoothly EVERYWHERE on hardware much older/worse than my phone then there is something seriously wrong with Android at a deep functional level. I think Google needs to sort that out now they've "prettyfied" Android. Lipstick on a pig springs to mind. I love Android, and as it stands I would never consider iOS or WP. But I am jealous of the performance they get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the addition of hardware acceleration for moving UI elements doesn't function in CPU realtime like the iPhone or Windows Phones? I'm still running Virtuous G-Lite here, haven't flashed any ICS roms yet as they are all in beta.

setspeed said:
Am I the only person feeling this way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel exactly the same way especially in regards to the app list and recently used apps. I think those are steps backward which is keeping me on GB. However ICS does have some improvements in other areas of the OS which I wish I could enjoy.
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

setspeed said:
As a test I just overclocked to 1.8GHz on performance governor, and rebooted to ensure minimal running processes. This is on a fresh install of Andromadus Alpha v8, no apps installed except GAPPS - scrolling is still really choppy when going through lists, such as my GMail inbox and my contacts list. This is just a fact of life on Android, it doesn't matter what ROM you have, and I've been through a lot in the 14mths that I've had this phone
If iOS and WP can scroll smoothly EVERYWHERE on hardware much older/worse than my phone then there is something seriously wrong with Android at a deep functional level. I think Google needs to sort that out now they've "prettyfied" Android. Lipstick on a pig springs to mind. I love Android, and as it stands I would never consider iOS or WP. But I am jealous of the performance they get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fast real-time UI scrolling has very little to do with actual performance. From what I loosely understand, Android is fundamentally more ambitious. Rather than being flawed compared to her competitors. iOS and WP7(Not 100% sure about this.) has the UI on some kind of urgent priority line to render scrolling at 60fps. Android on the other hand, won't forsake any other tasks for the UI scrolling. In essence, Android is closer to a true computer.
That said, I'm guessing the only way to stamp out Android's inherent lagginess is to brute force it with increasingly advanced hardware. Or in my case, using MIUI bulletproof w/ that Charger V6 script thingie gives it a comparable homescreen scrolling speed to the iPhone 3GS.

setspeed said:
As a test I just overclocked to 1.8GHz on performance governor, and rebooted to ensure minimal running processes. This is on a fresh install of Andromadus Alpha v8, no apps installed except GAPPS - scrolling is still really choppy when going through lists, such as my GMail inbox and my contacts list. This is just a fact of life on Android, it doesn't matter what ROM you have, and I've been through a lot in the 14mths that I've had this phone
If iOS and WP can scroll smoothly EVERYWHERE on hardware much older/worse than my phone then there is something seriously wrong with Android at a deep functional level. I think Google needs to sort that out now they've "prettyfied" Android. Lipstick on a pig springs to mind. I love Android, and as it stands I would never consider iOS or WP. But I am jealous of the performance they get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was a very good explanation to why you would be seeing this that I unfortunately don't remember where I found it, but it was a google employee explaining why android will never LOOK as smooth as iOs (despite both being almost the same) what it is, is that with iOS it prioritizes interaction above everything else, including rendering, in that, if you were to load a page on safari or whatever and while its loading start moving the page around, all rendering will stop, whereas with android it will try to do both simultaneous thereby resulting in what appears to be a choppier experience. As for google fixing this, they cannot (or rather will not) because it would literally require an overhaul of everything that is android to fix, yes it's do-able, but it would result in everything that we know to be android restarting practically from scratch (with some trial and error already done for us IE we know what works so we can implement it from the beginning) Hope this answers your concerns!

noneabove said:
iOS it prioritizes interaction above everything else, including rendering, in that, if you were to load a page on safari or whatever and while its loading start moving the page around, all rendering will stop, whereas with android it will try to do both simultaneous thereby resulting in what appears to be a choppier experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm.. I'd read about it somewhere. And I'd also read elsewhere that the google devs wanted to find a decent middle ground to reduce this "choppiness" as well.

This the article others are referring to - https://plus.google.com/105051985738280261832/posts/2FXDCz8x93s
Also, another one from the same source (a senior Google/Android engineer) - https://plus.google.com/105051985738280261832/posts/XAZ4CeVP6DC
Sent from my Desire Z running CM7.

Yeah I was already aware of those posts by Dianne Hackborn and others. It also seems that NO-ONE including Hackborn herself can give a definitive answer (which doesn't then get refuted by someone) as to why iOS can achieve 60fps animation pretty much everywhere, and Android just fails spectacularly at it.
The technical issues are way above my head, and I have no real interest in changing that - I'm just a normal end-user (albeit one who likes to meddle, hence why I have an XDA account). What I would like to hear is that Google has a plan for fixing Android, whether that be through a rewrite or whatever, to nail this final issue of stuttery, laggy performance compared to the competition.
I think the original point of my post was that ICS doesn't seem to offer me much in the way of actual advantages over GB (except for apps). The launcher appears smoother (at the cost of now having to make mutliple swipes - a choice made to get around the abysmal list-scrolling performance). The task manager is prettier but less functional. It just seems like it's been tarted up, with none of the actual underlying issues fixed. That's how it is from my perspective.
I wish there was a viable alternative, as I am truly starting to get itchy feet. I know that I won't go anywhere at the moment, but one phone that really interested me was the Nokia N9. I never got the chance to actually use it, but all the reviews said that the Meego interface was a joy (despite a couple of minor performance issues and the fact Nokia killed it before it was born).
I think I'm starting to question whether in fact I need the advantages that Android offers at all. On a daily basis there is only one root app that I use and that is Adfree Android. Could I live without it - probably.
And although I love flashing new ROMs on my phone, and the choice that brings, ultimately I'm only trying to fix deficiencies with the software my phone came with. This DZ was dead slow when I first got it - overclocking and a new ROM fixed that. But when the competition is fast and smooth, would I feel the need for any of that? I suspect the answer is probably "Yes, I would miss it like anything". But the fact I'm asking myself these questions tells me I'm not perfectly happy with Android the way it is. iPhone users don't have that feeling. I know they expect less of a computer and more of an appliance, but when they have an amazing experience day after day, and I'm being frustrated day after day, I ask myself who really is the smarter one?

setspeed said:
I'm being frustrated day after day, I ask myself who really is the smarter one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one is smarter than anyone for choosing one particular brand over another. Its just a preference in the end.
While it's short sighted of you to equate UI scrolling to actual performance, you're quite entitled to love smooth scrolling.
And if 60 fps scrolling is your thing and if the lag bothers you that much. Then it would be wise to move to the iPhone or Windows. Especially if you believe it to be the smarter choice.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Smarter as in "not spending a lot of time babying my phone". Is it possible to make the transition from phone tweaker to just phone user, and enjoy those benefits (scrolling performance, better quality of apps) instead of enjoying total control and customisation?? Who knows, but when my contract's up and if there isn't a decent qwerty Android on the market (highly likely) then maybe I should try a change!

The scrolling lag of Android is a software design "flaw" if you can call it that. Someone wrote a nice article on G+ about it. Essentially, Android spawns a thread for the UI and lets it do its thing. That's why when you scroll down, not only does the existing content move, but new content is also added on the fly. And this happens across the OS - when you are updating an app, the phone also is trying to address your latest command of swiping homescreens. The author went on to show how in iOS this is not the case, that when a webpage is loading and the user begins to scroll, the page stops loading and full processor power is dedicated to the scrolling, thus resulting in a smoother performance. Apparently, it is baked too deep into the kernel and changing that is not a trivial issue. thus, the only solution now is to throw more HP at it, which is why the latest crop of phones don't stutter too much.

I think I'm a victim of my own anticipation. Like most people here I check Android news on a daily basis. When a major version revision like 4.0 is announced I buy into all the hype and by the time it gets to release I'm ready for the second coming of Jesus. When that doesn't happen then I've set myself up for a major fall. ICS brings some welcome (and some not so welcome) changes, but there's nothing earth shattering here, it feels like an incremental improvement.
I'm setting myself up for some major flaming here, but I would like Google to pull out the big guns and wow us with something. Something like Siri.
Before you all lambast me, let me state my position - I don't think Siri will set the world on fire like Apple hopes it will, we're just not ready for it yet. And I know all us jaded tech types can sneer and say "I could do all this ages ago with Tasker and Voice Search and Vlingo etc etc". But what Apple has done is wrap it all up into a nice useable package that anyone can easily access, without having to think about it, or search the Market for apps. There is nothing wrong in spotting something that you think is great and adding it to your OS. And if you try and deny that this will how we will interact with our phones in 20yrs time (or perhaps via mind control!) then you are kidding yourself.
I know Apple bought it from an iOS dev, but equally they've polished it into something that is talked about by everyone - everyone has an opinion on it when they become aware of it. What does Android do (for the average user, who doesn't root/flash custom ROMs) that's anywhere near the same level of impressive? Widgets and nice Maps? I admit voice nav is a great selling point, but seriously, I think Google needs to step up it's game and start bringing out the big guns to compete with iOS which, although limiting in lots of ways, clearly has the most polished apps, the best user interaction in the mobile world when it comes to scrolling and smoothness, and they bring futuristic stuff like Siri to the party as a part of their standard OS. It's not about bragging rights, or showing off or anything like that - it's about being the best OS around, and at the moment, aside from the fact Android is very customisable even without root, I can't say it's 100% the best OS. It is for me, at the moment, and probably for you too if you're on this site, but for the rest of the general population I can see why Android doesn't really hold a candle to iOS in the layman's eyes.
Rant over!

The one major thing you're missing is that ICS was designed mainly to integrate functionality between both tablets and phones. Google made a decision and then decided they weren't to keep on developing Honeycomb nor likely wanted current tablets running cropped versions of GB when it was solely made as a phone OS.
So there was a notion to make a unification with devices running Gingerbread/Froyo along with tablets running GB/HC, thus ICS was formed.

ashwinmudigonda said:
The scrolling lag of Android is a software design "flaw" if you can call it that. Someone wrote a nice article on G+ about it. Essentially, Android spawns a thread for the UI and lets it do its thing.
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Click to collapse
If you're referring to the post from a guy who used to be an intern at Google, then that second article link I posted (from Dianne Hackborn) is basically pointing out how that guy posted some incorrect stuff.
Sent from my Desire Z running CM7.

steviewevie said:
If you're referring to the post from a guy who used to be an intern at Google, then that second article link I posted (from Dianne Hackborn) is basically pointing out how that guy posted some incorrect stuff.
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Doesn't matter if the guy posted incorrect stuff.
The empirical evidence and summary is that Android does not prioritize UI and UI animations (nor sound threads), and never will this point forward, so far.
Dianne also pointed out a deficiency in the kernel for high-priority/foreground threads which they gave up on fixing since Android 1.6.

I notice this every day but I'm a tech if it ain't broken i don't want it...

I'm just throwing my thoughts around here, please correct me if I'm wrong and flame me if you must, I'm kind of just interested in this topic.
I've had an ipod touch. I've played with the iphone 3gs. I've seen the iphone 4g. I've even been offered to try siri for a few weeks. The 3gs actually wasn't a huge leap from an ipod touch. They pretty much slapped a phone on it, right? There was nothing I could do on a 3gs that I couldn't do on an itouch connected to wifi. Literally nothing. The change from 3gs to 4g was just that. 3g changed to 4g. Beyond that, the user experience was identical. Nothing had changed. The addition of siri added 100 bucks of value to the 4g though? Yeah, that kinda didn't make sense to me, as there are literally free apps that did the same thing. But behind siri was the same phone. Ios hasn't changed drastically since the first time we saw it. Granted it's ALREADY such a great phone.
But look at android. Younger, and from the g1 to the nexus s, HUGE improvements, and for pennies to the dollar cheaper. Android WILL improve. There's no question of that. At this point, my phone has literally replaced my desktop; and from a phone that has already reached EOL, that's quite an accomplishment. the next gen phones have way more muscle to swing out at the graphical glitches that plague us, and the OS just keeps improving.
ICS is merely a stepping stone into something bigger. And android, being as customizable as it is, offers ui similar to ios through miui (soon miuiv4). You can't put off the changes made between cupcake, eclair, froyo and gingerbread. How you can put off the changes yet to be made, however, is quite staggering.

What makes these ICS roms so cool?

I haven't really tried them out much yet. I installed AOKP for a little bit the other day, but didn't know enough about ti to leave it on as my daily driver for work. SO I am wondering what do these roms have that make them cool? I like the way the 5 icons look in the dock at the bottom of the screen, but I can get that with GoLauncher.
Not hating on these roms at all. I love what the devs are doing. I just want to know what difference I get going with an ICS rom over something like MikG 3.0 or tommys classic?
Thanks

It's the new thing out..newer is better, right?
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium

mike208 said:
I haven't really tried them out much yet. I installed AOKP for a little bit the other day, but didn't know enough about ti to leave it on as my daily driver for work. SO I am wondering what do these roms have that make them cool? I like the way the 5 icons look in the dock at the bottom of the screen, but I can get that with GoLauncher.
Not hating on these roms at all. I love what the devs are doing. I just want to know what difference I get going with an ICS rom over something like MikG 3.0 or tommys classic?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its just another thing that we're not supposed to have on our evos which makes it fun!
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium

Battery life on decks alphas is awesome

I'd like to use Chrome for the phone.
I haven't left any on my Evo because I'm waiting for CM9 to come out. Although there are a couple of ROMS in the development section that looks promising.
Plus I am getting stellar performance w/ Evo Classic 0.06 Supermagic preview developed by TommyTomatoe

It's the latest version of Android, Google what's new.

PlusTheHarm said:
It's the latest version of Android, Google what's new.
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I have done that, but I also know these roms aren't all their yet. Just wondering what cool new features they have and which ones they might be missing compared to the actual ICS

I'm not always an early adopter, and I don't automatically subscribe to newer=better.
That said, I just really love the new UI for ICS. I've always had to theme my roms to get rid of green and replace with blue (I hate green).
It's also the first real revamp of the UI in a LONG time. I like how the menu options shoot up the middle of screen, instead of 6 blocks across the bottom.
I like how there's finally scrollable Widgets (namely, finally, for the email), but also browser, calendar.
The quickmenu in browser is a really cool feature, as is the way browser handles tabs.
I really like the way gallery is handled, and the layout for sharing options after a pic is taken.
Notifications sweep away much easier/smoother than I've ever seen on GB. Also, long press of home for task switching is handled nicer than previously, I think.
I just really like it. Yes, there are features not working yet, but I do think it really is an improvement over earlier versions. On AOKP, I'm getting pretty poor battery life (but it's a great ROM), On drews p6 I got fantastic battery life.
Oh, I like the rotation animation, too. I'm sure there's lots more I'm not thinking of.
sent from AOKP heaven

Not sold on ICS... yet.
I'm a flashaholic. My wife and I both have EVO 4G's, and I'm constantly flashing different ROMs on our phones. I've tried a couple ICS roms, even though there are still some bugs yet to be worked out. I'm not really impressed. I've found that I prefer ROMs that are more easily theme friendly. I think the new ICS blue is gonna get old fast. My wife prefers MikG 3.0, while I'm currently swagged out with Swagged Out Stock (Swag=ON). That said, when CM9 is available, I'll flash and play around with it. I'm also looking forward to checking out Chrome and a few other apps only available for ICS.

Why do you think CM9 will be worth? Hell, it may never even come to Evo (if you haven't noticed, CM has dropped support for Evo). The devs working on 4.0 now are light years beyond CM. Try it , you'll see.
sent from AOKP heaven

Hey,
Ics is android 4.0 which is the latest and greatest! All the android 4.0 roms you will find right now are all AOSP roms, and later on when HTC releases it there will be the Sense android 4.0 roms! The difference is its just the latest and has extra eye candy and a few better features!
I hope I helped If I did please hit the thanks button,
Stevo

scottspa74 said:
Why do you think CM9 will be worth? Hell, it may never even come to Evo (if you haven't noticed, CM has dropped support for Evo). The devs working on 4.0 now are light years beyond CM. Try it , you'll see.
sent from AOKP heaven
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I've heard from inside source is that cm9 is close to ready for evo. Its missing some drivers that they are having to write themselves due to lack of support from HTC and qualcom. I know for a fact that a close buddy of mine is running cm9 that he compiled himself from cm tree only thing is hes had to hack the kernel for now. So it will be coming eventually.

cool to hear. I'll obviously keep my eye out (always am lol). Thanks for heads up. AOKP so far has been pretty amazing, though.
sent from AOKP heaven

Battery life is my favorite part so far. Going a full day and at the end of the night having 50% left is ridiculous. I use to be lucky having battery left by lunch! AOKP by the way. Tried to post the screenshot but either the upload doesn't work on the app or I don't have enough posts.

First, its task manager is awsome, you have to now end tasks or they will keep going its nice in some ways but lame if you get tomany running,
second, scrollable widgets and the ablity to resize them.\
and thats all i got

The big things that I'm loving about ICS are;
Scollable widgets (I used to stick to sense because of the great widgets, but these are comparable).
Re-sizable widgets (I know this is available with different launcher replacements, but it's nice to have "out of the box").
Battery life, getting almost 24 hours on AOKP.
Swiping away notifications (again, available on different ROMs).
The overall look is fresh, I prefer the blue over the typical green.
The things I'm not a fan of;
No 4g (though I hardly ever used it anyway because it just KILLS my battery).
No video recording.
Random force closes (these are few and far between, much less than other ROMs I've been on, but they still happen).
Not being able to long press to add an app or widget to a screen (I know this is available through NOVA launcher, just talking about out of the box here).
Not sure if I'm sold on the new app drawer layout.
Bottom line is, since I flashed ICS (Evervolv first, now AOKP) to try it out, it's become my daily driver. The features match up with what I'm looking for, and what's currently missing will surely be fixed soon enough thanks to the awesome dev's working on it. As always, it boils down to what you want and what you can live without.

indyjames said:
It's the new thing out..newer is better, right?
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think thats what it was, for me at least. I couldn't wait to hop on board the ICS train. I was flashing everytime someone released a new alpha!
It eventually died down for me, and now I am settled back down nicely with CM7..

So far the only ICS that has impressed me was 4.0.3 sense 4.0. Other than that I can't seem to see what all the hype is. Aosp ICS in my opinion(yes my opinion) is its plain and poorly colored. Maybe I don't want a turquois blue UI. Idk. Just MY opinion as I know everyone has their own ideas thoughts and feelings. Don't get me wrong I do like some of the features(some which evo4g may not see) but in time I believe it will get better. Everything starts from bottom. GB was the same way when it surfaced for our evos. Well see what the future brings!